For post-Opening Day 2011 team page, click HERE.
*Players on the 40-man roster are indicated in BOLD.
*Players who are out of options are indicated with ##
*Players who are injured are indicated with +
*Click on the player's name to see the injury update
*Baseball America '11 pre-season prospect rankings are indicated in BLUE.
*Baseball Prospectus '11 pre-season prospect rankings are indicated in GREEN.
Resources and Information Page
Memphis (AAA)/ Springfield (AA)
Palm Beach (HiA)/ Quad Cities (LoA)/ Rookie Levels
*40-man roster total (40)
25-MAN ROSTER
Starting Lineup (*indicates left-handed batter **indicated switch-hitter)
1 SS Ryan Theriot
2 CF Colby Rasmus*
3 1B Albert Pujols
4 LF Matt Holliday
5 RF Lance Berkman**
6 3B David Freese
7 C Yadier Molina
8 2B Skip Schumaker*
Bench
C Gerald Laird
1B/OF Allen Craig BA#5
IF Daniel Descalso*
IF Tyler Greene
OF Jon Jay*
Starting Rotation
1 RHP Chris Carpenter
2 RHP Jake Westbrook
3 LHP Jaime Garcia
4 RHP Kyle Lohse
5 RHP Kyle McClellan
Bullpen
CL RHP Ryan Franklin
SU RHP Jason Motte
SU RHP Mitchell Boggs
MID LHP Trever Miller
MID RHP Bryan Augenstein
MID LHP Brian Tallet +
LR RHP Miguel Batista
Disabled List
Position Players
IF Nick Punto + UPDATE 3/31 - placed on 15-Day DL, retroactive to March 22 (hernia surgery)
Pitchers
RHP Adam Wainwright + UPDATE 3/27 - placed on 60-Day DL (recovery from Tommy John surgery)
Current list of Free Agents
*Elias ranking indicated in RED **For list of minor league free agents, click here.
Position Players
C Jason LaRue: UPDATE 9/18 - announced retirement
Pitchers
None
Left as Free Agents/ Lost off Waivers/ Released/ Traded
Position Players
1B/OF Jim Edmonds: UPDATE 2/14 - injury status uncertain (surgery last month to repair Achilles' tendon injury) UPDATE 2/18 - retired
3B Pedro Feliz: UPDATE 2/3 - agreed to minor league deal with Kansas City
IF Aaron Miles: UPDATE 2/7 - agreed to minor league deal with Dodgers
IF Brendan Ryan: UPDATE 12/12 - traded to Seattle
IF/OF Joe Mather: UPDATE 11/3 - claimed off waivers by Atlanta
OF Randy Winn: UPDATE 2/3 - signed minor league deal with Baltimore
Pitchers
RHP Brian Broderick: UPDATE 12/9 - lost to Washington in Rule V draft
RHP Blake Hawksworth BA#8: UPDATE 11/30 - traded to Dodgers
RHP Mike MacDougal: UPDATE 1/28 - signed minor league deal with Dodgers
RHP Brad Penny: UPDATE 1/11 - agreed to one-year deal with Detroit
RHP Jeff Suppan: UPDATE 1/20 - signed minor league deal with San Francisco
LHP Dennys Reyes: UPDATE 2/5 - agreed to minor league deal with Boston
Left as Free Agents/ Lost off Waivers/ Released/ Traded
Position Players
1B/OF Jim Edmonds: UPDATE 2/14 - injury status uncertain (surgery last month to repair Achilles' tendon injury) UPDATE 2/18 - retired
3B Pedro Feliz: UPDATE 2/3 - agreed to minor league deal with Kansas City
IF Aaron Miles: UPDATE 2/7 - agreed to minor league deal with Dodgers
IF Brendan Ryan: UPDATE 12/12 - traded to Seattle
IF/OF Joe Mather: UPDATE 11/3 - claimed off waivers by Atlanta
OF Randy Winn: UPDATE 2/3 - signed minor league deal with Baltimore
Pitchers
RHP Brian Broderick: UPDATE 12/9 - lost to Washington in Rule V draft
RHP Blake Hawksworth BA#8: UPDATE 11/30 - traded to Dodgers
RHP Mike MacDougal: UPDATE 1/28 - signed minor league deal with Dodgers
RHP Brad Penny: UPDATE 1/11 - agreed to one-year deal with Detroit
RHP Jeff Suppan: UPDATE 1/20 - signed minor league deal with San Francisco
LHP Dennys Reyes: UPDATE 2/5 - agreed to minor league deal with Boston
Posts
23 comments:
I would prefer to see Freese batting in front of Molina. Freese hit 30 points higher and had an OPS 94 points higher than Molina. I also would expect to see more power from Freese this year if healthy. Although Freese isn't the next Vince Coleman, he should ground into far less double plays than Molina, who could hardly make it half way down to fisrt base by the end of the year. This would kill less rallies. Lets be honest, with this lineup, the Cards need to produce runs with their 3-6 hitters to be susccessful.
