ÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As part of a content caper dreamed up by members of the Cardinals’ social media crew, they enlisted the help of Topps and mostly the mothers and wives of players to surprise players with a boyish twist on their baseball cards.

On photo day this spring, a dozen Cardinals players, from Victor Scott II to Masyn Winn, were handed an actual 2025 Topps baseball card, but most of them had the usual action photo replaced with one of them as a kid. Michael Siani’s featured him as a baby with a bat.

Thomas Saggese showed him wearing the birds on the bat.

“It was a how-did-you-get-this kind of thing,” he said. “Funny.”

There he was in the photo, at 9, in the Carlsbad Youth Baseball league and playing for the Cardinals, and he was holding it, at 22, in spring training to play for the Cardinals.

“Pretty wild,” he laughed.

At the point of the roster where the downstream impact of Nolan Arenado remaining with the Cardinals meets decisions through a longer-term lens balances, like a bird on a bat, Saggese. The reigning Texas League MVP a year ago in his first big-league camp, Saggese has spent this camp with an opportunity to be on the big-league roster, though the role available to him has shifted. There was a chance he could be a regular starter moving around the field to spell others, but with so many positions spoken for, the most obvious opening is on the bench.

That informs any conversation about Saggese with the classic prospect question of how playing sporadically in the majors compares to playing daily at Class AAA Memphis.

“What we have to consider in when we’re looking at bringing that extra guy is does it make sense to be someone like him,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “Or, does he need playing time if he’s not going to get a certain amount of at-bats a week.”

Marmol lauded Saggese’s ability to work an at-bat, make contact with pitches throughout the zone, and do “whatever is asked.” Marmol called him “a gamer.”

He did not have to wait long for another example.

In the second inning of the Cardinals’ 5-3 victory against Washington on Saturday, Saggese persisted through a 10-pitch at-bat before finishing it with a single. Saggese fell behind 0-1, ignored a ball away for 1-1, and then fouled off six of the next seven pitches. Whatever Nationals lefty D.J. Herz tried to do, Saggese met it until he got a pitch over too much of the plate and pulled it to left field for a single. Saggese would score on a sacrifice fly to break a 1-1 tie.

“I don’t think he can beat me with anything,” Saggese explained later. “Let’s stay on the heater. That’s the only thing. As long as I stay on the fastball, there is not a lot they have that can really get me out.”

Saggese followed with an infield single in the fourth off Herz and another run.

He’s tied for the team lead in hits this spring. But if the Cardinals are leaning into their “transition” or “reset,” his future as a starting infielder may be more valuable than his present off the bench to take that gritty, productive at-bat only five or six times a week.

It can be counterintuitive this notion that the better a young player plays in spring training and the higher his ceiling, the more likely it becomes if there isn’t a clear position that he heads to Triple-A.

Marmol pushed back on that framing.

“I don’t think it’s the better they play as much as where they are in their career, right?” Marmol said. “If you have a guy who is young and promising only getting five, six at-bats a week then it’s less to do with how well they play. Just the bigger picture there.”

The travel team for Saturday’s exhibition at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches had a distinct bench-battle vibe to it.

In addition to Saggese, as many as five other players in the starting lineup are jockeying to varying degrees for a backup spot on the opening day roster. And that group did not include Saturday’s catcher Pedro Pages, who will split time or back up Ivan Herrera. Nor did it include top prospect JJ Wetherholt, who the manager has said he wants to play as often as possible before he moves to minor-league camp.

A seventh player in the derby because of his athleticism and defensive versatility, Jose Barrero, appeared as a replacement at shortstop later in the game.

Early game and on the road the day after the first Friday night lights game of spring of the chance to see the contenders “competing all together,” the manager said.

Following Saggese in the lineup were outfielders Matt Koperniak and Ryan Vilade. Koperniak has a knack for contact and comfort in both corner outfield spots. Between Koperniak and Vilade, out in center was Siani, the incumbent at his position but also in a contest for playing time and role if the Cardinals shift their outfield alignment. Luken Baker started at DH, and a strong spring with a team-high three homers has him shoving to be the right-handed bat off the bench.

If versatility guides the choice, there is Michael Helman, a steady fielder at multiple positions who the Cardinals acquired from Minnesota at the start of camp.

He hit ninth, speared a liner at second Saturday.

“Versatility is what we would want,” Marmol said when asked what he’d prefer in the 26th spot on the roster. “The ability to play anywhere in the infield, pop out to the outfield, possibly.”

Saggese has spent most of his spring bouncing between third and second. He made his fifth start at third base on Saturday. There has been some discussion about getting Saggese some innings in the outfield, but no rush to do that. Marmol said the young infielder has the “personality and the skillset” to be the versatile player off the bench, often drawing comparisons to how Brendan Donovan arrived and thrived in the majors.

Where Saggese is aiming to improve is closer to another teammate, Alec Burleson. Acquired from Texas in the Jordan Montgomery trade in 2023, Saggese finished that season batting .306 with a .530 slugging percentage at three different levels. He gave the Texas League some time to catch up and no one did as he cinched the MVP with a .331 average and a 1.064 OPS in 33 games there with the Cardinals’ Class AA affiliate. He played 18 games in the majors this past year and then continued his season with 18 more games at the invitation-only Arizona Fall League.

Saggese has a gift like Burleson for covering the strike zone, and it’s one of the comforts he has when falling behind in a count and facing a lefty like Herz. He can connect with any pitch, so never feels out of the at-bat.

What the Cardinals want Saggese to do is be more selective with his swings and, like Burleson, look for pitches that he can drive, not just reach.

