ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals' annual winter caravan will traverse six states over four days and feature appearances by more than 30 current and former players, the club announced.
The Caravan will begin on Friday and is set to include stops across Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky and Indiana. Players and alumni will split into six groups to cover 20 cities.
Current players and prospects scheduled to participate include Paul DeJong, Jack Flaherty, Harrison Bader, Jose Martinez, Jordan Hicks, John Brebbia, Yairo Munoz, Alex Reyes, Dakota Hudson, Andrew Knizner, Lane Thomas and Ryan Helsley.
Autographs will be free but limited to the first 400 fans, 15 and under, through the door on the day of the event. The Cardinals also encourage fans to bring nonperishable food donations to each of the seven Missouri stops, as well as in Quincy, Ill., and Dyersburg, Tenn.
To view a complete list of scheduled stops and participants for the Caravan, visit cardinals.com/caravan.
Singing for charity
Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright will host the third annual Waino's World Sing-Off on Friday to raise money for his charitable foundation, Big League Impact. The event will take place at 6 p.m. CT at the Dave & Buster's location in Maryland Heights, Mo., and will give fans an opportunity to compete in a karaoke contest alongside Wainwright. The winner will receive a $1,000 prize.
Wainwright, who will also show off his vocals on stage, is currently sifting through audition videos, which can be submitted via Big League Impact's Twitter or Facebook page. Tickets to the event start at $30. There are also VIP opportunities that include a meet-and-greet with Wainwright and other players.
Proceeds from the event will help provide food for 100 low-income families in south St. Louis and assist a women's refuge home in the city. For more information about the event, visit bigleagueimpact.org.
Staffing updates
Three months after informing the Cardinals that he would not be returning to manager Mike Shildt's field staff, Jose Oquendo has officially been named Minor League instructor for the organization. He will be based out of Jupiter, Fla.
Oquendo's new title was among several the Cardinals revealed this week in an announcement regarding promotions and new hires. Those moves also include the promotion of head athletic trainer Adam Olsen to director of medical operations.
Physical therapist Thomas Knox has been named assistant director for performance, while Lance Thomason, a strength and conditioning coach for Triple-A Memphis last year, will become the Cardinals' new strength coach. The addition of Joey Prebynski as a Major League game-planning coach -- a move MLB.com wrote about last month -- was also made official by the team.
Several members of the baseball operations staff received new titles, including Brian Seyfert (baseball development, senior developer), Emily Wiebe (baseball development analyst, player development and performance) and Javier Duran (baseball operations analyst). Elijah Tupuola, Craig Richmond, Chris Bourjos, Filiberto Fernandez and Jesus Perez have joined the scouting department. Bourjos is the father of former Cardinals outfielder, Peter Bourjos.
Michael Whitty (manager, baseball communications) and Chris Tunno (administrator, baseball information and media services) received promotions within the communications department.