It appears four of the Cardinals’ starters will be Jack Flaherty, Kwang Hyun Kim, Adam Wainwright and Miles Mikolas. That, in theory, leaves one spot open although, since pitchers did not throw many innings in the 60-game season of 2020, teams early in the season may employ two starters in the same game.
Carlos Martinez still is on hand and there will be a handful of pitchers who could be conditioned as starters for the Cardinals but could end up as relievers, but Ryan Helsley won’t be one of them. Helsley, who hasn’t started in the majors anyway but did so in the minors, will be slotted in the Cardinals’ bullpen this spring, manager Mike Shildt said Thursday in a Zoom from Jupiter, Florida.