Carlos Villanueva Will Open Season on St. Louis Cardinals’ 25-Man Roster
The St. Louis Cardinals took another step towards finalizing their 25-man Opening Day roster on Monday morning, as manager Mike Matheny informed veteran righthander Carlos Villanueva that he would be part of the team’s bullpen to open the season. Villanueva, who has spent time with the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago Cubs, had been fighting for a job as a non-roster invitee in spring training.
In retrospect, it’s easy to assume that the Cardinals planned on Villanueva being on the Opening Day roster all along. They never filled the 40th slot on the 40-man roster, meaning that there was no consequence in terms of having to remove a player from the 40-man if Villanueva made the roster as a non-roster invitee. In addition, the 31-year-old Villanueva qualified for MLB’s special provisions for players on minor-league deals by virtue of him having ended last season on the Chicago Cubs’ big-league roster. Under this provision, Villanueva was required to receive a March 31 opt-out, and if the Cardinals chose to keep him in the organization but not on the major-league roster, they would have been required to pay him a $100,000 retention bonus. Many teams have skirted around this rule in recent years by releasing the player and then re-signing them to a minor-league deal after the season starts, but in the majority of situations like Villanueva’s, the player is going to be given at least a fighting chance to make the opening roster if they’re going to be given a contract at all.
More from St. Louis Cardinals
- St. Louis Cardinals: Randal Grichuk to begin Double-A rehab stint
- John Brebbia deserves a shot as the St. Louis Cardinals’ closer
- St. Louis Cardinals place Randal Grichuk on DL, recall José Martínez
- St. Louis Cardinals release RHP Corey Baker from organization
- St. Louis Cardinals activate Kolten Wong and Kevin Siegrist from DL, option Luke Weaver and Alex Mejia to Triple-A
Villanueva certainly didn’t earn the spot based on his spring training performance alone, as he went 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and .298 opponent batting average over 11 innings spanning seven appearances. Granted, Villanueva did make four scoreless appearances, but in his first and last ones–generally the ones where the greatest impression is made–he pitched poorly and took the loss both times.
Villanueva’s case may have been helped by the fact that projected fifth starter Jaime Garcia will start the season on the disabled list with the same shoulder soreness that has kept him off the mound for much of the past three seasons. Other than the obvious fact that another spot on the pitching staff is opened, Villanueva provides highly-coveted starting depth, as he’s made 76 big-league starts over nine seasons. With Garcia on the shelf, the Cardinals’ starting options were rather limited beyond their top four and prospects Carlos Martinez and Marco Gonzales, who are competing for the fifth spot. By keeping Villanueva around, they have an extra option should they experience a multitude of injuries in the rotation, which isn’t that far-fetched considering that Adam Wainwright and Lance Lynn dealt with spring training injuries, while Michael Wacha is coming back from a scary 2014 shoulder injury that was at one point thought to be potentially career-ending.
More from Arch Authority
- St. Louis Cardinals: Randal Grichuk to begin Double-A rehab stint
- John Brebbia deserves a shot as the St. Louis Cardinals’ closer
- St. Louis Cardinals place Randal Grichuk on DL, recall José Martínez
- St. Louis Cardinals release RHP Corey Baker from organization
- St. Louis Cardinals activate Kolten Wong and Kevin Siegrist from DL, option Luke Weaver and Alex Mejia to Triple-A
With Villanueva officially in the fold, it means that the loser of the fifth starter competition (presumably Gonzales, considering that Martinez is making a Grapefruit League start on Wednesday) will likely begin the season with Triple-A Memphis. The only exception to that could be if the team decides to operate with a short bench to open the season and option backup outfielder Peter Bourjos to Memphis.