Reyes embarks on important spring with Cards

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Cardinals right-hander Alex Reyes cleared another hurdle Tuesday afternoon. Not a small one. Not the ultimate one. But definitely one more brick in the wall.

“It’s obviously really, really good to see A-Rey back out there,” teammate Jack Flaherty said. “We’ve been really excited for him, knowing the journey he’s been on and how hard he’s worked to be back to this point.”

Reyes allowed a run in a shaky seventh inning during the Cardinals' 2-1 loss to the Phillies in the first appearance of an important spring for the 24-year-old with a dazzling skill set. His fastball touched 98 mph. He threw a couple of curveballs that were scary good.

His control was not what he wants it to be, but that’s a predicable byproduct of having more surgeries (two) than Major League appearances (one) in the last two seasons. What mattered was that Reyes was able to get back on a mound and pitch in a game and feel good afterwards.

“I felt great,” he said. “I thought the ball was coming out with life. Just got to make some adjustments to my delivery and get consistently in the zone.”

His first pitch was a 98-mph heater to Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, who drew a walk. But then Andrew Knapp took a knee-bending, full-count curveball for a third strike.

Another walk, a ground-ball single and a sacrifice fly got a run home. But Reyes got out of the inning with a fly ball, and that was that.

“I wasn’t as calm as I would like to have been,” Reyes said. "Adrenalin is a thing you gotta learn how to control. Being put in that position for the first time this spring, try to take the positives from it.”

His pitching line was one inning, one hit, one earned run, two walks and a strikeout. He showed enough to remind the Cardinals -- if they needed reminding -- why he has been their No. 1 prospect for the last three years and also why he’s viewed as one of the very best young pitchers in the game.

“I wasn’t overly concerned with anything other than him feeling good and the ball coming out well,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “In that regard, we had wins across the board. Great first day for Alex.”

Reyes felt the same way, saying, “It’s always a positive thing to be out there. You just want to be healthy and be part of the club. Today was the first step in that direction.”

Reyes' goal now is to be on the Opening Day roster in some role, something that seems way more possible than it did only a few weeks ago.

“It’s winning a spot,” Reyes said. “That’s my goal.”

The Cardinals hope he’ll be a rotation anchor for years to come, but they haven’t ruled out using him in relief this season to rebuild arm strength.

“We want to take care of Alex and make sure he’s set up for a bright future,” Shildt said. “It’s been a tough road. He’s been able to navigate it and fight it, and now he’s on a cleaner, smoother road.”

Shildt said he stood in center field recently to watch Reyes throw live batting practice and “cackled” at a couple of unhittable breaking pitches. After that, Reyes thought he was ready to go.

“Patience is a challenge for all of us, right?" Shildt said. "Irrespective of age, that’s a tough thing, especially when you want something -- something you have a passion for and a talent for. He has both.”