Busch Visit By Mookie Betts & Dodgers Would Have Been Early Test Of Cardinals' Contending Aspirations

ith the bases loaded and the bullpen spent from Saturday’s 14-inning slog, the Cardinals curiously seemed ready to essentially, virtually abandon Sunday’s game and get on with the week.

Birdland

Cardinals Optioned Jake Woodford, Edmundo Sosa, Austin Dean, & Justin Williams To Triple-A Memphis

The Cardinals made a series of roster moves Thursday, moving right-hander Jake Woodford, infielder Edmundo Sosa and outfielders Austin Dean and Justin Williams to the Triple-A Memphis roster. All are on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster.
St. Louis Official Site

When baseball halted spring training and delayed the start of the regular season a week ago, the Cardinals were in the process making cuts from their spring training roster. The uncertainty of the next 12 hours, let alone 24 or 48 hours put a pause on the transactions until the Cardinals received direction from Major League Baseball.
Cardinal Beat

Questions Remain For Cardinals After Abridged Spring Training

When the Cardinals started the first of probably two spring training camps — and yes, until late June, another camp officially can be called a spring training camp, too — they had a number of questions to address.

Post-Dispatch

Beyond The Boxscore Preview: Cardinals

The 2020 St. Louis Cardinals are by no means a bad team. Roughly the same group of players won 91 games a year ago. Their rotation is headlined by a top-25 starter, and the bullpen is solid. It’s tough to find a better infield in baseball. The Cardinals certainly have a lot going for them, but like every other team in the NL Central, they aren’t without their holes.

Beyond The Boxscore

Cardinals Spring Training Starting Lineup 3-11-2020

Tsunami Alert! 🌊 pic.twitter.com/Wiz9oX7Xg5

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 11, 2020

As Spring Training Winds Down, A Look At The Cardinals' Outfield Power Rankings

Spring training is just about to enter the winding-down phase. The Cardinals open the regular season in a little more than two weeks.

101 ESPN

Alex Reyes Speeds Into Relief Picture After Daniel Ponce De Leon Makes His Case As In Starter Competition; Virus Concerns Close Clubhouse; Extra Bases

With innings growing scarcer for all of the contenders to be the fifth starter in the Cardinals’ rotation, Alex Reyes saw his assignment shift Monday to a shorter outing.

Post-Dispatch

Cardinals Beat Twins 3-0: Daniel Ponce De Leon Strikes Out Two Over Five Innings For The Hold; Kwang-Hyun Kim Strikes Out Four Over Three Scoreless Innings For The Win; Austin Dean Doubles & Hits A Solo Home Run

Taking care of business to begin the work week! pic.twitter.com/kqza0X1pcs

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 9, 2020

Individual Highlights:
Austin Dean started in right field and batted fourth.  2-for-4 with one double, one home run, one RBI, and one run.
Edmundo Sosa started at shortstop and batted eighth.  1-for-3 with one run, one walk, and assisted in one double play.
John Nogowski started at first base and batted ninth.  0-for-4 with one RBI, one strikeout, and assisted in one double play.
Kwang-Hyun Kim started and pitched three innings.  He allowed two hits, no runs, and struck four out for the winning decision (1-0).  (g/f:3-2)
Daniel Ponce De Leon entered in the fourth and pitched five innings.  He allowed two hits, no runs, two walks, and struck two out for the hold (1).  (g/f:3-5)
Alex Reyes entered in the ninth and pitched one inning.  He allowed two hits, no runs, and struck two out for the save (1).  (g/f:1-0)

Boxcscore
Cardinal Beat Post Game
STL Sports Page Post Game

Video: Austin Dean Hits A Solo Home Run 3-9-2020

Dean Dinger 💪 pic.twitter.com/v2W7ATDGPH

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 9, 2020

Cardinals Starting Lineup 3-9-2020

Headed west as we take the show on the road! pic.twitter.com/DTvyRvwTPX

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 9, 2020

Kolten Wong Day-To-Day; Jack Flaherty Renewed, 24 Others Agree To Terms; Brad Miller On The Mend; Up Next

Kolten Wong left Sunday’s game with a left calf contusion after being hit by a Pablo López fastball leading off the first inning. He walked out of the clubhouse after the game with a bandage around his calf, but Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said that Wong should recover well. Wong wasn’t going to travel Monday to Fort Myers, Fla., to face the Twins anyway. He will be evaluated Monday before determining his return to the lineup.

St. Louis Official Site

Visualizing Percentile PECOTA Outcomes For The Cardinals Offense

Last week, I put together a point-counterpoint for several aspects of the Cardinals entering 2020. As each point and counterpoint was made, it became (seemingly) apparent that there’s a lot of volatility to the upcoming season. Fluid situations in left field, the rotation, the bullpen, potential bouncebacks for key returners, and overall team speed and defense are going to dictate how far the Cardinals advance this year.

