Cardinals Reduce Spring Roster To 41 By Sending 5 To Minor League Camp

Cardinals Reduce Spring Roster To 41

Five Players Re-Assigned To Minor League Camp

JUPITER, Fla., March 21, 2024 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that the team has reduced its Spring Training roster to 41 players, sending five players to their minor league camp.

The team re-assigned the following non-roster players to their minor league camp:  RHP Kyle Leahy, RHP Wilking Rodriguez, catchers Nick Raposo and Wade Stauss, and outfielder Matt Koperniak.

The team currently has 38 Major League roster players and three non-roster invitees remaining in its Major League camp.

— STL —

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Just as the last few announcements, no surprises here.

Rodriguez would have been a nice story as a Rule V guy who got hurt and was not wanted by the Yankees (the Cardinals had to offer him back); he was in camp as a minor league signee with an invite. A strong start at Memphis could get him a shot later in the season pending an MLB injury.

The catchers continue to be sent down as more pitchers are going down.

Koperniak is a solid prospect, but more in line with a 4th/5th outfielder type at the MLB level. He could get a Richie Palacios type look late in the season, if there is an injury or the team is playing that badly.

The 3 remaining non-roster players are infielders Cesar Prieto and Thomas Saggese, and outfielder Victor Scott II. I still think it’s a long shot that any of the 3 break camp with the Cardinals; they remind me of Masyn Winn last spring – guys who are putting on a good show and getting their names out there, but could be late season call ups when they get some Triple A time under their belts.