Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
5.Miguel Socolovich, RHP
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, andMatt Belisle—things are uncertain.
Carlos Martinezis 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. VeteranCarlos Villanuevais 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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