Embracing youth movement, Cardinals set for opener vs. Rays

The St. Louis Cardinals will look a lot younger when they host the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day on Thursday afternoon.

The Cardinals traded veterans Nolan Arenado (Arizona Diamondbacks), Willson Contreras (Boston Red Sox) and Brendan Donovan (Seattle Mariners) for prospects during the offseason, leaving a lineup of 20-somethings to try and turn around a club that missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

Masyn Winn is among those still in St. Louis, and the 24-year-old shortstop is expected to bat leadoff after hitting second most of last season.

"We're going to go out there and just play with our hair on fire and have a good time," Winn said. "As far as the ups and downs, I'm interested to see. A lot of times, whenever something's going bad, the veteran steps in and gets on everybody's butt, but I think this year might actually be better because we're all so young and we're all going to struggle."

St. Louis also traded Sonny Gray to the Red Sox and fellow right-hander Miles Mikolas signed with the Washington Nationals, leaving left-hander Matthew Liberatore as the staff ace for now.

Liberatore, who went 8-12 with a 4.21 ERA last season, will start the season opener for the Cardinals. He has made two starts against the Rays in his career, going 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA.

JJ Wetherholt, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, is expected to make his major league debut for St. Louis, hitting second behind Winn and playing second base.

The Rays also will start their top prospect in the season opener.

Carson Williams seemed destined for the minor leagues as recently as a week ago, but the 22-year-old will start at shortstop after Taylor Walls went down with a right oblique strain.

Walls began feeling discomfort while taking batting practice on March 17 and an MRI the next day confirmed the strain, which is expected to sideline him for three or four weeks.

Williams, the 28th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft by the Rays, was the starting shortstop for Tampa Bay the final month of last season and hit .172 with five home runs and 12 RBIs.

The Rays also won't have the starting second baseman they planned for the season opener when they traded for Gavin Lux in the offseason.

The Rays announced on Tuesday that Lux would begin the season on the IL with a right shoulder impingement. Lux had been playing with soreness since the beginning of spring training, sitting out a stretch of games before the injury was revealed on Monday.

"Just something that we feel we need to get ahead of and manage it now," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "Hoping it's a pretty short stint."

Lux's absence opens the door for Richie Palacios to begin the season at second base. Palacios was getting ready to head to Triple-A Durham when he received the news about Lux's injury.

"It's nice to be back here with the guys," Palacios said. "The option is the option. That's how the game is. That's fine. I don't complain about it. Just lock in, and I was able to get another opportunity here."

Right-hander Drew Rasmussen is expected to get the start on Thursday.

A first-time All-Star in 2025, Rasmussen posted a 10-5 record with a 2.76 ERA in 31 starts last season. He is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in six relief appearances versus St. Louis.

--Field Level Media