JUPITER, Fla. -- Victor Scott II is on the Cardinals' Opening Day roster for a second straight year, but this time around, he feels much better prepared to hit MLB pitching following an offseason of work and an impressive Spring Training.
Left-handed pitcher Matthew Liberatore also made it again, but this time around, there is more certainty to his role on the team, and he is confident that will make him much more effective as a starting pitcher.
As for longtime Cardinals Minor Leaguers Luken Baker and Chris Roycroft, they couldn¡¯t help but reflect on the long and winding roads that put them in positions to make their first MLB Opening Day roster.
A St. Louis squad trying to deftly straddle the line between providing opportunities for its young core players and pushing to win behind several established veterans pared down its final roster on Sunday for Thursday¡¯s Opening Day at Busch Stadium.
Scott, who slugged his way onto the roster with four Spring Training homers, made it and so did fellow center fielder Michael Siani. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol stressed that the 24-year-old Scott is the starter in center field and the club is hopeful that he will stay as aggressive at the plate as he was in Spring Training, when he was one of the team¡¯s most productive hitters.
¡°I think the simple answer for me is a lot,¡± Scott said when asked how much more prepared he feels for the 2025 season after making it in '24 largely because of injuries and being shuttled between St. Louis and Triple-A Memphis five times.
¡°I¡¯ve been here before, and I know how to go about my work and be more intentional about it. ¡ A lot of the failures I had, I took them to heart. I looked at myself and asked, ¡®How can I get better?¡¯ The product [everyone] saw during Spring Training and [everyone] will see during the season is that of a different player.¡±
Liberatore, a reliever much of this spring and someone who thrived in that role in 2024, returns to the starting staff -- the position he was in throughout the '22 and '23 seasons. The Cardinals returned the 25-year-old Liberatore to the rotation even though his success in MLB as a reliever (3-3, 3.89 ERA) has been markedly better than as a starter (5-9, 5.86 ERA). He already knows that teams will likely load lineups with right-handers, hitters who have caused him problems upon having to face them multiple times as a starter. Righties have hit .292 with an OPS of .878 against Liberatore at the Major League level, while lefties have hit just .218 with an OPS of .576.
¡°The things that I worked on [over the winter] are things that are going to help me get outs as a pitcher,¡± Liberatore said. ¡°That cutter was a new addition for me last year and I picked it up pretty quickly. There were some usage things that if I got a better command or a better feel, I could explore.
¡°Also, it¡¯s been about developing something that moved [inside] when facing right-handed hitters. I¡¯ve thrown changeups more this spring and I¡¯ve had better action on it, so those are some of the things I¡¯ve worked on.¡±
Starting Liberatore meant moving veteran left-hander Steven Matz into a bullpen role, which he will likely remain until April 16, when off-days lessen and he will return to the starting staff, Marmol said. Liberatore¡¯s promotion also meant No. 11 prospect Michael McGreevy -- 3-0 in four MLB games in 2024 and a 1.08 ERA with 12 strikeouts and no walks over 16 2/3 innings this spring -- will start the season with Memphis.
¡°Sometimes we focus on Opening Day and the start of the season, but a different way to do it than [Liberatore] just going to the bullpen and then [an injury happens] and you¡¯re tapping into McGreevy is this allows for some flexibility,¡± said Marmol, whose staff also decided to keep Kyle Leahy and Roycroft on the roster as relievers. ¡°Matz and [Liberatore] are going to be stretched out [as starters], and you have some protection with McGreevy starting in Memphis. It was a hard choice because McGreevy was very effective, and he had a good camp. He¡¯s going to come up and help us, but this allows for one more layer of protection.¡±
Baker, 28, made his first Opening Day roster after six seasons and 576 games in the Minor Leagues, while Roycroft will see an MLB Opening Day for the first time after clawing his way through both independent leagues and the Minors.
¡°I look back on all the mental things I had to go through throughout all the years of, ¡®When in the world is it going to happen? How is it going to happen?¡¯¡± Baker said. ¡°Yeah, I was able to reflect.¡±