That's a good call. I went back and checked some lineups before Freese's injury and he was hitting in front of Molina. He probably showed enough in that time to ensure he's hitting there again. Thanks!
I think Lance is going to get the majority of his at bats from the 5 spot backing up Pujols and Holliday. At that spot in the lineup he could drive in a boat load of runs with those two always on base ahead of him.
If he comes back anywhere near the level he was two years ago this lineup is going to be nasty
They said he would be hitting in the #2 spot the day he signed. But that's not set in stone and I can see LaRussa changing things up depending on how things are going. Rasmus can do some serious damage from the #5 spot as well.
If last year's decline was more a case of injuries rather than age and Berkman rebounds, maybe he is a better fit in the middle of the order.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal-beat/article_b9cc0880-21c0-11e0-a6db-00127992bc8b.html
Lance Berkman projects as a "middle of the order" bat rather than the No. 2 hitter advocated by some metrics-friendly bloggers and scribes. La Russa emphasized that hitting Berkman behind first baseman Albert Pujols and left fielder Matt Holliday removes pressure from less experienced options such as Colby Rasmus and David Freese.
"Those guys don't need to hit fifth," La Russa said.
Either way, I'm excited
Well that clears that up. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a writer who suggested he hit 2nd. It was written as if it were already decided on that Berkman would hit 2nd. Thanks for the link!
This lineup has the potential to rake if the prime pieces stay in tact for the majority of the year.
You can't help but worry about the health of the rotation throughout the season. Carpenter always seems to be a wild card health wise. Lohse is well... Lohse, we all know the story. Westbrook is recently removed from major surgery as is Garcia. Lynn, Walters, and Ottavino may get some major innings this year if things don't go well.
To me, the bench could be a very pleasant surprise for this team.
-If Jay can come close to the offensive production he put up last year while cleaning up some defensive issues, he will continue to be a favorite of TLR.
-Craig could have probably put up solid numbers in a platoon with Jay like '11 was shaping up to be before the Berkman signing. If he can even muster average third base play he will see a very healthy number of ABs. Looking forward to seeing a full season of him.
-Punto is an improvement over Aaron Miles. This type of player always seems to find its way onto the Cards roster, but Punto feels a little more of a gamer than those in the past. If he can stay healthy and regain some consistency at the plate he could very well turn out to be one of the more important signings of the off season for the red birds.
-Laird looks to get more ABs than that of Cards back up catchers in the past couple of seasons to spell more late fatigue issues for Molina. Could provide needed extra base potential from someone lower in the lineup.
-Greene might be the most interesting of all. With the potential to play all infield positions and center field, Greene might get his best shot to show his skills to date. Has 10 to 15 home run potential with everyday play. Speed could also provide interesting possibilities this season. Needs to conquer nerves like have been spoken of in earlier trips to big leagues. Talent is not the issue.
The Cards have the talent and don't seem as top heavy as in years past. If the heart of the lineup and top end of the rotation stay healthy, its going to be a fun summer
This website is addicting
Sean,
If you're addicted to the site, then I've done my job! Should be a great race in the NL Central. The Brewers and Reds are right up there with the Cards, in my opinion, and the Cubs should be much better. And the Astros were one of the best teams in baseball down the stretch so we can't forget about them. Every team has injuries so depth is always going to be important. The Cardinals' bench does looks to be much improved because of the young guys being more experienced and Laird and Punto are solid veteran backups. The pitching depth might be a problem, though, if any of the top 4 starters get hurt.
