Which 5 St. Louis Cardinals Non-Roster Invitees Have the Best Chance to Play in the Majors in 2015?

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The Cardinals have a rather serious lack of established righthanded bullpen depth this year. Beyond their top four guys—Trevor Rosenthal, Seth Maness, Jordan Walden, and Matt Belisle—things are uncertain.

Carlos Martinez is in line to become a full-time starter, which would remove him from the bullpen role that he’s served extensively in over the past two years. Veteran Carlos Villanueva is an option, but he has an opt-out in his contract at the end of spring training.

With this in mind, Socolovich, who has has 12 games of big-league experience, all coming as a reliever for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs in 2012, could have a chance to be a depth option if injuries occur in the Cards’ bullpen. Socolovich put together a decent Triple-A performance in 2014, going 2-2 with a 3.64 ERA, 68 strikeouts and 19 walks over 59.1 innings for the Las Vegas 51’s, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets.

While Socolovich isn’t the most exciting option in the world, he at least provides some big-league experience for an organization that lost several of their more seasoned bullpen alternatives, including Jorge Rondon, Eric Fornataro, and David Aardsma, this offseason.

Next: 4. Mitch Harris

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