A Few Questions This Spring

Already cleaned up and changed from playing catch earlier, Jaime Garcia gave a thumbs up and said things were “good, really good” as he departed the St. Louis Cardinals training complex at Roger Dean Stadium on Thursday afternoon. Garcia, who along with the rest of the team’s pitchers and catchers officially reported for Spring Training, is among the handful of questions the Cardinals will hope to answer over the next few weeks.

Question 1. The Rotation

If healthy, St. Louis should again have one of the top rotations in the National League, but there are a couple of lingering issues.

Adam Wainwright underwent a surgical procedure to cleanup his elbow during the off-season and Michael Wacha missed a good portion of last year due to a scapular stress reaction. Both have already thrown during informal sessions.

Lance Lynn and John Lackey are being counted on for the middle of the rotation.

Carlos Martinez and Marco Gonzales will compete for a spot in the rotation, but neither have yet to pitch a full season as a starter in the big leagues.

Garica, who is coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, is an unknown quantity at this point.

Free agent signee Carlos Villanueva, who also reported late Thursday afternoon, could fill the role as a swingman to make a spot start or provide long relief. Tyler Lyons and Tim Cooney could also be internal options if necessary.

Question 2. Fourth Outfielder

There are several roster variations Mike Matheny and John Mozeliak could ultimately decide upon, but going into camp Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, and Jason Heyward are the starting outfielders. Peter Bourjos, Randal Grichuk, and Stephen Piscotty–along with Tommy Pham would like to be the fourth. All four bat right-handed, but to what degree the team would be comfortable with the three latter names sitting on the bench instead of playing everyday is not fully clear.

Question 3. Utility Role

The candidates are known: Dean Anna, Greg Garcia, Pete Kozma, and Ty Kelly. All four are versatile infielders that will be competing to come off the bench for the Cardinals in 2015. 31-year old Scott Moore, who can play several positions and hit 15 homeruns at Memphis last year, also could draw some attention.

But with the projected eight everyday starters known–and Tony Cruz and Mark Reynolds having a spot, how the Cardinals choose to use the remaining spots is up for grabs.

Question 4. Reduced Workloads

Similar the last couple of seasons, the workload for Yadier Molina and Holliday has been brought up. This year the innings for Adam Wainwright has been added to the mix. Mozeliak and Matheny have acknowledged there might be a need to address the topic–in particular with Wainwright and Molina, but no formal plan has yet to be introduced.

Due to injury, Molina, who turns 33 in July, caught 931.2 innings last season–his lowest total since 2007.

Wainwright has thrown 468.2 innings over the last two seasons. The 35-year old Holliday played 1280.2 innings last season, 130 more than the previous year.

None of those stats include the extended runs in the postseason.

Expectedly, both Holliday and Wainwright have downplayed the notion for more rest.

And so the answer to the above questions officially begins to be answered tomorrow, as the pitchers and catchers will have their first workout.