“That comes with reps,” he said. “I felt like I did a good job of that in the Fall League. It kind of clicked for me there — laying off pitches. I feel everybody talks about that, but I feel like I previously haven’t had the reps. You need to see it over and over and over and again, and then I think you get better at laying off pitches.”

Reps.

At-bats.

Like the ones that are limited in a bench role.

That’s the calculus coming the Cardinals way on whether the boy with the birds on the bat starts his season with that same look, or is ready when that same jersey awaits in the season. This is the first spring when he can shape that choice, but the Cardinals’ direction will make it.

“The only thing that would be different is added pressure,” Saggese said. “I don’t really feel that. I enjoy the game. Whatever happens, it’s not in my hands anyway. 
 You always want to help the big-league club. You always want to be in the big leagues, regardless. That’s my only thought on that.”

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: Jury still out on Ivan Herrera's throwing work but Cardinals need his bat

• Lynn Worthy

St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinals aren’t stuffing many hits into spring box scores. When does that start to matter?

• Derrick Goold

St. Louis Cardinals

Brendan Donovan feels he is ‘starting to turn that corner’ at plate: Cardinals Extra

• Daniel Guerrero

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In the midst of significant change or a very involved transition, it’s often the little things that cause the most angst.

Willson Contreras’ position change from catcher to first base this spring training at Cardinals camp has largely been about the small details that either will add up to him being comfortable in his new spot or feeling like a fish out of water.

With spring training half over, Contreras continues his acclimation process. While he’s still learning, he’s also at a stage where he can describe this transition as “fun” as opposed to frantic.

“The hardest part for me is just the positioning because it feels like I’m too far from the bag,” Contreras said after a two-hit performance at the plate on Thursday. “So I’m getting used to seeing this distance, but it happened like two times this spring where I get closer to the bag because I think that I’m too far.

“I’m not too far. I know that I have time. Those are little things I’ve been working on. The last two games, it has been a lot better. It’s just a matter of time and getting used to first base.”

If the Cardinals outperform expectations this season despite going into a “reset,” Contreras will have to play a big part. He’s already played a part by moving out from behind the plate and clearing a path for catchers Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages to share those duties.

The Cardinals hope by Contreras moving to first base, they’ll get the benefit of his potent bat in the lineup more regularly than last season. Two broken bones, one suffered while catching and the other while batting, limited Contreras to 84 games.

When healthy last season, Contreras gave the Cardinals lineup a consistently dangerous presence it sorely lacked with Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt having down years. If playing first base keeps Contreras available throughout the season, he could blow last year’s home run total (15) out of the water and build on his .848 OPS.

Contreras’ ability to play a position and not be limited to full-time DH will only give the Cardinals flexibility. That’s important for a club that struggled to score last season.

This past week, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol described Contreras as having looked “clean” at first base. The coaching staff knows that it will remain a process for Contreras. As they get deeper into camp, he’ll get tested and will have to continue to adjust as he goes.

“In all the work leading into the game, you’re really honing in on the mechanics of glove work and footwork and everything around the bag, but he’s doing it in a way that is comfortable — but the right way to do it and that he can repeat,” Marmol said.

“Once the game starts, (you want to see) that he’s able to slow it down enough for that stuff to transition into the game. Up until this point, he’s done a really nice job of looking natural over there.”

Each inning Contreras spends in the field this spring lets him potentially experience something else in a game setting that may help him when the regular season starts.

Thursday against the Washington Nationals in Roger Dean Stadium, Contreras fielded a grounder with runners on first and third and a run already having scored in the inning. He made a strong, accurate throw home and cut down the runner at the plate attempting to score from third.

After the play, Contreras and second baseman Cesar Prieto bumped fists and Contreras pointed to his teammates, infield coach Stubby Clapp and Marmol in the home dugout.

“I was seeing the situation — first and third — and I was anticipating a hard hit,” Contreras said. “I was thinking, anticipating, on a hard hit I go to second base. A slow roller, I know I’m just going to home plate. Get an out at home plate. That was the way I was anticipating the play.

“The other part for me was to not rush, because I had time, and not panic. I was trying to control the emotions.”

When he got back into the dugout, Contreras conferred with teammate Luken Baker, who has played first base throughout his career in the minors as well as in the majors. Baker reassured Contreras that he’d made a good decision by throwing home and pointed out that Contreras’ decision also kept the double play in order.

Later in that same game, Contreras experienced being on the field for an eight-run inning that seemed to drag on and on and on.

“I was like, man, I don’t know how these guys do it,” Contreras said. “That’s honest. But I was telling Prieto that when innings like that happen is when you need to stay more focused, because we tend to get lazy with the pre-pitch and the first step. You never know when the ball is going to be hit to you, so you’ve got to be ready all the time. That’s one thing that I learned from today.”

While Contreras has played 6,213 1/3 of his 6,503 2/3 total innings in the majors at the catcher position, he isn’t completely foreign to the infield.

From 2009 to 2011, he played third base in the Chicago Cubs minor-league system before he converted to catcher. Contreras said that background on the infield helps “a lot” in his current transition.

In some ways the things he’s doing this spring have been more about “refreshing” than starting from scratch.

Of course, he must continue learning on the job.

In the third inning against the Nationals on Sunday in West Palm Beach, Cardinals starting pitcher Steven Matz attempted a pickoff throw to first base that skipped low past Contreras and into foul territory. Matz got the error for the throw.

After that inning in the dugout, one of the first people Contreras spoke to was bench coach Daniel Descalso (a former teammate of Contreras). The presumption being that they discussed how Contreras handled the off-target throw and maneuver around the runner on the throw.

The process continues.

