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In a change from recent strategy, the St. Louis Cardinals seem open to taking 12 pitchers on the Opening Day roster. What makes this change great?

Roster construction is, in general, consistent among the vast majority of teams in Major League Baseball. That being said, there are a few places that teams can look different than others and the biggest way teams differ comes in the amount of men in the bullpen. For about the last year and a half, the St. Louis Cardinals have carried 13 total pitchers. This is something I have never been a fan of, but it looks like that may be about to change.

In a recent interview during the first day of Spring Training, Cardinals' pitching coach Mike Maddux hinted at the fact that the team may change their approach and take just 12 pitchers (five starters, seven relievers) to Milwaukee to start the year. My initial reaction? Of course, I love it.

The eight man bullpen seemed to be a brain child of former manager Mike Matheny's lack of ability to correctly manage pitchers and it always left one player in the doghouse that rarely pitched.

2018 was the first time in the recent stretch that the Cardinals left Jupiter with 13 pitchers and the pitcher in the doghouse to start the season was the undeserving Mike Mayers. If you remember, Mayers spent last spring lighting the world on fire and went into the last week of spring games without allowing a run for the entire month.

Mayers' spring won him a spot on the Major League roster to start the year, but in an eight man bullpen, there aren't enough innings to go around. That combined with Matheny's managing, and Mayers pitched in just four games over the first month of the season after being the team's best reliever in the spring.

While Mayers' role increased a little due to injuries as the season went on, it always seemed that there was one pitcher who was on the MLB roster who wasted away on the bench.

The other adverse effect of the 13 man pitching staff was the short bench it caused. In 2018, the club left Jupiter with just three extra position players, not counting the backup catcher. Not wanting to use Pena in case of an emergency, the Cardinals were left with just Greg Garcia, Jose Martinez and Yairo Munoz on the bench.

Off the top of my head, I can't specifically remember a game where this short bench bit the Cardinals in the butt, but the Cardinals played in 16 extra inning games in 2018, and the value in having just one more bat to come off the bench in those situations can't be overlooked.

Mike Shildt seems to have a little more of an ability to manage a bullpen, and the fact they are leaning towards a seven man bullpen is amazing in my opinion. While the Cardinals do arguably have more starter/bullpen options then guys to put on the bench, the difference is that the guys that would be on the outside looking in of a seven man bullpen ( Brett Cecil, Chasen Shreve, Luke Gregerson in my opinion) do not provide nearly enough value as the projected bench bats would.

Right now with a five man bench, the Cardinals would have Jedd Gyorko, Yairo Munoz, Jose Martinez, Tyler O'Neill and Francisco Pena (with Drew Robinson in the hunt). So let me ask you. Who would you rather have in St. Louis, Chasen Shreve or Yairo Munoz/Drew Robinson? That question alone I would guess that it would at least be a majority in favor of Munoz, but even more, what if I added that if you picked Shreve, he wouldn't pitch more than four times a month?

The eight man bullpen is just too large to support healthy playing time for every player out there. When Mayers did finally get more involved in 2018, he was not very sharp at all. Not very surprising for a guy who hasn't faced live action in quite some time.

Bench bats are much easier to get into the game and a fifth bench bat provides more value than another pitcher who just goes stale sitting in the bullpen for weeks. Shildt and Maddux have the skill to take advantage of both a seven man bullpen and five man bench, so we should all be happy that we have a coaching staff that doesn't need to handicap themselves and a pitcher by having 13 total pitchers.

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St. Louis Cardinals: A seven man bullpen is best for the Cardinals

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Roster construction is, in general, consistent among the vast majority of teams in Major League Baseball. That being said, there are a few places that teams can look different than others and the biggest way teams differ comes in the amount of men in the bullpen.

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A leader voices their appreciation for the accomplishments of others

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Orchestra conductors different leadership styles

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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