Notes: Buy stock in Muñoz; Gomber's audition

JUPITER, Fla. -- One of the more underrated competitions this spring is the battle for an infield utility spot. The Cardinals signed veteran Brad Miller to a one-year deal at the beginning of camp, and Tommy Edman figures to play six different positions this season. Yairo Muñoz and Edmundo Sosa are in the mix, and Max Schrock is also a candidate.

• How Cards' roster could look on Opening Day

Muñoz’s stock rose Tuesday amid the Cardinals’ 9-6 loss to the Nationals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The 25-year-old replaced Paul DeJong -- who hit a three-run homer in the third inning -- at shortstop in the fourth, proceeding to crush a two-run home run of his own that hit the roof of the Marlins’ side of the facility behind the left-field wall.

“That was my best swing,” Muñoz said. “Inside breaking ball, and I said, ‘OK, don’t open your shoulder, swing hard.' And I homered."

Muñoz showed up to Spring Training having lost almost 30 pounds, saying it helps him play better and run faster. He’ll be expected to play shortstop, third base and all over the outfield this spring and into the regular season. Being ready for anything was his focus this offseason.

“I need to be ready for whatever position -- I need to be ready physically, mentally,” Muñoz said. “If I’m ready physically, I’m running more, faster. I play better because I feel better physically. There’s a lot of competition. But I’ll play hard. Play hard, do my work.”

Performances this spring will dictate the bench players St. Louis breaks camp with, and Muñoz has the experience and versatile abilities the Cardinals are looking for. The pop in his bat that he showed Tuesday doesn’t hurt, either.

“He’s out there, competing,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “And he’s versatile, and he’s done it. He went about it, and has been going about it well, the whole camp.”

Gomber makes his pitch for rotation
After missing most of last season with a left biceps injury and shoulder weakness, left-hander Austin Gomber made his spring debut Tuesday, throwing 40 pitches -- 30 for strikes -- in two innings. He allowed one run on three hits and walked one, which forced his pitch count to creep up, but he was able to get out of the second inning with just the one run.

Getting back on the mound against an opposing team was the highlight for Gomber, who hasn’t thrown in a non-rehab setting since May 13.

“I threw too many strikes in the second inning -- need the breaking ball underneath. Just little stuff like that that as camp goes on, it’s going to get ironed out,” Gomber said. “For me, it was just let’s get back out there. Let’s feel good. And just compete again. Man, it’s been a long time. I feel like I’ve had this outing run through my head for like the last eight months because I’ve just been waiting on it, so to be able to go out there, finish my innings, feel good after, it’s good enough for me.”

Gomber is a candidate for a rotation spot to open the season. Otherwise he could be the ace with Triple-A Memphis and wait to be one of the Cardinals’ first callups. Despite a particularly long offseason due to the injuries, his focus now is on trusting his pitches again.

“For me, it’s just about getting out there and just staying within myself because when you miss -- I mean, this is something I would actually like to talk to Alex [Reyes] about because it’s hard to not try to do too much," Gomber said. "To try to make up for lost time when I don’t feel like I need to do that. I feel like my stuff was good before I got hurt, my stuff’s better now. That’s the feedback I’m getting from the hitters and live BPs and all that stuff. For me, it’s just believing it every day and continuing to get better.”

Worth noting
• Brett Cecil, who missed all of last season with carpal tunnel syndrome in his left hand, is the Cardinals' first pitcher to make two appearances this spring. After debuting in the club's Grapefruit League opener on Saturday, the left-handed reliever threw an inning Tuesday and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in an inning of work.

“Feeling for it,” Shildt said. “Couldn’t quite get in any real rhythm. Competing and didn’t give into the situation. Just wasn’t able to locate or command the baseball.”

• Lefty reliever Andrew Miller threw live batting practice Tuesday on the backfields of the Cardinals complex after throwing a bullpen session Saturday. The 34-year-old is easing into the spring and will be the only pitcher who won’t make an appearance in the first week of Grapefruit League games. The Cardinals scheduled that by design -- not because of injury or anything else.

“Based on how he recovers from the live today,” Shildt said. “Slowed for the fact that he’s entering into I think his 14th year in the big leagues.”

Up next
The Cardinals have their first split-squad day of the spring on Wednesday, with half the team staying in Jupiter to face the Marlins and the other half traveling to West Palm Beach, Fla., to face the Astros. Left-hander Kwang Hyun Kim will start at home, followed by John Brebbia, Tyler Webb and Giovanny Gallegos -- all making their spring debuts live on MLB.com. Left-hander Génesis Cabrera will start on the road, followed by Angel Rondon, Jesus Cruz and Ramon Santos and streamable on MLB.TV. First pitch for both games is schedule for 12:05 p.m. CT.