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: Why Matt Koperniak could be the player most worth rooting for in Cardinals camp

• Lynn Worthy

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: Jury still out on Ivan Herrera's throwing work but Cardinals need his bat

• Lynn Worthy

St. Louis Cardinals

Worthy: Masyn Winn admits he got home run happy this spring but vows a return to basics

• Lynn Worthy

JUPITER, Fla. — Before heading to his team’s clubhouse after homering and catching six innings Friday night against the Houston Astros, Ivan Herrera wanted to stay in the Cardinals’ dugout for an additional inning for one reason: He wanted to see Cardinals prospect and fellow Panama-born catcher Leonardo Bernal play.

Herrera’s decision allowed him to see Bernal’s lone plate appearance of the night, which led to a special moment with the 21-year-old Bernal.

With Herrera shouting from the dugout for Bernal to “stay back” with his swing and to “slow down” as he stood in the box against a left-handed pitcher, Bernal sent a 1-2 sweeper over the center field wall of Roger Dean Stadium for a home run that gave the Cardinals an insurance run in the seventh inning of their 6-4 win over Houston in Jupiter, Florida.

“I got sentimental about it. To see this guy from Panama — a guy that really cares about me and I really care about him,” Herrera said on Friday night. “We support each other. It’s just a cool moment to see.”

The home run was Bernal’s first-ever in a big-league spring training setting. It came after Herrera, 24, hit a two-run homer — his first of this spring training — to left field in the third inning.

“It feels really good to share that moment with him (Herrera),” Bernal said in Spanish. “I feel really good and happy to be able to compete at this level.”

Bernal entered spring training as a non-roster invitee to Cardinals camp for a second consecutive year. The switch-hitting prospect received a non-roster invite a year ago but had just one plate appearance before being reassigned to minors camp ahead of a minor league season that ended with him in Class AA.

Bernal’s time in big-league camp has given him exposure to Cardinals coaches and allowed him to work alongside the club’s big-league catchers, Herrera and Pedro Pages.

“He’s young, but he’s getting the opportunities because he shows that he’s mature enough to be here and shows every day that he can be on time, do little things, be a professional,” Herrera said. “I think he’s earned that. He comes every day, works hard as usual.”

As one of 81 players born in Panama to reach the majors, Herrera, who debuted in 2022, has looked to be a resource for Bernal and other young players throughout the Cardinals system.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re from Panama. I like being there for my guys, my teammates,” said Herrera, who noted he was yelling catching tips to Bernal while the 21-year-old was behind the plate

Herrera recalls first talking to Bernal when Bernal signed with the Cardinals as an international free agent in 2021, over five years after Herrera turned professional as an international free agent signee of the Cardinals. The two did not meet until they were both in Jupiter, Florida, two or three spring trainings before this year’s camp.

They both live in their native Panama during the offseason and talked about training together over the offseason this past winter, but the distance they live between one another presented some difficulties. But regardless of the distance between them, the two have maintained regular communication as one prepares for a fourth season in the majors and the other continues his path up the minors.

“I feel really proud to have a compatriot here,” Bernal said. “Really, he’s helped me a lot with the maturity that I’ve had within the game. 
 He’s given me a lot of advice so that I can have a good season and a long career.”

Walker to be reevaluated Monday

Right fielder Jordan Walker continued taking swings on Saturday as he nurses a left knee injury that forced an early exit from a Tuesday game against the Nationals when he stepped on a sprinkler cover while fielding a fly ball. After taking dry swings on Friday, Walker progressed to hitting soft toss and has also played catch since being sidelined.

Walker, who has inflammation above his left knee, will be reevaluated Monday, per Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol.

Extra bases

Left-hander Steven Matz allowed two runs and five hits over four innings in a Saturday start against the Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, Florida. Matz struck out three batters and did not issue a walk. He induced eight groundouts in the Cardinals’ 5-3 win.

The Cardinals are expected to have Andre Pallante start Sunday at Roger Dean Stadium against the New York Yankees. Pallante is scheduled for four innings of work. Prospect Michael McGreevy is in line to pitch four innings behind Pallante.

After Friday’s game, the Cardinals optioned pitchers Sem Robberse and Matt Svanson to minor league camp.

The Cardinals signed all 28 of their pre-arbitration service time players to deals for the 2025 season. The pool of players includes: Luken Baker, Alec Burleson, Jose Fermin, Ryan Fernandez, Nolan Gorman, Gordon Graceffo, Michael Helman, Tink Hence, Ivan Herrera, Bailey Horn, Matt Koperniak, Kyle Leahy, Matthew Liberatore, Ryan Loutos, Michael McGreevy, Roddery Munoz, Riley O’Brien, Pedro Pages, Robberse, Tekoah Roby, Chris Roycroft, Thomas Saggese, Victor Scott II, Michael Siani, Svanson, Zack Thompson, Jordan Walker, and Masyn Winn. The Cardinals have signed all their players for 2025.

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: Jury still out on Ivan Herrera's throwing work but Cardinals need his bat

• Lynn Worthy

St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinals aren’t stuffing many hits into spring box scores. When does that start to matter?

• Derrick Goold

St. Louis Cardinals

Brendan Donovan feels he is ‘starting to turn that corner’ at plate: Cardinals Extra

• Daniel Guerrero

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — With a Saturday lineup without most of their regular season starters, the Cardinals received a pair of runs in the fourth innings produced by the bats of right fielder Ryan Vilade and second baseman Michael Helman to help lift them to a 5-3 road win over the Washington Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

Vilade broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning with a ground-rule double to right field that scored catcher Pedro Pages and advanced third baseman Thomas Saggese to third base. A groundout from Helman in the following at-bat scored Saggese to give Helman his second RBI of the afternoon after he scored the Cardinals infield prospect on a sacrifice fly to center field in the second inning.