Viva El Birdos

Cardinals Beat Nationals 11-0: Carlos Martinez Strikes Out Two Over Five Scoreless Innings For The Win; Tommy Edman Singles, Homers, & Drives In Three Runs; Austin Dean Doubles Twice & Knocks In Two Runs

Ending the day the right way! pic.twitter.com/qK2ODgtjGp

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 6, 2020

Individual Highlights:
Tommy Edman started at shortstop and moved to second base, batting leadoff.  2-for-5 with one home run, three RBIs (one w/two-outs), one run, and assisted in two double plays.
Dylan Carlson started in centerfield and batted second.  2-for-4 with one run and one walk.
Tyler O'Neill started in left field and batted fourth.  2-for-5 with one double, one RBI, one run, and three strikeouts.
Rangel Ravelo started at first base and batted fifth.  2-for-5 with two doubles, one RBI, two runs, one strikeout, and assisted in two double plays.
Austin Dean started in right field and batted sixth.  2-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs, and two runs.
Andrew Knizner started as designated hitter and batted seventh.  1-for-3 with one home run, two RBIs, and one run.
Justin Williams entered late in game as designated hitter and batted seventh.  1-for-2 with one home run, two RBIs, one run, and one strikeout.
Max Schrock started at second base and moved to third, batting eighth.  1-for-3 with one run, two walks, one strikeout, and assisted in one double play.
Carlos Martinez started and pitched five innings.  He allowed three hits, no runs, and struck two out for the winning decision (1-0).  (g/f:9-2)
Zack Thompson entered in the sixth and pitched one inning.  He allowed no hits or runs, and struck one out.  (g/f:2-0)
Jake Woodford entered in the seventh and pitched one inning.  He allowed one hit and no runs.  (g/f:2-0)
Ryan Helsely entered in the eighth and pitched two innings.  He allowed two hits, no runs, one walk, and struck one out.  (g/f:2-1)

Boxscore
Cardinal Beat Post Game
STL Sports Page Post Game

Cardinals Spring Training Starting Lineup (Game Two) 3-5-2020

Photo 1: Result of Game 1.

Photo 2: Lineup for Game 2. pic.twitter.com/G6lI9zlBM2

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 5, 2020

Mets Beat Cardinals 4-1: Nolan Gorman Hits A Solo Home Run; Junior Fernandez Strikes Out Two Of Three Batters; Daniel Ponce De Leon Strikes Out Three & Alllows One Run Over Three Innings

Individual Highlights:
Tommy Edman started at shortstop and moved to second base, batting leadoff.  1-for-2 with one hit by pitch, one strikeout, and one caught stealing.
Matt Carpenter started at third base and batted second.  0-for-2 with one walk.
Nolan Gorman entered late in the game at third base and batted second.  1-for-1 with one home run, one two-out RBI, and one run.
Rangel Ravelo started at first base and batted third.  0-for-2 with one walk, one strikeout, grounded into one double play, and assisted in one double play.
Tyler O'Neill started in left field and batted fourth.  0-for-2 with one hit by pitch and one strikeout.
Harrison Bader started in centerfield and batted fifth.  0-for-2 with one walk and one strikeout.
Dennis Ortega entered late in the game at catcher and batted sixth.  1-for-1 and threw out one base runner.
Austin Dean started in right field and batted seventh.  2-for-3 with one double, one walk, and was picked off.
Daniel Ponce De Leon entered in the fifth and pitched three innings.  He allowed three hits, one earned run, two walks, hit one batter, and struck three out.  (g/f:3-1)
Junior Fernandez entered in the eighth and pitched one inning.  He allowed no hits or runs, and struck two out.  (g/f:1-0)

Boxscore
Cardinal Beat Post Game
STL Sports Page Post Game

Cardinals Spring Training Starting Lineup 3-4-2020

Jack is on the mound! 👊 pic.twitter.com/Gs70ITGb2j

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 4, 2020

Cardinals Outfield Competition One To Watch This Spring

The biggest storyline of Cardinals camp this spring is the offense, and a subplot of that is the outfield competition. The hole in the Opening Day lineup is in the outfield, but the club believes it has the young, internal talent to fill the one or two open spots.

St. Louis Official Site

Max Schrock Deserves A Shot In 2020

While he hasn’t been tearing up the minor leagues, Max Schrock could be a surprising player if given the chance with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Redbird Rants

The Cardinals' Messy Outfield Situation

Last year’s Cardinals were successful. Thanks to a solid rotation, a good bullpen, and excellent defense and baserunning, St. Louis won the division and advanced to the NLCS. The Cardinals’ main weakness was at the plate, where they were mostly average.

Fangraphs

Dylan Carlson May Be Speeding Up Timetable; Yairo Munoz Strains Hamstring; Worth Noting; Up Next

There are still 21 spring games left, and that’s a significant amount of time. But if Dylan Carlson continues to play anywhere close to the way he has started Grapefruit League play, it will be difficult for the Cardinals to keep their top prospect off the roster come the end of March.

St. Louis Official Site