Cardinals Reduce Camp Roster to 55

CARDINALS REDUCE CAMP ROSTER TO 55; SIX PLAYERS OPTIONED OR RE-ASSIGNED TO MINORS

JUPITER, Fla., March 22, 2022 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have optioned or re-assigned six players to their minor league camp, reducing the number of players in Major League camp to 55.

The team optioned pitcher Brandon Waddell to the Memphis (AAA) roster and re-assigned pitcher Trent Baker, first baseman Luken Baker, infielders Delvin Perez and Jordan Walker and catcher Pedro Pages to minor league camp.

— STL —

No real surprises here. Luken Baker is probably the closest of the re-assigned players to being ready; they don’t have much of a roster spot for him with Paul Goldschmidt at first and the group of Corey Dickerson, Juan Yepez, and Lars Nootbaar seeing time at DH.

As a fan, I’d love to see more of Luken, Perez, and Walker in games, but they will still be thrown in occasionally; the move gets them more reps with the teams they’ll be playing on while working with instructors more. Walker is going to get his shot in the next couple of years; I’m more curious about what Perez will become in the long run.

Waddell could end up being DFAed if anyone needs to be added to the 40-man (whether someone in camp or someone acquired soon).