The St. Louis Cardinals' 2012 Opening Day roster was set Friday, after a series of moves guaranteed spots for Rule 5 outfielder (and amateur hip-hop producer) Erik Komatsu, perennial fifth outfielder Shane Robinson, and backup catcher Tony Cruz. The full roster—in flux pending the returns of Allen Craig and Skip Schumaker—shows a lack of depth at shortstop and second base, but plenty elsewhere. (Third base in particular; in addition to David Freese the Cardinals will head north with Daniel Descalso and Matt Carpenter.) Here's the full roster:
Starting Pitchers: Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse, Jake Westbrook, Lance Lynn
The Lineup: Yadier Molina, Lance Berkman, Tyler Greene, David Freese, Rafael Furcal, Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran
The Bullpen: Jason Motte, Fernando Salas, Marc Rzepczynski, J.C. Romero, Kyle McClellan, Scott Linebrink, Mitchell Boggs
The Bench: Daniel Descalso, Tony Cruz, Erik Komatsu, Matt Carpenter, Shane Robinson
The biggest surprises: Bryan Anderson seemed to outplay Tony Cruz in the backup catcher derby, but he'll be playing every day in AAA Memphis instead; Scott Linebrink beating Eduardo Sanchez was another controversial move.