Was just wondering if you have any info or just guessing by putting Jim Edmonds into the 25-man for Allen Craig, instead of Jon Jay. While Jay had a nice year last season, doesn't seem like a LaRussa thing to do to have 2 left handed hitting outfielders on the bench. Just wondering your opinion.
I always try and get a new projection up right away within a few minutes of a roster move. I'll research afterwards and change if necessary. On Edmonds, he showed he had something left in the tank with his performance last year and i think he could help. My initial thought on who he would replace on the bench had more to do with 'who will be the defensive replacement for Berkman late in games?' rather than 'who will be the primary right-handed bat off the bench'. It sounds like Craig did OK in the outfield last year so maybe he sticks. It would be good to see him get regular playing time though. Didn't hit that great last year coming off the bench and starting once in awhile. He seemed to get hot towards the end of the year but it wasn't enough to earn him a starting gig for 2011. Greene is also gonna see some time in the outfield so that's another option. Let me know if you hear anything definite. Thanks Nathan!
Edmonds is a good edition to this team.He is still a good outfielder.He is deffinetly one of the better 4th or 5th outfielder/1st baseman in the leauge.
He brings experiance,a nice powerfull left handed bat,he is a good teammate and he really is not a bad defensive player.Well I mean,he isnt in his prime but he is still one of the better guys outthere in mlb...plus, i think he wants 2 b there.
What is Rasmus' line going to look this year
Anyone got projections ?
.284/.391/.540 with 30+ dingers and 80+ RBIs
too much or too modest ?
I think Craig might have a leg up on Jay for the final roster spot this year if he proves that he can hold his own at third base. If he can he offers a lot more pop and more versatility than Jay.
But on the other hand Jay can play CF which gives him an advantage due to the lack of replacement depth at that position and the uncertainty of Jim Edmonds making the team.
According to Matthew Leach, Cardinals MLB.com beat reporter said today that it is likely Edmonds will start the season in Extended Spring Training, with Craig and Jay both making the Opening Day roster.
Thanks Nathan. That makes sense. I'll keep Jay and Craig on the projected roster until Edmonds proves he's healthy and productive.
this sucks
Please be more specific so I know what sucks. I know it's been a rough day for Cardinals fans so maybe you're referring to Wainwright's injury?
McClellan could surprise a lot of people this year. He has four very capable pitches and has been waiting for this opportunity for a while now.
Kmac could make a major contribution to this team
Is anyone else fighting for that 5th spot in the rotation? McClellan hasn't even been a starter in the minors since 2004.
Jamie Garcia was incredible last year but he is not a #2 pitcher. The Cardinals should really look for some verteran depth.
Who is even still available at this point?
Hey Keith. That question about who else is fighting for the spot could be answered in my Position Battles Tracker. Check it out. http://www.mlbdepthcharts.com/2010/12/position-battle-tracker-nl-central.html
McClellan almost won the job last spring and is the frontrunner this year. The only thing that might stand in his way is if no one is ready to step up and take his bullpen spot. Mitch Boggs strained his back yesterday and he is probably the most likely candidate to fill a setup role. His injury could change their plans.
I would say there is no one available via Free Agency that will bump Garcia down to #3. Millwood is out there but he wouldn't be better than #4, in my opinion. If they want to upgrade, I'd guess that a trade would have to be made.
What about these Barry Zito rumors...He is a prime candiadte for a Dave Duncan project
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/02/san-francisco-chronicle-columnist-says-giants-might-release-barry-zito-before-opening-day/
What would they have to vive up to get Zito in a trade? I know the Giants are looking to just cut him loose but they would love something back in return no?
The bigger question for me is 'Do the Giants have anyone better than Zito to take over as the #5 starter?' He wasn't terrible last season. He was actually really good for part of the season. If they traded him, Jeff Suppan would probably take his spot and that is not an upgrade, in my opinion. So I'm guessing any team acquiring him would have to do the Giants a favor and take on most of his salary and surrender a mid-level prospect.
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