The end of an era is drawing near in St. Louis, and as the Cardinals hope to send at least two franchise icons off on the highest note possible, they’ve formally set their roster for their best-of-three Wild Card series against the Phillies. Here’s how the roster will look as Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols suit up for the final postseason run of their illustrious careers…
Right-Handed Pitchers
- Jack Flaherty
- Giovanny Gallegos
- Ryan Helsley
- Jordan Hicks
- Miles Mikolas (Game 2 starter)
- Andre Pallante
- Adam Wainwright
Left-Handed Pitchers
- Steven Matz
- Jordan Montgomery
- Packy Naughton
- Jose Quintana (Game 1 starter)
- Zack Thompson
Catchers
- Andrew Knizner
- Yadier Molina
Infielders
Outfielders
The Cardinals are without outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who’s been out since mid-September owing to a hamstring strain. He’s been rehabbing and progressing toward a return, and Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that O’Neill will actually plan in this year’s Arizona Fall League to continue rehabbing with an eye toward a hopeful return during the NLDS — assuming the Cardinals advance beyond the first round of play.
All eyes this series will be on Pujols, Molina and Wainwright — a trio of St. Louis icons who’ll hope to add one final World Series ring to their likely Hall of Fame resumes. Molina and Pujols have already announced their intention to retire at season’s end. Wainwright could well give it one more go but has kept his own plans close to the vest.
Regardless, it’s been a remarkable scene for Cardinals fans throughout the season, watching three beloved players reprise their halcyon days from more than a decade ago as they reunited to capture the NL Central crown. Along the way, Pujols rode a late hot streak for the ages into the rarefied air of the 700 home run club, while Molina and Wainwright established a new Major League record for most starts made by a battery. All the while, the Cards received MVP-level play from their infield corners and saw rookies like Nootbaar and Donovan provide a glimpse of what’s to come in the years ahead.
I myself appreciate the little tidbit about legacy, but Wainwright going to the HOF is quite a long shot. I’d like to think given what he’s been for a consistent playoff team is given a factor but he’s not there outside a 4 year stretch of seasons was he elite.
Cards hofer for sure
but elite spanning two decades – 2007-2014
pencil in game 1 cardinals loss with quintana starting.
citizen, the Cardinals lost , but it certainly wasn’t Quintana’s fault. He was terrific.
Good luck to the Cardinals.
If Wainright goes to the Hall of Fame, like the rest of us he’ll need to buy a ticket to get in.
Unless Jerry Reinsdorf gets ‘involved’ again.
Dogbone—-I know you are trolling and I know why you are trolling—but you are dead on about this….Harold Baines’ inclusion into the Hall of Fame set the bar in a very different place for future enshrinement comparisons. Heck, in six less seasons, Placido Polanco had a better WAR than Baines.
mike127, most people will/should view Baines as an exception to the HOF standard, not a new, lower bar for other players to meet. The HOF has a few errors of inclusion and omission, but Baines’ induction should not change anyone’s idea or expectation of what a HOF resume looks like.
I get the feeling the only real chance he has is if they win it all this year and he does retire then he has a chance to make it in on the story of the three of them going in together after one last magical ride. Still not very likely even in that scenario.
Eh, he’s a borderline case. His odds will improve a little if he pitches another year and gets to 200 wins.
@lan i love wanio but atm he is boarder line, but i agree with you one more good year might be the edge he needs for the hof.
Quintana will get rocked.
Quintana actually pitched well in his lone start this year against the Phillies on July 29th and he did a nice job all of September as well against everyone he pitched against. Cardinals have Goldy and Arenado. Should be a good series.
Great information, nostradamus.
What a shame that you can’t delete your comment so you look less like an idiot.
Slider with cheese is that you???
This is embarrassing for the Cardinals, I’m sorry. But starting Game One with Quintana, who the past few seasons has been lost in the wilderness, normally a #5 starter/innings eater.. .a team must have elite starting pitching in the playoffs (or at least one ace!!!!) SMH … how do the Cardinals expect to go anywhere with this rotation?
