St. Louis Cardinals Make First Roster Cuts of Spring Training

The St. Louis Cardinals made their first roster cuts of spring training on Saturday morning, optioning catcher Mike Ohlman to Triple-A Memphis and reassigning catchers Steve Bean and Alberto Rosario and pitchers John Gast and Mike Mayers to minor league camp.
Gast, a 26-year-old left-hander, is the only player among the five to have accumulated major-league service time. Gast started three games for the Cardinals in the early part of 2013, going 2-0 with a 5.11 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and a .234 opponent batting average before being sidelined with a shoulder injury that went on to require significant surgery. Gast was sidelined from late May of 2013 to early June of 2014 while recovering from the injury. He pitched in two games this spring, allowing four earned runs on four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings.

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

Mayers, a 23-year-old starter who has spent two years in the Cardinals’ system and played at High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A last season, allowed two earned runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.1 innings spanning three appearances. He figures to fill a rotation spot at Triple-A Memphis to start this year.

The three catchers, Ohlman, Bean, and Rosario, were part of a very crowded group of nine catchers that were invited to spring training With the club also discussing the possibility of trying utility players such as

behind the plate in an attempt to find a new emergency third catcher for the big-league club, it was quite clear that the catchers at the bottom of the depth chart weren’t going to get much of an opportunity to contribute once the club was done with the bullpen sessions en masse that traditionally begin spring training.

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

Though Ohlman, a member of the 40-man roster, was assigned to Triple-A, it would be surprising if he actually begins the season at that level. The Cards have two other catchers on the 40-man,

and

, ticketed for Triple-A this year, and Ohlman struggled to adjust at the plate while playing for the Baltimore Orioles’ Double-A affiliate, so he figures to at least begin the year repeating a level at Double-A Springfield.

Bean, a sandwich pick in the 2012 draft, will likely begin the year at High-A Palm Beach, while the 28-year-old Rosario will probably fill in as needed at both Springfield and Triple-A Memphis.

The Cardinals now have 52 players left in big-league spring training.

Next: Will Carlos Villanueva's Roster Chances be Hurt by his Poor Spring Debut?