These Cardinals Could Lose Roster Spots With Early Struggles

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to have some decisions to make in the not-so-distant future if things don't change.

Apr 10, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages (43) at bat against the Boston Red Sox at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images | Tim Vizer-Imagn Images

It wasn't the St. Louis Cardinals' night on Monday.

St. Louis faced off against the Miami Marlins and ended up losing, 5-3. Michael McGreevy got the ball for St. Louis and went 5 2/3 innings while allowing four earned runs, which was a new season-high for the young starter. Matt Svanson took a step in the right direction with a scoreless 1 1/3 innings of work. Ryan Fernandez allowed the fifth Marlins run in one inning of work.

Throughout the contest, Jordan Walker stayed hot and extended his hit streak to 15 games. Masyn Winn continued to find it offensively and went 2-for-3, which raised his slash line up to a respectable .242/.346/.379. Outside of that, there wasn't much else to talk about offensively. The Cardinals collected five base hits and three came from Walker and Winn.

After the loss, the Cardinals are sitting at 13-9 on the season, which is better than the vast majority of the American League. Right now, there are just five teams above .500 in general in the American League and only the New York Yankees are even with the Cardinals right now at 13-9.

While this is the case, there are still guys to watch on the Cardinals' roster who could be at risk of losing their roster spots if things don't turn around soon.

Matt Svanson

Apr 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Matt Svanson (49) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Svanson took a positive step on Monday in what has been an overall negative season. The righty has a 12.00 ERA in 10 appearances. He needs more outings like what he did on Monday or else he's going to put himself at risk of being sent down to Triple-A.

Nathan Church/Thomas Saggese

Apr 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nathan Church (27) jumps to catch a fly ball for an out against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

At some point, the Cardinals are going to have to take a look at left field again. Nathan Church is hitting .208 in 19 games played. Saggese is hitting .191 in 15 games played. At some point, the Cardinals will have to consider Joshua Báez or Nelson Velázquez to replace one of these two guys. Saggese gives you more positional flexibility.

Pedro Pagés

Apr 17, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages (43) runs to first base on a hit during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Pagés is slashing .214/.277/.333 with one homer and five RBIs in 14 games played. Jimmy Crooks has been electric down in Triple-A Memphis. At some point, the Cardinals are going to need to take a look at Crooks and with the way Pagés is playing offensively, that time should come in the very near future, unless he can turn it around, of course.