4 Cardinals spring training heroes who won’t make Opening Day roster
The St. Louis Cardinals will be an interesting team to watch this season, coming off of an abysmal 71-91 campaign. Their lineup is stout and their bullpen is improved, but their starting rotation remains a major Achilles heel.
Sonny Gray was signed to be the ace of their staff, but he's dealing with a hamstring injury. Hopefully, he won't miss too much time, but his Opening Day status is in question. As for the rest of the rotation, there isn't much else to write home about.
Despite their rotation concerns, the Cardinals hope to contend in what looks like a rather weak NL Central division without a clear frontrunner. Their roster certainly is capable of winning now if things click in their favor, but with exciting prospects in the pipeline and fun young players on the roster, the Cardinals can sustain their success.
These four players might not make the Opening Day roster, but can contribute as soon as this season while really helping St. Louis down the line.
4) Jose Fermin can be up with the Cardinals in short order
Jose Fermin is not a high-end prospect. He's spent seven seasons in the minors and has just a .717 OPS to show for it. However, this past season, Fermin posted an improved .761 OPS in the minors thanks in large part to an .843 OPS in 20 games for AAA Memphis.
Fermin's impressive, but short minor league stint combined with the Cardinals being out of contention and needing reinforcements, led to the team promoting him on several occasions.
The 24-year-old only appeared in 21 games for the Cardinals and struggled offensively, posting a .594 OPS. Despite that, he survived the offseason without being DFA'd despite several additions being made by the Cardinals, and has swung a hot bat this spring.
Fermin has nine hits in 27 at-bats in 15 games played this spring. He's drawn three walks and has seen time at both third base and shortstop. He'll be stuck behind veterans Matt Carpenter and Brandon Crawford for now, but if those two players struggle or if the Cardinals deal with an injury, Fermin might be called up before we know it.