Time to play St. Louis Cardinals manager. Who’s in your 2022 opening day lineup?

The reverberations that came in the wake of Albert Pujols’s decision to re-join the St. Louis Cardinals weren’t felt only throughout the fan base and in the team’s ticket sales office.

Pujols isn’t a novelty act; he’s a competitive baseball player whose presence on the roster introduces new complications that are already being seen as the Cardinals kick off their last week before opening day.

Projecting the members of that opening day roster provides a window into how the team is likely to approach the season strategically, but also reflects the reality of injuries and the development curve. It should also be kept in mind MLB has yet to officially announce rosters will be expanded to 28 players for the season’s first month, but that expectation is the going consideration around the game.

Both Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes will begin the season on the injured list, but the Cardinals will need contributions from both throughout the season if they are to realize their full potential. Neither Nolan Gorman nor Matt Liberatore will make the team out of camp, but both should be expected to make contributions in the majors at some time over the next six months. The season is long and frequently non-linear.

Projected catchers (2)

Yadier Molina, Andrew Knizner

The easiest spot to project on the roster is the one that only had questions attached regarding whether Molina would report to camp on time and in good enough shape to be a contributor on opening day. He did; he is.

Projected infielders (6)

Paul Goldschmidt, Tommy Edman, Paul DeJong, Nolan Arenado, Albert Pujols, Edmundo Sosa

This is the group which was most directly impacted by Pujols’s arrival and which has changed shape most drastically over the last week. At the dawn of camp, Juan Yepez, who was on the wild card game roster in 2021, was a near-lock to make the team as its primary right-handed designated hitter. His pedestrian showing at the plate – and troublesome looks in the field — might’ve heightened the push for Pujols, but certainly showed that he could benefit from additional development time at Triple-A.

Brendan Donovan started last season at High-A Peoria and will likely start this season as the 29th man on a 28-man roster, enduring the ignominy of being the last player cut. He’s shown proficiency at five defensive positions and offers a lefty look off the bench that might’ve also had its own place if not for the mid-camp addition of Corey Dickerson.

DeJong has had the kind of resurgent offensive spring that the Cardinals had in mind when they forcefully declared shortstop as his job to lose and circled their wagons around his rebound. Sosa, having a perfectly cromulent spring of his own, has (by design) received limited chances to impress.

Projected outfielders (5)

Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader, Dylan Carlson, Corey Dickerson, Lars Nootbaar

All that’s left to determine about the starting outfield is how much Bader and O’Neill end up being paid through the arbitration process and whether Carlson begins the season as the team’s leadoff hitter. Manager Oliver Marmol has said Carlson’s placement might have less to do with his production and more to do with the team’s need, and Edman’s slow spring probably means they need Carlson at the top.

Nootbaar is likely to suffer some downstream effects from Pujols’s signing as well, as Pujols’s at bats as a designated hitter are likely to take away at least a few opportunities from Dickerson, who might then in turn snag some time in the outfield from Nootbaar. He’ll need to show he can keep himself ready in rare chances, and fans ought not be shocked and outraged if he has spells of time at Memphis to stay sharp.

Dickerson arrived at camp proclaiming his excitement at facing live pitching for the first time in many months. The Cardinals would likely prefer his next step entails hitting a couple balls over the heads of opposing infielders.

Projected starting pitchers (5)

Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Dakota Hudson, Drew VerHagen

The Cardinals — and here they would prefer I knock as loudly as possible on a forest full of trees — have made it thus far through spring with only one injury to a starting pitcher. They have little to no more give on that front.

The race for the fifth starter’s job was defined early by Jake Woodford’s incumbency but more lately by Occam’s Razor. If VerHagen is to be the only candidate for the slot to actually start a game in spring training, then that would suggest he’s going to be the pitcher in the rotation when the season opens.

Projected bullpen (10)

Giovanny Gallegos, Génesis Cabrera, TJ McFarland, Nick Wittgren, Aaron Brooks, Ryan Helsley, Kodi Whitley, Jake Woodford, Jordan Hicks, Blake Parker

The group of 10 likely to make up the season opening bullpen is listed here in rough order of their likelihood to break with the club, with both Hicks and Parker somewhat questionable due to the team’s conservative rehab schedule (Hicks) and a late signing and arrival to camp (Parker).

With likely 15 pitchers on the roster to start the season, it’s strange to imagine the club carrying only two left-handed relievers, and yet the reassignment of Kyle Ryan to minor league camp on Wednesday morning strongly implies that will be the case.

Brooks, ostensibly the third member of the rotation competition, was moved to the 40-man roster last week in acknowledgment of his having made the team. A spot will need to be made available for Parker as well, should he indeed come north with the Cardinals.

If either Hicks or Parker does stay behind at extended spring training, the club would likely either drop back to a 14-pitcher alignment and bring along Donovan as a flexible bat or carry righty Jake Walsh, who has impressed in camp. If both stay back or injuries crop up, Ryan and converted first baseman Jacob Bosiokovic would enter the conversation.