“I know I made a mistake,” Reyes said from Jupiter, Fla., where he has spent the final 39 games of his suspension. “There are consequences I will face for that and I know that it means there is going to be different ways that people look at me than before. All I can do is go out now and prove that I’m not that person. I’m not a bad person. I made a bad decision.”

By rule, Reyes has been unable to pitch in any games where tickets are sold. He has spent the spring throwing against minor leaguers in extended spring games. This past Wednesday, he threw 6 2/3 innings, struck out 13, and did not allow a run. His fastball worked between 97 mph and 100 mph, and he threw that hard in the seventh inning. Reyes is set to make one more start in Florida, on Monday, before reporting to Memphis. He has thrown 35 innings so far this spring, putting him on pace with the Class AAA rotation that includes Jeremy Hefner (38 innings), Deck McGuire (35 innings), and J.C. Sulbaran (33 2/3 innings). That is by design.

The Cardinals wanted him ready for the workload of a starter, but also gathering innings for his development. General manager John Mozeliak felt that if Reyes reached the majors this season it likely would be in the bullpen and the club didn’t want to “get to the end of the year, look up, and see he had only 75 innings pitched.”