Why Cardinals Kept Nelson Velazquez Off Opening Day Roster

"The team lacks power. The team said it wanted a right-handed hitting outfielder," Goold wrote. "The team said it would be great to get both in the same player, and Velazquez certainly showed that he could do that in spring training. The Cardinals appear hesitant to believe it would carry into the major-league season without first seeing it continue at Class AAA. That's what their actions say."

Clearly, the Cardinals were skeptical that Velazquez's spring training success would translate into success at the major league level. They needed to make sure that he can hit at the minor league level before giving him a shot to play every day. But it may not be long before the Cardinals decide to give him that chance.

Velazquez doesn't have any minor league options left, and if the Cardinals are playing for the future, the best course of action is to stick with the options they already have in-house such as Thomas Saggese, who got the start in left field on Sunday.

But if Velazquez continues to hit the way he did in spring training, then the Cardinals have reason to call him up to the majors and give him a run in left field while they sort other things out and wait for the return of Lars Nootbaar, who had surgery on both heels last offseason.

It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals shuffle their roster in the coming weeks if that is what they decide to do. Velazquez could have easily made the opening day roster, but the Cardinals clearly have other plans in place and other options that they want to give runway to.