Vilade, 26, and Helman, 28, finished the spring training matchup in West Palm Beach, Florida with two RBIs each.

The Cardinals received an additional run in the fifth inning when shortstop and top prospect JJ Wetherholt stole third base and scurried home seconds later after an errant throw from catcher and St. Louis area native Drew Millas sailed into right field.

Starter Steven Matz kept the Nationals to two runs on five hits over four innings. He struck out three batters and did not issue a walk. He retired eight Nationals on groundouts before exiting the game. Over three starts this spring, Matz has allowed three runs over nine innings.

Closer Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless inning of relief after Matz’s exit. Helsley did not allow a hit or walk in the appearance.

Reliever Roddery Munoz threw one inning and was charged with one unearned run before giving way to John King (one inning) and Kyle Leahy (two innings). King and Leahy logged scoreless outings. King worked around two hits to keep Washington scoreless in his innings of work.

JUPITER, Fla. — When Roddery Munoz arrived in spring training with the team that plucked him and his velocity off waivers, the Cardinals presented him with their plan and a change of pace.

Munoz, who pitched last season for Miami, started in 17 of his 18 big-league appearances, and his relief experience mostly came in Class AAA two years ago. The Cardinals met with him early in camp and explained how they wanted to move him to the bullpen, from the start, and outfit him with a reliever’s routine to see if that made him more consistent while maintaining (or accelerating?) his power.

He was intrigued.

“I like to try something new,” the right-hander said. “If something doesn’t work, then trying something new. The routine for a starter is long. You get ready for the game. You have a lot of time. The reliever — you never know when you’re going into a game. Whatever the situation, you have to be ready for every moment.”

The Cardinals are auditioning for the reliever to be ready for a moment that was pivotal to last season’s reliable bullpen and record-setting season from closer Ryan Helsley.

They have a blueprint. They need a bridge.

And they’re throwing all sorts of options at the opening to see if one emerges.

“When you know you have Helsley in the ninth, you’re working backward,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “You had an answer for just about anything. That is, when you have more opportunities to close out games when you have the lead after the sixth or seventh inning — which wasn’t a strength of ours the previous years. When you look at what went well, it was we had really good personnel to solve for a lot of lineups.”

Andrew Kittredge brought the bullpen together with his work as Helsley’s primary setup. Lefty JoJo Romero had 30 holds. Kittredge led the National League and set a club record with 37 holds. Talk to Chris Roycroft about his mentality or Ryan Fernandez about his gameday prep, and it’s clear Kittredge’s presence remains, even though he left as a free agent for Baltimore.

To replace him and bridge leads to Helsley, the Cardinals have pulled prospective relievers in from all the usual sources. There is the incumbent: Romero. There are the returning relievers pushing for a promotions: Fernandez and Roycroft from the right, Matthew Liberatore on the left. There is the comeback candidate (internal): Riley O’Brien. There is the comeback candidate (external): Nick Anderson. There is the waiver claim: Munoz. And there is the rising prospect who could have a new role: Gordon Graceffo.

The one source not yet tapped is major-league free agency. The Cardinals remain in conversation with veteran relievers, sources said. What they’re willing to spend appears limited, but there’s internal discussion about the value of adding a stabilizing veteran. The available free agents the Cardinals have discussed or approached include a handful of seasoned relievers such as David Robertson, who had 34 holds in 2024, and Phil Maton, a native of Chatham, Illinois, who had a 3.66 ERA in 71 games this past summer.

“The guys we have right now can definitely do what we did,” Fernandez said. “Hopefully I can put myself in that role by pitching well.”

With his fastball, Fernandez, a rookie last season, has seven strikeouts in four innings this spring. He along with Romero, Kyle Leahy, Munoz, O’Brien, and Roycroft had yet to allow a run in their spring appearances. Anderson slipped into trouble in an early outing. Graceffo pitched out of trouble in a recent outing, and he leads the Cardinals going into Friday’s game with nine strikeouts in 5⅔ innings.

A year ago, the Cardinals committed to Helsley in a classic closer role — he’d get the ninth if they had a save to secure. That came after a turbulent year for the bullpen and Helsley that saw him used in various innings, often when it appeared to be the highest leverage.

A variety of consistent, quality setup options made that possible.

They intend to have the same approach with Helsley this season.

A variety of consistent, quality setup options must make that possible.

“You have the personnel to do it that way,” Marmol said. “There are times when you don’t, and you have to figure out a different blueprint as to how to get to Helsley. But it worked because we had kind of (solutions) for a couple of different situations on the right and left side. You had groundball guys on both sides. You had some swing and miss on both sides. Based on the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and into the ninth. ÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ” were pretty interchangeable.”

Their groundball guy from the left, John King, returns, and so does their primary setup lefty Romero and their rising option Liberatore.

On the right, there are candidates and creativity.

The Cardinals want to see how shifting to relief helps Munoz find command, and they’re intrigued by what Graceffo could do in short-burst outings.

In his second outing of spring, Munoz had the swiftest pitch of the game, at 97.4 mph. In one scoreless, he struck out two, threw 11 pitches, and feature four different types — a sinker at 95 mph, a cutter at 92.2 mph, a slider at 86.2 mph and the aforementioned fastball. Graceffo had seven swings and misses Thursday, and he fastball averaged 93.9 mph. He touched 90.5 mph with his slider. All five of the swings at his curveball missed it.

