LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. • The Cardinals’ pitching plans are coming into focus as the season opener nears, and for now they project spring standout John Gant as quality insurance for the rotation. He’s headed for starts at Class AAA Memphis, not toward the bullpen in St. Louis.
“He should be a starter,” manager Mike Matheny said of Gant on Saturday before the Cardinals beat the Braves 3-0 at Champion Stadium.
“He’s still fighting, showing what he can do (out of the bullpen),” Matheny said. “But he has plenty of weapons to be a starter, and he’s improved a great deal in my mind, to where he should be in that conversation of a guy we go to if we needed help.