{"id":167035,"date":"2026-03-20T15:16:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=167035"},"modified":"2026-03-20T15:16:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:16:01","slug":"cardinals-narrow-bullpen-competition-for-opening-day-option-milb-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=167035","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals Narrow Bullpen Competition for Opening Day, Option MiLB Signing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"overflow-hidden\" data-lead-image=\"true\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full\" title=\"Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_5724,h_3219\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_cardinals\/01km2x0k92c0btnpf1c1.jpg\" alt=\"Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images\" width=\"5724\" height=\"3219\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 mt-4 text-grey font-group-tiny\" data-lead-image=\"true\">Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\">The St. Louis Cardinals still have some open spots on their Opening Day roster for 2026. The team optioned right-hander Richard Fitts to Triple-A Memphis, effectively setting their rotation to start the season, but the bullpen competition remains open.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\">However, that too has narrowed a little bit. St. Louis has four pitchers competing for the last bullpen spot. Matt Pushard, Chris Roycroft, Gordon Graceffo and George Soriano are vying for the last available role.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\">According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, right-hander Scott Blewett, who was also competing for a spot in the bullpen, was reassigned to minor league camp, though Goold mentions that he will still be available out of the &#8216;pen for the rest of Grapefruit League play.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-3\">Cardinals option Scott Blewett<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3244,h_1824\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_cardinals\/01km2xgfg8e71n0zbsm9.jpg\" alt=\"Orioles\" \/>Jul 5, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Scott Blewett (67) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the sixth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\">Blewett was signed to a minor league contract late in the offseason. The 29-year-old right-hander is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in six spring training appearances.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\">The Cardinals still have a lot of options for the final spot in their bullpen, but the picture is becoming much clearer. Blewett has performed well, but ultimately, the Cardinals still have a lot of competition and need to narrow it down before they break camp on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\">Soriano might be the favorite to land the final spot, but there is still a little time left to determine who will come away with it.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\">Blewett is at the very least a solid depth option for St. Louis. In case of an injury, he could be brought back up to the majors to fill a spot in the bullpen.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\">The 29-year-old has pitched for the Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles, so he has bounced around quite a bit, but he is a good piece for the Cardinals to have in their system in case something goes wrong.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\">It will certainly be interesting to see how the Cardinals&#8217; bullpen competition shakes out over the next couple of days leading up to the end of Grapefruit League play. The picture is becoming clearer with just a few days left to decide who will take the final spot in the &#8216;pen.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\">The rebuilding Cardinals are fortunate to at least have a lot of pitching depth in their system, and Blewett is still a viable option in the event that an injury takes place and forces the Cardinals to dig into their depth to replace somebody for a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-167035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cardinals Narrow Bullpen Competition for Opening Day, Option MiLB Signing - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=167035\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardinals Narrow Bullpen Competition for Opening Day, Option MiLB Signing - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. 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