An All-Star closer entering the 2016 season, Trevor Rosenthal lost his ninth-inning gig in the midst of a rough campaign. Now, he might not even be in the bullpen when the St. Louis Cardinals head to spring training next year.
The team has informed Rosenthal that he'll be stretched out for spring and given a chance to start, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports.
"In terms of role, we’re going to see how things go, but we’re open to anything," GM John Mozeliak said. "It was something that he has had a desire to do. As we were looking at all the different moving pieces, it doesn’t hurt to have an extra arm, and in the past we've felt like an extra arm would help."
Of course, Rosenthal wouldn't be guaranteed a starting spot seeing as the Cardinals appear to have plenty of options with Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martinez, Mike Leake, Lance Lynn, Alex Reyes, Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia all on their current depth chart. But such a transition for Rosenthal would at least give the Cards a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen, especially if he returns to the form that earned him MVP votes in 2015.
Rosenthal posted a 4.46 ERA in 45 games this year. He lost the closer role to Seung Hwan Oh in June.
The 26-year-old was a starting pitcher in the minor leagues until he made it to the majors in 2012.
-- Kyle Brasseur
