Right-hander Luke Weaver entered spring training with a chance to win the last spot in the Cardinals’ rotation, but that bid officially ended when they optioned him to Triple-A on Saturday. Weaver dealt with back spasms earlier this month and performed poorly when on the mound. In five spring innings, the 23-year-old allowed seven earned runs on seven hits and eight walks, and struck out only one hitter. Michael Wacha has fared much better, meanwhile, and taken hold of the No. 5 role as a result, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It seems Trevor Rosenthal will begin the year in the bullpen, then, though the Cards aren’t yet sure how they’ll use him. Both a long relief role and a “hybrid high-leverage job” are on the table for the former closer, per Goold.
More on St. Louis and three other National League clubs:
- After sitting out nearly all of last season and then settling for a minor league contract with the Giants in December, Michael Morse could be hitting his way to a job as a bench player with the team. Regarding Morse, who has slashed .308/.400/.615 in 26 spring at-bats, manager Bruce Bochy said Friday (via Chris Haft of MLB.com), “If the bat plays, you find a place for him.” Morse had only lined up at first base this spring until he manned left field Friday, leading Bochy to note that “he needs more time out there.” It’s possible the right-handed Morse will end up platooning with lefty-swinging left fielder Jarrett Parker, writes Haft. The 34-year-old Morse realizes he’s not exactly an ideal fit for the outfield, though. “It was fun. It was like riding a bike … with two flat tires,” he quipped after playing left Friday (Twitter link via Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area).
- Although the Cardinals’ Matt Adams has only seen action at first base since debuting in 2012, the club will give him some left field work on the back fields of its minor league complex Saturday, tweets Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. St. Louis is “curious” to see how Adams will look in the outfield, adds Langosch. With Matt Carpenter taking over at first, Adams doesn’t appear likely to receive much playing time at his typical position this season. The fact that Adams slimmed down over the winter could help make him an outfield candidate, though the Redbirds already have everyday-caliber corner options in Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk.
- There’s “nothing happening” right now between the Braves and free agent outfielder Angel Pagan, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). The Braves have reportedly made “multiple” attempts to sign Pagan, who’s among the best free agents still on the board, though he’s holding out for a higher offer.
- Rockies left fielder David Dahl is making progress in his recovery from a ribcage injury and could “increase activity” soon, manager Bud Black told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (Twitter link). Dahl was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his sixth rib 12 days ago, and the Rockies said at the time they’d re-evaluate him in two weeks. The highly promising 22-year-old has only taken four at-bats this spring.
This is why the cardinals can’t have nice things.
Please elaborate.
No no no no, the Cardinals NEVER get to say “this is why we cant have nice things” – seemingly every name prospect you have somehow makes the bigs, all your big FA signings always pan out, you win titles pretty often and honestly, there isn’t a franchise who’s had more prospect luck than STL over the last 100 years.
I will NOT see anyone who supports the superpowers of MLB crying poor, ever. Yankees & Cardinals are the most privileged teams in the game – you get ALL the nice things!
Just chill out man.
The Cardinals have done so without spending big, without tanking, and without being overly loved by the national media.
No they’re definitely overly loved by the media.
Slimmer is right about Adams
Please move on from the pagan angel. Though his presumed fan section in Section 666 of SunTrust will be disappointed.
I don’t wanna see him in a Braves uni, but if he was smart he’d take their deal.
Adams in the outfield is silly. He’s a nice bat off the bench for his salary. Get him some AB’s against righties and just let him be what he is.
How do you do that with Matt Carpenter firmly planted at 1B and Gyorko off the bench to play anywhere in the INF? Adams needs the flexibility to play LF or the Cardinals don’t have much need for him. All the other players in STL are flexible to move. He’s stagnant.
Michael Morse roaming the outfields of the NL West is exciting…for every team besides the Giants.
So true
As a Giants fan I can tell you you’d end up loving having Pagan on your team. He is the ultimate clubhouse leader and was the spark plug for our offense for many years. Our offense was significantly better when he was in the lineup.
You can say that again…
This made me laugh. Well done!
As a Giants fan I can tell you you’d end up loving Pagan on your team. He is the ultimate leader in the clubhouse and was the spark plug for our offense for years. We were significantly better when he was in the lineup.
I never thought he was that good When he was in ny, but he proved me wrong in sf. He was everything you mentioned. His problem now is that he is very soon to be 36. Players his age are only going to see a series of 1 yr deals in MLB. things have changed
Sounds like Pagan is getting duplicate Rave Reviews. Definitely not like the reviews of Pete O’Brien’s outfield defense.
Option him, keep him for later, give him some outfield burn in the minors, why not.
Adams? Because the team is better if he’s on the bench and used properly?
The Redbirds will be an interesting team to watch this season. Will their pitching staff crumble and will they continue to kick the ball around? They need most of the breaks to go their way this season (including good decisions by Matheny..snicker) to get where they want to go. I see a good start to the season, then faltering after the break (pitching, injuries, lack of depth), ultimately resulting in a disappointing season by their recent standards.
I can see pitching and injuries, but the Cards have more depth than most.
Carpenter is more than capable to play several positions.
If the concern was defense, and you want both Adams and Carpenters bats in the same lineup, then Carp should be in left, not Adams.
Unfortunately, I don’t see Carpenter being able to play a full season. His bad back problems won’t let him have a full season.
st louis should blow this team up on last roster cut to open the season. send grichuck, piscotty and wong to memphis. leave bader, sierra and valera on 25 man roster.
Cubs fan?
Definitely a Cubs fan , win one championship in 108 years and it’s like they have been there before
Lol…. it posted twice and wouldn’t let me delete one not sure why.