With just two days until the start of the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals season, Cardinals Roundtable is thrilled to announce the hiring of veteran Cardinals reporter John Denton.

With more than 30 years of sports reporting experience in Florida, Tennessee and St. Louis, Denton's name, work ethic and reputation speak for itself. 

"Adding John Denton is a home run for us at Cardinals Roundtable and for Cardinals fans everywhere. His ability to connect the stories of the organization with fans is unrivaled, and I'm looking forward to him chronicling the evolution of the franchise through this exciting period,' said Cardinals Roundtable publisher Brady Farkas. 'With players like JJ Wetherholt already on the roster and another wave of exciting prospects set to come soon, it's an exciting time to be a Cardinals fan. And there's no one better than John to help tell those stories."

Denton previously served as the Cardinals reporter at MLB.com and is one of the leading voices in Cardinals media.

"I am so delighted for the opportunity to cover the St. Louis Cardinals for Roundtable Sports. I hope the passion in my writing and covering the team equals the passion Cards fans have for their team. Please consider joining the community at Roundtable Sports. I can’t wait to get started!” Denton added.

"We have two goals at Roundtable Sports: To provide the kind of coverage that each team and each fanbase deserves, and to grow our Cardinals Roundtable community. We want our site to become a destination for Cardinals fans to get the news and insight that they crave, but also for fans to be able to engage with our writing team - and each other - in that community section. John will be integral in both initiatives," Farkas said.

Denton will be on-site at Busch Stadium for the Cardinals' pre-opening day workouts on Wednesday and will be in the press box as normal for the Thursday opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.

--Spring training standout Nelson Velazquez was surprisingly sent down to Triple-A on Monday. He had been thought of as the primary candidate to start in left field on Opening Day.

--Matthew Liberatore will take the mound for the Cardinals on Opening Day, the first Opening Day start of his career. The lefty went 8-12 with a 4.21 ERA in 2025. He made 29 starts and ascended to the leader of the staff.

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