MARCH 2 • MLB.COM
Cards prospect Mathews reassigned to Minors after 'phenomenal' showing JUPITER, Fla. -- As impressed as the Cardinals were with Quinn Mathews’ fiery competitiveness and his electric stuff on the mound over the p...
Ex-Cardinals Pitching Prospect Criticizes Team's Player Development System The St. Louis Cardinals did not accomplish anything this offseason. They promised their fans a reset, which many assumed would include tradi...
MARCH 2 • SI.COM
Josh Bell - Socks first spring homer Bell went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.
Impact Bell took Miles Mikolas deep in the first inning for his first long ball of the spring. The 32-year-old slugger is expected to be the regular DH for the Nationals this season while backing up Nathaniel Lowe at first base, and Bell posted the best numbers of his career during his first stint with Washington in 2021-22, slashing .278/.363/.483 over 247 games with 41 homers and 145 RBI.
MARCH 2 • ROTOWIRE
Michael Soroka - Sparkling spring debut Soroka walked one and struck out three over three scoreless, no-hit innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.
Impact Facing a St. Louis lineup that featured a number of likely Opening Day starters, Soroka got Willson Contreras to ground into a double play to end the first inning before including Nolan Gorman and Pedro Pages among his strikeout victims over his final two frames. Soroka is attempting to prove he can still be an effective big-league starting pitcher after finishing 2024 in the bullpen for the White Sox, signing a one-year, $9 million prove-it deal with the Nats in December. The double-play grounder might have been a better sign on that front than the Ks -- during his one outstanding campaign in 2019 with Atlanta, Soroka recorded a 51.2 percent groundball rate, a mark that sunk to 40.3 percent last season.
MARCH 2 • ROTOWIRE
Get to know Nats prospect Orlando Ribalta This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it...
MARCH 2 • MLB.COM
Quinn Mathews - Misses out on Opening Day rotation The Cardinals reassigned Mathews to minor-league camp Sunday.
Impact Though Mathews is regarded as one of St. Louis' top pitching prospect, he was always facing an uphill battle to win a spot in the Opening Day rotation after having made just four starts above the Double-A level. The 24-year-old southpaw should still make his MLB debut at some point in 2025, but for now, the Cardinals will send him to minor-league camp to open up more innings in Grapefruit League play for other rotation candidates. He'll continue to stay in a starter's schedule at minor-league camp, with Rob Rains of StLSportsPage.com noting that Mathews will cover three innings Sunday in a game on the back fields.
MARCH 2 • ROTOWIRE
James Wood - Getting another start at DH Wood (quadricep) will serve as the Nationals' designated hitter and No. 4 batter in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros.
Impact The Nationals' initial lineup featured Josh Bell at DH, but that was apparently a clerical error. Wood will end up starting, as expected, after he made his spring debut Friday before getting Saturday off. Wood has been slowed during spring training due to left quad tendinitis, but he was cleared to participate in defensive drills during the past week and should soon resume making starts in the outfield.
MARCH 2 • ROTOWIRE
