Cardinals Option Anthony Misiewicz To Memphis; 40 Players Still In Camp

CARDINALS OPTION MISIEWICZ TO MEMPHIS (AAA)

40 PLAYERS REMAIN IN MAJOR LEAGUE SPRING CAMP

JUPITER, Fla., March 23, 2023 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have optioned left-handed pitcher Anthony Misiewicz to the Memphis (AAA) roster, reducing the number of the players on the Spring Training camp roster to 40 with one week remaining until Opening Day on Thursday, March 30.

Today’s transaction leaves 30 Major League roster players and 10 non-roster invitees on the Spring Training camp roster.

— STL —

Misiewicz was competing for a lefty bullpen spot; instead, he’ll be in Memphis. Zack Thompson, Packy Naughton, Genesis Cabrera, Andrew Suarez, and JoJo Romero remain in camp (or returning from the World Baseball Classic).

At this point, Thompson is a lock; he’s hasn’t given up a run in 9.1 innings this spring. Non-roster pitcher Suarez has been just as good, going scoreless in 8.0 innings. Both have put up good strikeout, walk, and hit rates.

Cabrera has been solid and might be more of lock then Suarez since he’s already on the 40-man. I expect Cabrera to get a longer look this week since he’s back from the WBC.

I’m expecting that Naughton and Romero are probably going down to the minors, and one could lose their 40-man spot in favor of Suarez. The 40-man is sitting at 39 players, but you have to expect at this point that the spot is there for Jordan Walker.

The team also revealed this morning that Adam Wainwright will start the season on the IL with a groin strain; he was injured in the weight room (and not the WBC). While Matthew Liberatore might be the pick for fans to replace Wainwright, I’m expecting that they use Jake Woodford. Liberatore has already been optioned to Memphis, and Woodford has been lights out (2.04 ERA, 1.02 WHIP in 17.2 innings).