“You get a shot of adrenaline coming out of the ’pen and don’t think as much as when you have a whole day to prepare, a whole week to prepare for the start,” Graceffo said. “You can kind of get in your head a little bit. 
 The mindset is a little different. It’s how you attack the day.”

Without signing a major-league free agent, what the Cardinals have created within camp and on their roster is depth. From quantity, they’ll seek quality. Marmol recently said the right-handers vying for a spot in the bullpen “continue to dial-up (for) evaluating guys who got their legs under them. This will be a good stretch.”

Bullpens are volatile, annually. The bullpen the Cardinals have on opening day — all lined up in roles from spring, their ERAs a tidy 0.00 — is not going to be the bullpen they have by July or August. The Cardinals prioritized some elasticity with their pitching options so, if necessary, they could use churn to find the consistency.

That’s less of last year’s blueprint and more of a route, up Interstate 55.

“You still have to have the right depth,” Marmol said. “Usually if they’re doing well, they don’t seesaw back and forth. They tend to stick around.”

Walker on the mend

Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker resumed limited baseball activities Friday for the first time since jamming his knee into a sprinkler cover earlier in the week. He took some light swings in the cage and participated in some warmup drills with his teammates.

Marmol said Walker’s absence — initially set for a week — is now “day to day” with how the outfielder feels.

Hence sent down

Ahead of Friday night’s game, the Cardinals optioned right-handed pitcher Tink Hence to Class AA Springfield. Hence, 22, struck out one and allowed nine baserunners in his 3⅓ innings this spring. Hence, part of the Cardinals’ 2020 draft class and one of the top pitching prospects because of the life of his fastball, has had multiple seasons interrupted by injuries.

“When you can live and die with the fastball, it’s a good thing,” Marmol said. “Add the velo to it and it makes it very difficult. Him being able to repeat that, understand how he creates that, is important. Which I feel good about.”(tncms-asset)0c190e1e-fab3-11ef-80d0-7b39421ec03b[3](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)2001bdda-fabe-11ef-bb9c-7358ed2f67be[4](/tncms-asset)

St. Louis Cardinals

Brendan Donovan feels he is ‘starting to turn that corner’ at plate: Cardinals Extra

• Daniel Guerrero

JUPITER, Fla. — A driving reason behind the Cardinals' wish to move Willson Contreras from catcher to first base if he remained in St. Louis was more than just keeping his bat in the lineup more often.

It was about clearing a way to get another bat in the lineup now.

And about being ready for another bat on the way.

Two of the Cardinals' top young catchers, both signed out of Panama after impressive showings as youths, Ivan Herrera and Leonardo Bernal mashed home runs Friday for a 6-4 victory against Houston Astros in the first night game of spring training at Roger Dean Stadium. Herrera followed a pair of doubles in his previous game against Houston with a two-run shot in the third inning Friday.

Bernal replaced Herrera at catcher and lofted a solo homer in the seventh inning to set the final score.

Bernal's homer, his first in big-league camp, traveled 404 feet.

With Contreras at first, Herrera, the Cardinals' top prospect at catcher for several years, is positioned as the starter with Pedro Pages tagging in often as a strong defensive option. Herrera, 24, appeared in 72 games wit the Cardinals this past season and his .800 OPS and .428 slugging percentage were the second highest on the team to Contreras for any player with more than 200 plate appearances.

Bernal, 21, has made steady progress through the Cardinals' organization since they signed him as an international amateur in part because of an impressive tournament as a teenager where his leadership from the catching position for the national team galvanized his Panamanian peers.

Herrera's homer overtook the Astros' early lead. 

He also caught four innings from Miles Mikolas. The veteran right-hander allowed two runs on four hits. He also struck out three, including two in the same inning and on off-speed chase pitches that he has been working on teasing hitters when he gets a two-strike count.

Infielder Jose Fermin had an eventful evening.

Fermin reached base three times. Once he took an aggressive lead off first base and was promptly picked off. Another time he raced to advance on a fly ball, slid into second, and then was curiously called out when it did not appear like he slid past the bag or made a play for third base. Either way it was a double play.

Soon after, Fermina delivered an RBI single to break a 3-3 tie in the sixth.

After the game, the Cardinals optioned right-handers Matt Svanson and Sem Robberse to Class AAA Memphis and the minor-league camp. Robberse pitched two innings in the win against the Astros and allowed one run on three hits.

What's the next 'layer' for Sonny Gray's meticulous approach to spring? Cardinals Extra

Back at the ballpark where he injured his hamstring a year ago and delayed his Cardinals start, Sonny Gray focused on execution. What's next? "Scouting," he says.

Cardinals aren’t stuffing many hits into spring box scores. When does that start to matter?

"I was not really pleased with our offensive performance at the beginning," new hitting coach said as Cardinals hit .184 through nine games before a few bursts this week.

Jordan Walker wrenches knee while making play, sent for scan, evaluation: Cardinals Extra

Right fielder experienced pain after making a play in the bottom of the second inning of a 6-4 victory against Washington. Team awaits a diagnosis Wednesday.

JUPITER, Fla. — With three weeks of spring training remaining before opening day at Busch Stadium and three weeks to make decisions on the bullpen, three weeks to explore any last-minute trades, three weeks to stir the offense, and three weeks to make that first free-agent move of the offseason, the Best Podcast in Baseball considers camp with a pair of threes.

Three up.

Three down.

Post-Dispatch sports columnist and instant offense for Jeff Gordon joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss three ups of spring (players who have stood out) and three downs (trends of note), and all of that leads to the one major lineup dilemma looming over the team. Manager Oliver Marmol likes to say it will take a larger room to come to a conclusion on some of the defining decisions of March. This is a look at how those talks could go.

