JUPITER, Fla. • The math might seem to mitigate against both Jose Martinez and Jedd Gyorko being on the Cardinals’ bench at the start of the season, especially if the roster math says 13 pitchers and four extra men on a 25-man roster.
But president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said, “It’s doable, especially because of the versatility of both. There’s no doubt we’re mostly righthanded (both are righthanded batters). But, left or right, production matters.”
For much of the 2018 season, both were regular — and productive — players. Martinez was at first base and Gyorko was at third late in the season when Matt Carpenter moved to first and Martinez to the outfield.