5 St. Louis Cardinals who don’t deserve to make the 40-man roster
By Tim Boyle
Why James Naile doesn’t deserve a spot on the Cardinals 40-man roster
James Naile is depth for the Cardinals and not much else. In his 9 big league innings for them last year, Naile surrendered 5 earned runs, including a pair of home runs. It was actually the first time he reached the MLB level after making his professional debut way back in 2015.
Diving into his minor league numbers, it’s easy to see why Naile never did get a shot with the Oakland Athletics. Working mostly as a starter, he was unable to excel at preventing runs. He made the switch to a reliever in 2021 and the results have been better.
Naile is not a high-strikeout pitcher, but he does have decent control. These are observations from his time in the minor leagues. We haven’t seen enough of him in the majors to know exactly how he will translate.
If Naile does make it to Opening Day on the Cardinals 40-man roster, he’ll do so with his future on the line immediately. Already 29 years old, St. Louis would serve themselves better with a more proven reliever or giving a shot to one of the kids.
Expect Naile to maybe get a few innings at some point this season. He does have minor league options remaining but so do many other relievers on the 40-man roster. It should come down to performance.