Gordon joins the podcast from St. Louis, while Goold is in Jupiter covering spring training for the Post-Dispatch's constant Cardinals coverage.

The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is in its 13th season. It is a production of the ÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ”, , and Derrick Goold.

Cardinals aren’t stuffing many hits into spring box scores. When does that start to matter?

"I was not really pleased with our offensive performance at the beginning," new hitting coach said as Cardinals hit .184 through nine games before a few bursts this week.

What's the next 'layer' for Sonny Gray's meticulous approach to spring? Cardinals Extra

Back at the ballpark where he injured his hamstring a year ago and delayed his Cardinals start, Sonny Gray focused on execution. What's next? "Scouting," he says.

JUPITER, Fla. — Surely it’s selling Cardinals short to say there are only three reasons to root for the 27-year-old undrafted prospect to get his shot in the big leagues this season.

Those who know him much better probably could run down a laundry list of reasons that he’s worthy of your well wishes and positive vibes.

However, three reasons jump out to the person at the keyboard for this particular column. And yes, at least one reason might be a bit selfish.

You don’t see many former Division III college athletes reach the pinnacle of their sport. You certainly don’t see them come those from small liberal arts colleges known more for their academics than for producing star athletes.

If you’re not aware, Koperniak attended Trinity College in Connecticut, and he played baseball in .

If you even know that NESCAC stands for New England Small College Conference, then you’re already likely in a relatively small group of people alive. Maybe you read U.S. News and World Report college rankings when you’re bored.

That group of small schools definitely can give you a general manager or president of baseball operations. Chicago Cubs top decision maker Jed Hoyer and Pittsburgh Pirates top baseball official Ben Cherington are NESCAC alums.

That conference might even squeak out a sports reporter or two from time to time (Yes, including the columnist at the keyboard for this piece).

So, as a one time Division III athlete who grew up in the Northeast and went to a NESCAC school, it’s a given that Koperniak has my attention. Even if his performance has helped him shed that label as the underdog from the small school.

“I thought it was definitely some extra motivation, for sure,” said Koperniak, who the Cardinals added to their 40-man roster this offseason. “Just trying to get drafted and get into pro ball is hard enough as it is. It’s so competitive out there.

“Just being able to get into pro ball from a Division 3 school was definitely motivation for me. It made me just keep working hard every day. Now, five years in, it’s just about being a professional now.”

Personal bias aside, Koperniak also exhibits that sort of quiet confidence that makes it difficult not to want to see him succeed.

His senior year of college came in the COVID-19 pandemic. So he had an extra year of eligibility that he planned to use at a major Division I program, Kansas State.

But then, with the MLB draft shortened to five rounds, he got the chance to jump into professional baseball as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He signed with the Cardinals and started pursuing his big-league aspirations.

A 6-foot tall, 200-pound left-handed hitting outfielder, Koperniak went into professional baseball with his eyes wide open. He knew he’d have to prove that he could adapt and improve to a much higher level of competition.

Koperniak also knew he had one trait that would help keep him around, and he’d have to hone it and let it carry him up the ladder.

“I was always a pretty good hitter,” Koperniak said. “Just trying to not put pressure on that, but know that — if anything — my bat could play at each level. So I just knew that if I was going to make it up a couple more levels, I just had to keep hitting.

“I was fortunate enough to keep doing that. Along the way, I definitely got better at all other aspects of the game as well.”

He never had the hype or attention that came with being labeled a top prospect. He didn’t get fast-tracked and pushed aggressively toward the majors.

In 2021, he spent most of the season at Single-A, finished the year at Double-A and then repeated Double-A again in 2022. The next season, he again spent time in both Double-A (33 games) and Triple-A (96 games). Last season, he spent the entire season at Triple-A (122 games).

Last season, he batted .309, clubbed 20 home runs and slugged .512 with an .882 OPS. For his career in the minors, he has slashed .298/.373/.461.

He has just kept hitting, and he has done it with a rather simple focus. He put the process over results.

Instead of statistics, he studied the daily reports from the organization on his swing decisions, evaluating if he swung at good pitches or bad pitches, if did damage on the pitches he put in play.

“It was just sort of trying to take it day to day and focus on getting better at my approach, pitch recognition, stuff like that,” Koperniak said. “Just tried to take it as a work in progress.”

This spring, Koperniak earned his way to big-league camp as a member of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster. At some point this season, he could be called upon to provide reinforcements in the majors.

The third reason that Koperniak getting to the big leagues?

As an undrafted free agent from a tiny Division III school who flew under the radar for a lot of his career in the minors, Koperniak would serve as a fitting salute to now-retired former Cardinals head of player development Gary LaRocque.

The team rightfully underwent a revamping of its player development system this offseason. A big part of that was devoting resources (money, technology and staffing) to the farm system that were sorely lacking.

LaRocque got dealt those cards, and he played them the best he could. Surely, he would have appreciated those upgrades now being put in place. Instead, on his way out, he took some shrapnel for decisions made above his pay grade.

But Koperniak’s success would signify one last winning hand for LaRocque.

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: Jury still out on Ivan Herrera's throwing work but Cardinals need his bat

• Lynn Worthy

St. Louis Cardinals

Worthy: Masyn Winn admits he got home run happy this spring but vows a return to basics

• Lynn Worthy

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: Why Andre Pallante is the Cardinals starting pitcher poised for a big year

• Lynn Worthy

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Ivan Herrera didn’t sound like he regrets playing through arm pain last season. If anything, the Cardinals catcher regretted that he let it slip out last season when he’d gotten an injection to relieve that pain. If he could rewind time, he’d probably keep that tidbit to himself.

