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Shildt to go with five-man Cards rotation; Hicks will not be on club at start of season

Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty pitches batting practice during spring training in Jupiter, Fla. (Laurie Skrivan,

Cardinals starters Carlos Martinez, right, and Dakota Hudson stretch before a spring-training workout. (Laurie Skrivan,

Fielding a battery of questions Wednesday in his first Zoom media conference of the season, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said he expected to employ a customary five-man pitching rotation and not one of six in this truncated season, especially considering there are some early off days in the tentative schedule.

Shildt also said he didn’t expect closer Jordan Hicks to be on the active roster at the start of the season as he continues his recovery from Tommy John elbow surgery of June 2019.