ST. LOUIS — It may have taken a lot longer than we thought, but Cardinals Opening Day is one day away.
The club announced who would make up their initial 30-man roster for Opening Day on Thursday, a day before they take the field against the Pirates at Busch Stadium.
The Opening Day roster is as follows:
Pitchers (14): Junior Fernandez, Jack Flaherty, John Gant, Austin Gomber, Ryan Helsley, Dakota Hudson, Kwang-Hyun Kim, Carlos Martinez, Miles Mikolas, Andrew Miller, Daniel Ponce de Leon, Adam Wainwright, Tyler Webb and Kodi Whitley
Catchers (3): Andrew Knizner, Yadier Molina and Matt Wieters
Infielders (7): Matt Carpenter, Paul DeJong, Tommy Edman, Paul Goldschmidt, Rangel Ravelo, Edmundo Sosa and Kolten Wong
Outfielders (5): Harrison Bader, Austin Dean, Dexter Fowler, Tyler O'Neill and Lane Thomas
Injured List: John Brebbia, Giovanny Gallegos, Jordan Hicks and Brad Miller
Not on the Opening Day roster is top prospect Dylan Carlson, who is expected to be called up at some point this season.
The Cardinals' roster will be condensed as the season goes along. It will shrink to 28 players after two weeks, and then 26 players two weeks after that.