This week, Herrera acknowledged those issues when asked. Then, he tried to steer away from the topic.

After all, Herrera knows his difficulty in throwing out runners is the big knock against him, and that has only picked up steam in the past year. Any mention of arm pain would just be low-hanging fruit for those already questioning his ability to handle catching duties.

Herrera, 24, devoted his offseason to addressing his throwing issues — from a physical standpoint as well as in terms of his throwing mechanics.

“All I wanted to do was be ready for the season, have my body in a good position to succeed,” Herrera said while standing a few feet from the team bus Wednesday at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. “I think that’s what I’m doing. I think I put in really good work. I feel 100% for this year.

“There’s a lot of negative stuff out there, but I don’t really focus on that. I know the kind of player I am, and I know I can play in the big leagues.”

Herrera got exposed to a lot of playing time after starting catcher Willson Contreras suffered a broken arm in early May.

As a result, Herrera’s arm also got exposed. He threw out just 4 of 59 attempted base stealers (6.8%) last season. The MLB average last season for throwing out runners was 21%.

During a stint on the injured list for lower back tightness in June, Herrera received an injection for the pain in his throwing arm. While Herrera initially revealed he’d had the injection, he later downplayed the arm issues as the criticism mounted about his poor rate of throwing out base runners.

Now several months removed from the end of last season, surely Herrera might reveal more about just how much the pain impacted his throwing? Perhaps with just a little prodding?

Well, not exactly.

“I’m not here to (make) excuses,” Herrera said politely. “I’m not that guy. All I wanted to do was be there for the team when they needed me. Even putting my arm on the line like that was fine. I would do it again for the team because that’s the kind of player I am. At the end of the day, all I want to do is win and help the team win. That’s what I was trying to do.

“Even when I was playing like that, we were winning a lot. I think when Willson got hurt, we were second-to-last, then we jumped to second place. I feel like I was helping win some games. I was OK with trying to still play like that. Then I hurt my back, and I got sent down. I went back to Triple-A. After that, I came back to the big leagues, and I was better after I got the shot for my arm.”

The reality is that Herrera, the Cardinals minor league player of the year in 2023, hadn’t drawn rave reviews for his throwing arm in the minors. Third-party publications such as Baseball America and rated his throwing arm as fringe-average to a tick above average in 2020. During the 2022 season, he threw out just 18% of base stealers.

Arm pain or not, Herrera’s throwing needed to take a step forward this winter as the Cardinals prepared to fully hand the daily catching reins over to him and Pedro Pages.

That’s where Driveline Baseball entered the picture. The Seattle-based data-driven baseball lab initially gained prominence for its work with pitchers.

This winter, Herrera trained at Driveline’s facility in Tampa, Florida. He got on a throwing program that included throwing weighted balls and a long-toss regimen. The program aimed to improve his arm strength and retool his throwing motion/arm path, and it also built a routine to maintain his arm.

“You learn new things,” Herrera said. “Like I kind of changed the angle I throw because that was making my arm hurt. You learn new stuff there because that’s something related to pitchers, more for arm.

“I don’t think I ever had an issue with my arm like last year. I never struggled to throw guys out until I made it to the big leagues. That was eye-opening for me. Then I went back and worked on it.”

The Cardinals struggled offensively last season, and Herrera can flat swing the bat. He hit throughout the minors. In 96 games in the majors, Herrera has slashed .289/.365/.398. He hits fastballs, breaking balls, off-speed pitches. His bat is potentially a big piece for their lineup.

“He knows who he is offensively, and he does a nice job of putting together professional at-bats,” Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said. “That’s not the concern.”

So did Herrera fix his throwing problems this offseason?

The truth is we’re still waiting to find out. Herrera expressed confidence that the work he put in has paid dividends. Of course, skeptics will likely view his arm as a liability until he proves otherwise. And there are plenty of skeptics.

So far this spring, he has caught 35 innings spread out over seven games. He’s caught one runner stealing and two had successful stolen base attempts against him.

The chances to assess Herrera’s improvement have been “limited,” by Marmol’s own admission.

“He’s working hard at it,” Marmol said. “In the mornings, as far as his weight room stuff, as far as repatterning his throwing and just some of the Plyo balls. He’s got a good routine. Now, it’s a matter of it takes time for it to show. So our hope is that’s exactly what happens.”

St. Louis Cardinals

Worthy: Masyn Winn admits he got home run happy this spring but vows a return to basics

• Lynn Worthy

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: Why Andre Pallante is the Cardinals starting pitcher poised for a big year

• Lynn Worthy

Lynn Worthy

Worthy: Pining for the center field duel that should have been part of Cardinals camp

• Lynn Worthy

JUPITER, Fla. — Back at the hotel for the evening along with his fellow Cardinals minor leaguers also in their first big league spring training, Lars Nootbaar saw his iPhone blink with a new message on the team-use app. He did a double take on the name.

Paul Goldschmidt, the first major league player Nootbaar approached, had buzzed with an apology — and an invitation.

Goldschmidt wrote that he may have hurried his talk with the young outfielder because he had a prior commitment. The All-Star suggested they meet the next day to discuss in greater depth. Nootbaar beamed. (“I was like, ‘I’m in,’” he said, “Let’s go!”) The conversation that happened outside the Cardinals clubhouse back in 2021 gave Nootbaar advice that shapes how he approaches spring four years later, and it gave him the answers to a question asked this past week inside the clubhouse.

Spring box scores can lie. How does a hitter judge a game?