You were saying??
Quintana has had an excellent year this year, and it’s not like he’s never been this good before in the past. As for the ace, that’s Mikolas going in Game 2.
4 shut out innings so far and has looked great…..
So their #4 can come in and throw 5 1/3 shutout innings and be a great contrast to the hard throwing bullpen guys. Sounds like good managing and teammates that check their ego at the door.
Yadi is a HOFer. Change my mind.
If I had a vote, Molina is in, Wainwright is out. Molina’s body of work stands out to me. Catcher is a defense first position and he got it done both sides of the plate.
All I care is that the circle jerk of Yadi, Waino, and Albert are jettisoned into retirement by Sunday.
Dodgers, Atlanta, Astros and Yankees. The first three in any order and the Yankees fourth. With a healthy Scherzer and DeGrom, Mets could have been in the mix, but Max and Jacob have looked off lately.
I really think the Cards have a really good chance and may go long. There have been postseasons where this team just comes to life and it would be a perfect retirement for the big three.
Gallegos looked shaky again. Yepez stepped up big.
Nootbar isn’t a rookie
Gorman must have continued to struggle after getting to Memphis. I thought there was a chance he would get the nod over Dickerson.
Pretty disappointing. Helsley obviously has something going on physically, but instead of telling someone, he chooses to play the hero.
Yeah, I thought Ollie left him in a bit too long. Seemed pretty apparent he didn’t have his location early on. Still, a lot of things went just wrong enough for the Cards today, and just right enough for the Phillies…
For example, the Phillies had no errors or misplays on defense. The Cards, clearly a superior defensive team, had some baseballs get through the IF that their players have made plays on in the past (specifically the ones that got past Edman & Arenado). They were absolutely base hits & tough plays, but in a “normal” Cardinal day, Nolan and Tommy are making those great plays.
Quintana pitched superlatively. He was lights out. If not for the walks, the Phillies don’t have such a big inning. Cardinals still appear to be the better team, and Nolan crushed that ball that went to the track.
The question is: will Waino be able to match Nola’s pitching? If so, will the ‘pen be a bit more calm? Jordan Hicks was really, really amped up too, it seemed. Tomorrow is another day and they can even it out with one game. I wish them luck…
You’re right Clip. Too early to lose faith. Just a tough, tough way to lose a game. I believe Mikolas goes tonight, not Waino.
I’m surprised Goldschmidt made the roster.
Where are all those mouthy cardinal fans? Choking on something? Your manager is an idiot. Your defense let dribblers through. Your offense was non existent as usual and your closer couldn’t. You’ll win as many playoff games as Oakland but at least they get a good draft pick from their failures. You’ll get nothing and like it. Bums.
I’d love to offer a clever rebuttal, but when you’re right, you’re right. With the exception of Quintana, Yepez, and maybe Noot and Tommy, we sucked today. The ridiculous way we lost is going to make it that much harder to come back from. No way around it.
It is one game too soon to call them out. If you told me before the game Quintana would pitch a shutout and Bullpen would give up half a dozen, I would have doubted you.
Buck you fuddy,
I guess you’re a fan of one of the super teams!
Which is why baseball is so great,you can’t always buy a World Series!
I very rarely disagree w Cards HQ but Paul DeJong still on the roster is indefensible. That’s ridiculous.
Haha! Choked away game 1. Go Phillies. Knock this putrid organization out of the playoffs as the decline of the franchise picks up even more momentum
I didn’t see the game, only the recaps, and I don’t follow the Cardinals closely, so maybe I’m missing something crucial. But sending Helsley out to pitch in the 9th with an injured finger was already a big gamble, and then leaving him out there to face five batters when he was struggling seems to me an insupportable managerial decision.
I was surprised when they fired Schildt, so I have to wonder if Mike did anything equally bad to earn his dismissal.