As steadfast as Carlos Martinez has been about returning to the rotation since last October, the Cardinals have been succinct and unflinching with the requirements the righthander had to meet for consideration.
So when it came time this week to narrow their focus onto five starters and decide on how they would handle the wide-open ninth inning, the Cardinals could have turned to his All-Star past as a starter or his 2019 success as closer as their reasoning.
They sided instead with his current commitment, and named him a starter.
