Cardinals Projected to Cut Ties with 3-Year Veteran Amid Roster Crunch

Turnover has been the theme of the offseason for the St. Louis Cardinals, and that means even if this team isn't expected to be a contender this year, competition is about to heat up internally.

Everyone wants to prove they're worthy of a roster spot moving forward, and the infield will be particularly tough to crack coming out of spring training. To this point, the Cardinals have yet to trade All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan, so the younger, less established infielders are in for a battle.

Shortstop Masyn Winn and second baseman/designated hitter Nolan Gorman are virtual locks, as is Alec Burleson at first base. That leaves superstar prospect JJ Wetherholt competing with Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermín for two final spots.

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Can Jose Fermín make the team?

On Thursday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News Democrat projected St. Louis' opening day roster, and predicted that Fermín would be the odd man out, which would force the Cardinals to designate him for assignment at the end of spring training.

"Perhaps the toughest decision is between Saggese and José Fermín for the last bench spot," Jones wrote. Fermín is out of options, and against the odds, the Cardinals have so far avoided putting him on waivers.

"Donovan’s presence also means fewer at-bats for whichever player makes the team, increasing the odds Saggese is instead sent to Memphis for regular playing time. Saggese, though, has been mentioned as part of the solution at third; Fermín has not, so Saggese keeps his spot for now."

Fermín, 26, has appeared in 96 games for the Cardinals over the last three years and batted .220 with a .600 OPS. Talent-wise, it's no competition between him and Saggese, so the real question is whether the Cardinals care enough to keep Fermín in the organization to risk Saggese not getting major league playing time.

The saving grace for Fermín, of course, would be Donovan getting traded at some point between now and the end of spring training. At that point, assuming the Cardinals chose to still carry six infielders, which is pretty standard these days, there wouldn't be any obvious names he'd be competing with anymore.

And if all either Fermín or Saggese is going to do is ride the bench five days out of six, maybe it's not the worst idea to send the latter to Triple-A for consistent playing time.

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