JUPITER, Fla. — The Cardinals have the order of their first turn of the starting rotation, and a lot more.
Among the topics manager Oli Marmol addressed before Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals . . .Â
The Cardinals' rotation will start the season in this order: Miles Mikolas, Zack Thompson, Lance Lynn, Steven Matz, Kyle Gibson. That means Lance Lynn is starting the Cardinals home opener against the Marlins. Matz and Gibson will start spring training's final two exhibitions against the Cubs in Arizona.
Outfielder Michael Siani has made the opening-day roster. That leaves one final bullpen piece to decide before the opening day roster is finalized. The final decision there could come in Arizona.
Outfielder Lars Nootbaar (ribs) will begin swinging today, likely with some sort of soft toss. Marmol called this a significant step for Nootbaar, who had been limited to tracking pitches without swinging.
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Outfielder Victor Scott II, who was sent to minor league camp on Saturday, will not play in the team's final exhibition games. Marmol said he thinks Scott will help the Cardinals in the majors soon, then sharpened that point to say this season.
Last season Marmol made a point to play his opening-day lineup as camp closed. He warned against assuming Saturday's lineup, found below, is a lock for opening day. The order and who is in it could still change some. It won't be my much if it does.
Prospect infielder Thomas Saggese remains in camp so the Cardinals can get a continued look at him during a strong spring performance.
Matthew Liberatore will pitch out of the bullpen on Saturday as he shifts gears from rotation candidate to reliever.
Saturday's lineup against the Nationals
1. Brendan Donovan, LF
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
3. Nolan Gorman, 2B
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Willson Contreras, C
6. Matt Carpenter, DH
7. Jordan Walker, RF
8. Dylan Carlson, CF
9. Masyn Winn, SS
Opening-day bench
OF Alec Burleson, INF Brandon Crawford, C Ivan Herrera, OF Michael Siani
Rotation, in orderÂ
Miles Mikolas, RHP
Zack Thompson, LHP
Lance Lynn, RHP
Steven Matz, LHP
Kyle Gibson, RHP
Bullpen . . . mostlyÂ
RHP Ryan Helsley
RHP Giovanny Gallegos
RHP Andrew Kittredge
RHP Riley O'Brien
LHP JoJo Romero
LHP Matthew Liberatore
Battling for final two spots: RHP Andre Pallante, RHP Ryan Fernandez, LHP John KingÂ
(Marmol has praised Pallante's strong spring often toward the end of camp. King is absent from camp Saturday due to a stomach bug. Friday's rainout complicated pitcher evaluations as well.)
Injured List
OF Lars Nootbaar (ribs) . . . Nootbaar was expected to start swinging on Saturday.
OF/INF Tommy Edman (wrist)
RHP Sonny Gray (hamstring) . . . Gray pitches in a minor league game at 12:30 p.m on Saturday.
RHP Keynan Middleton (forearm)