“My first conversation with a big leaguer was Goldy, and the first thing he said was, ‘Where was the pitch that I swung at?’” Nootbaar said. “If it wasn’t in a good spot, I don’t even think about it. That’s a mental mistake. So that’s the checklist that I go through. Where was the pitch? Could I have done something with that pitch? Yes. And now look back at my mechanics.”

Understanding how a hitter judges a spring game — especially a game early in the exhibition schedule — leads to a bigger-picture query for the Cardinals.

How does a team judge an offense?

The Cardinals reached this past week’s off-day with an offense yet to thaw in Florida, and that comes after a season hampered by a lack of thump. Through their first nine spring games, the Cardinals had 50 hits and ranked 30th with a .184 average, a .297 on-base percentage and .316 slugging percentage. The hitters earmarked for the opening day roster had hit .144, and subtract Willson Contreras’ five hits and they hit .112 with a .181 slugging.

Ivan Herrera got his first hit of spring on Wednesday; two Cardinals, Masyn Winn and Michael Siani, entered Thursday looking for their second. The Cardinals were held to five hits in a 12-1 loss Thursday to Washington at Roger Dean Stadium. Contreras had two.

The Dean is a notoriously difficult place to hit (and the Grapefruit League always lags offensively behind the Cactus League). But the fences are in, and opponents play there, too. ÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ” were batting .262. The Nationals rocked 13 hits, including a three-run homer by former Cardinal Paul DeJong.

Manager Oliver Marmol had a two-word take Tuesday on the sluggish statistics.

“Don’t care,” he said.

In the next three games, the Cardinals rapped 27 more hits, and they raised their average as a team to .206, their slugging up to .367.

“Same,” the manager shrugged Thursday when asked if strong numbers changed his view. He expanded: “Guys are working on something. They’re obviously game-planning for that starter taking place, but this is where guys are feeling what they’ve been working on in the offseason and bringing it into play. It takes time. Whether we hit three home runs today or none, doesn’t change the process. Since you asked that question, offense has looked a little different, so ask it more often.”

Marmol gave two specific examples from two young hitters off to the slowest starts of spring. Winn, who entered Thursday’s game 1 for 18, has been working on letting the pitch travel more, to give him more time to see it — a challenge at any point, let alone when his timing is early March rather than mid-May. Nolan Gorman, off to a 3-for-22 spring with eight strikeouts, has been focusing on “dialing in” his swing for the center of the field and eyeing the left-center gap to get more contact and plate coverage, “and (if) there is a hit or a double or a homer comes from it, so be it.”

Sidelined for a week by a knee injury, Jordan Walker stung three line drives in a game this past weekend and was not rewarded for it any of them with a hit. Brant Brown, the Cardinals’ new hitting coach, made sure that Walker celebrated the liners because he had not had three consecutive bolts like that “in a minute.”

As Brant said, there’s more for the hitter than “a plain old box score.”

“Spring training is always difficult to judge,” he said while watching the Cardinals do infield drills Thursday morning. “You have to take it with a grain of salt. I was not really pleased with our offensive performance at the beginning. The past few days have been better, but we also know baseball is always fluid. ... Our main message to players is it’s more about the execution of what you’re trying to do than the results. Because if you properly execute your game plan that is why it’s a game plan — the outcomes are more in your favor. That’s what is really important to me at this stage.”

Brown has placed an emphasis on situational hitting all spring.

Whatever the result, he wants to see the hitter’s approach reflect what is needed in the game — and some of this spring has been spent on education for the situation.

“I think situationally, we can be a little bit better,” Brown said. “Understanding the game and what’s happening in the game and knowing when to be a slugger and when to be a hitter.”

And there are times to be both.

Brand described how he has been talking with Nootbaar and Alec Burleson, two left-handed batters and strike-zone sticklers, about how to approach an at-bat with a runner on second base and the usual demand for a ball in play that nudges the runner to third.

“With Lars and Burly, when there’s a runner for them at second, we’re trying to get them to think, ‘I want to drive them over,’” Brant said, emphasizing the verb — drive. “And then worst-case scenario, you get them over. The best non-home-run play in baseball is the double-double. Trade places.”

The day before Monday’s break in the schedule, Nootbaar connected for a double down the left field line. He tagged a curveball that was over the plate for his first extra-base hit of the spring. Cue the checklist.

The pitch was one to drive.

He got the ball in the air and on a line.

His timing was late, but it’s early March.

“In a perfect world, that ball is in the right-center gap and it’s a sexy double,” Nootbaar said. “I have to understand that my body is in a better position right now to do that. That’s better than rolling over to the right side. After I’m on base or back in the dugout, why did that happen? I revisit what Goldy said.”

Like Nootbaar’s evaluation of his at-bats, so much of spring training happens in the batting cages or on the back fields for hitters that early games can be icebergs — there’s far more beneath the surface.

The Mets, with Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso and $700 million man Juan Soto, are hitting .214 this spring with a .332 on-base percentage. Spring misleads. But more and more becomes apparent as the games grow closer and closer to the regular season. Spring also unfurls in phases. Between off-days, the Cardinals enter this stretch where timing arrives, lifting production with it.

That won’t be measured in agate type.

“Not so much box scores,” Marmol said, “as process.”

St. Louis Cardinals

What's the next 'layer' for Sonny Gray's meticulous approach to spring? Cardinals Extra

• Derrick Goold

St. Louis Cardinals

New rule puts brakes on baserunning gambit Cardinals made famous. Can they find a new path?

• Derrick Goold

St. Louis Cardinals

Goold: Can Cardinals win '23 trade deadline sell-off? Tekoah Roby is readier for his closeup

• Derrick Goold