Mar. 27—SARASOTA, Fla. — One of the reasons why Tyler O’Neill, a Gold Glove-winner twice over in left field, lobbied to audition at center field this spring was because he felt playing the position he sought would mean playing the style he chased.

“I want to compete. I want to play aggressive. I want to have that mentality and that edge I have when I am feeling like myself,” O’Neill said Monday after taking batting practice at Baltimore’s Ed Smith Stadium.

“Center field gives me that opportunity.”

And he’s won the opportunity in center field.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol opened Monday’s final exhibition game with the batting order he’ll likely pen Thursday at Busch Stadium for the regular-season opener.

Brendan Donovan led off, Lars Nootbaar hit second, and the middle of the order were Paul Goldschmidt, cleanup hitter Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras, as advertised. Arenado finished spring with a .524 batting average. Nolan Gorman started at DH. Rookie Jordan Walker hit eighth. And there hitting sixth, flanked in the outfield by Nootbaar in left and Walker in right, was O’Neill — the center of it all.

One of the competitions of spring training that mostly took place elsewhere — O’Neill and Nootbaar spent weeks away at the World Baseball Classic — will continue into the regular season. O’Neill will get the first run at center with the ballpark dimensions influencing what corner is assigned to Nootbaar and Walker.

“I think (O’Neill in center) would be our best-case scenario of how it would work out,” Marmol said. “We’re going to take a longer look at it (from) what we’ve been able to see this spring because of the WBC. I know that is something that he’s always wanted. As long as he continues to work at it and work for it, he’ll get an opportunity.”

With so few innings and fewer fly balls O’Neill’s way this spring, the Cardinals are making the decision mostly on defensive metrics and measures of O’Neill’s speed. He has elite speed. That doesn’t always translate to playable range, though after returning to the position late last year O’Neill worked on his jumps and reads to improve the reaction that determines range. Marmol said O’Neill grades out right alongside Nootbaar and the leader for the spot coming into camp, Dylan Carlson.

The Cardinals plan to use Carlson as a featured switch-hitter off the bench, a defensive sub for Walker late in games and a challenger for playing time in center.

How they start was decided in spring, not who will start the most.

O’Neill remains eager to maintain his claim.

“If you can catch the ball, go catch the ball,” O’Neill said. “That just fits into my mentality.”

Minor leaguers squeeze Grapefruit title Players in the Cardinals’ organization who are headed to Class AAA Memphis already had left Florida to start their season, leaving Class A and Class AA players to handle at least half of Monday’s finale vs. the Orioles. Two took swings that helped secure the best record in the Grapefruit League.

The Cardinals’ 8-2 victory against Baltimore gave them a Florida-best 17 wins, and their 17-7-5 record finished ahead of Atlanta. How to celebrate a Grapefruit League crown?

“Shower,” Marmol said. “And go to St. Louis.”

Jacob Buchberger and Chandler Redmond socked three-run homers to widen the Cardinals’ lead. Redmond, the Cardinals’ minor-leaguer who hit for the home run cycle (solo, two-run, three-run, grand slam) in a game last season, hit a three-run shot on a full-count pitch in the ninth. Buchberger’s came in the fifth with two out after singles by big-leaguers Carlson and Alec Burleson.

As he touched home plate, Buchberger raised his hands for the “I love you” sign — saying he always does it toward the camera for his parents to see. He got four at-bats this spring in big-league games and tons of tips from watching players such as Arenado. Seeing Arenado work on groundballs led to Buchberger adjusting his glove position.

“You find the model of how they show up and do their own thing,” said Buchberger, an undrafted infielder headed for Class AA. “You can get a sense of what the Cardinal Way means to them, how they incorporate it into their game, and I can incorporate that into mine.”

‘Monty’ tunes slider In his final spring outing ahead of Sunday’s start vs. Toronto, Jordan Montgomery wanted to make sure he left Florida with a good feel and better spin on his breaking balls.

The lefty has been workshopping his slider this spring to get its shape more consistent so he can play off that off his sinker and give a different movement other than his curve. Against Baltimore, he also dialed in the curveball to a more consistent strikeout pitch.

In five innings Monday, Montgomery allowed a solo homer and struck out four. He needed 72 pitches to complete the 15 outs.

“You want to end on a good one,” Montgomery said. “Thrown my curveball my whole life so really just trusting it and throwing it with the same arm speed and getting it down in the zone when I want to go for a strikeout. The slider, I’ve kind of had to find where I want to start it for the strike or if I’m trying to throw it for a ball. Just trying to throw it out there and see if it’s something else (for the hitter) to worry about.”

Opening-day schedule, festivities set As two of his former teams face each other on opening day, National Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman Scott Rolen will deliver the ceremonial first pitch Thursday at Busch Stadium before the Cardinals host Toronto. Matt Holliday, a member of the Cardinals’ Hall of Fame, is scheduled to catch the pitch.

Gates to the ballpark will open at noon, the club detailed Monday. Cardinals batting practice is set to begin at 12:05 p.m.

Pregame festivities will begin at 2:25 p.m. with the parade of players and introduction of lineups to follow at 2:50 p.m. The national anthems will start around 3 p.m., and Miles Mikolas is scheduled to throw the first pitch of the Cardinals’ 2023 season at 3:10 p.m. The early weather forecast calls for sunny skies and the temperature in the mid-60s.