St. Louis Cardinals Roster
- NL Central
- Stadium
- Busch Stadium
The St. Louis Cardinals signed free-agent left-hander Andrew Suarez to a minor-league deal on Friday that includes a non-roster invitation to major-league spring training. The 30-year-old southpaw pitched in 56 games for the San Francisco Giants from 2018 to 2020 and was an All-Star in the Korean Baseball Organization in 2021. In his three seasons with the Giants, Suarez went 7-15 with a 4.66 ERA (4.60 FIP), 1.36 WHIP and 18.7 percent strikeout rate in 202 2/3 innings over 56 appearances (31 starts). He spent the 2022 season in Japan. Suarez will give the Cardinals both starting and relief depth, but there's a good chance he won't make the Opening Day roster out of spring training.
Free-agent catcher Tres Barrera signed a minor-league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday that includes an invitation to major-league spring training, according to a source. Barrera has spent three major-league seasons with the Washington Nationals, slashing .231/.317/.315 with a .631 OPS, two home runs, 14 RBI and 10 runs scored in 162 plate appearances over 51 games. In 19 games last year, he went 9-for-50 with no homers, four RBI and 16 strikeouts at the plate. The 28-year-old will most likely begin the 2023 campaign in the minors for the Cardinals as catching depth behind Willson Contreras, Andrew Knizner and Ivan Herrera.
St. Louis Cardinals third base prospect Jordan Walker will be given every opportunity to compete for an Opening Day spot this season. Walker, 20, has been a consensus top-10 prospect and has light tower power. With his bat clearly ready to make an impact, Walker will have his first legit chance to show why he has been so highly regarded. Despite being brought up as a third baseman, Walker will be competing for the right field job against Lars Nootbaar with Nolan Arenado securing the hot corner. In Double-A Springfield last season, Walker hit a healthy .306 with 19 dingers and 68 RBI. The 6'5 prospect remains one of the top young hitters in the league and his time could be arriving sooner than expected. Fantasy managers in all formats should be keeping an eye on Walker with his potential to be a Rookie of the Year candidate.
The St. Louis Cardinals and starting pitcher Dakota Hudson avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.65 million deal on Friday. It wasn't a great year for Hudson in 2022. In his return from Tommy John surgery, he recorded a career-high 4.45 ERA (4.34 FIP), 1.45 WHIP and career-low 13.1 percent strikeout rate in 139 2/3 innings over 27 appearances (26 starts). Heading into his sixth season with the Cardinals, Hudson is in line to open the 2023 campaign in the bullpen, limiting his fantasy appeal in deeper formats. He should eventually see some time in the rotation, but he's gone over 139 innings just one in his career and will have limited fantasy upside.
The St. Louis Cardinals and left-hander Jordan Montgomery avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $10 million deal, according to a source. Montgomery came to St. Louis at last year's trade deadline from the New York Yankees. He had a combined 9-6 record with a 3.48 ERA (3.61 FIP), 1.09 WHIP and 21.8 percent strikeout rate in 178 1/3 innings over 32 starts. The 30-year-old southpaw figures to be a key piece in St. Louis' rotation moving forward, and he'll have more fantasy appeal pitching in the National League Central division instead of the brutal American League East. Montgomery went 6-3 with a 3.11 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in his 11 starts for the Red Birds to close out 2022.
