JUPITER, Fla. -- Miguel Batista is in an odd position this spring. A veteran of 16 Major League seasons, Batista knows his routine and what he needs to do in order to get ready for the season. But he's also competing for a job, since he's in Cardinals camp on a non-roster invitation.

Batista arrived in camp looking like an almost sure thing. Before games started, manager Tony La Russa said that a bullpen job was Batista's to lose. And the right-hander has pitched reasonably well so far, allowing one run over his first four appearances. Yet circumstances have changed a bit in the St. Louis bullpen. It appears that the injury to Adam Wainwright will lead to Kyle McClellan being moved to the starting rotation.

While that obviously would open up more relief jobs, not fewer, it mostly just means there's more uncertainty as the Cards assemble their bullpen. So when La Russa was asked on Tuesday whether Batista still has a job to lose, he was less emphatic.

"I said it then, so I'm not ... this is the evaluating process, and I don't need to comment anymore," La Russa told reporters. "Because that just gives you a tip as to what's happening. Mystery is good for you."

Still, Batista appears to be in a very strong position. He said after a shutout inning on Tuesday that he expects to get more work going forward.

"Now that they took a good look at the younger players, it was told to us that now the older guys are going to get a lot of action," he said. "Now we're going to get you ready for game situations."

No restrictions on Carpenter's next start

JUPITER, Fla. -- When Chris Carpenter returns to the mound on Wednesday, the Cardinals aren't planning to baby him.

Carpenter has not pitched in a game since March 1, the day he suffered a left hamstring strain in a game against the Marlins. He'll make his first Grapefruit League appearance since then on Wednesday at the Tigers.

Though it will be his first game in more than two weeks, and only his second of the spring, the club is expecting that Carpenter will go at least as long as he would in his second start of a normal spring, and maybe longer.

That would put him at 45-50 pitches or even more. Carpenter threw 61 pitches in a live batting-practice session on Friday.

"He kept his arm in shape, so it's not going to be a traditional first time out there," manager Tony La Russa said. "It's going to be his second time. I think it will be a little bit more than a first appearance. [We'll] just watch him. He's strong."

La Russa said he expects Carpenter will be plenty ready for his Opening Day start, on March 31 against the Padres. He will have two more Spring Training starts after Tuesday.

Schumaker pleased with his offense at camp

JUPITER, Fla. -- Though Skip Schumaker came on strong in the second half last season, a rough first part of the year sunk his numbers to such a depth that they never really recovered. He's determined to keep that from happening this time around.

So while Spring Training stats are rarely predictive, Schumaker is certainly pleased that his look good so far. The Cardinals second baseman singled twice and drove in three runs on Tuesday, making him 12-for-29 (.414) on the spring. And it's not just the results he likes. Both of Schumaker's hits went up the middle. When he's going well, he's hitting to center and left field.

"It was a tough year, no doubt about it," Schumaker said. "Mentally, physically, everything about it. But I felt like I found something in the second half and carried that over, and hopefully I can carry that over from spring to the real season."

The Cardinals believe they will see the player they saw at the plate in 2008 and '09. Over those two seasons, Schumaker hit a combined .302 with a .362 on-base percentage.

"We're expecting that," manager Tony La Russa said. "That's what I mean [when I say] we have the makings of a deep lineup. We're expecting that. We're expecting a tough out with everybody that goes to bat."

Snell retires after seven big league seasons

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Cardinals announced the retirement of pitcher Ian Snell on Tuesday.

Snell, 29, had been in camp on a Minor League contract with a non-roster invitation. The club sent him to Minor League camp on Tuesday, at which time Snell elected to retire.

"We wish him well in his future endeavors," general manager John Mozeliak said. "We were a little more optimistic that something might work out, but I think he just feels like it's time in his career to move on."

Snell appeared in seven Major League seasons, spending the bulk of his career with the Pirates, but also pitching for Seattle. He hangs it up with a 38-53 record and a 4.80 ERA in 152 games, 136 of them starts. His best season was 2007, when he finished ninth in the National League in innings pitched and seventh in strikeouts, posting a 3.76 ERA.

He pitched in one Grapefruit League game for St. Louis this spring, allowing two runs in two innings. He also pitched in two "B" games, including one on Monday morning.

Greene not at camp due to flu-like symptoms

JUPITER, Fla. -- Due to an illness, Tyler Greene stayed home on Tuesday rather than coming to Cardinals camp.

Greene has a flu-like malady that struck him on Monday. The club sent him home that day and had him stay back rather than come to the ballpark Tuesday. It's not expected that he'll be able to play before at least Thursday.

"I haven't seen him," manager Tony La Russa said on Tuesday morning. "They didn't think he was going to be good for a couple of days. He didn't show up, I understand. I didn't even put him on the list. They checked with him last night and he still wasn't doing great. So I had a feeling he wouldn't be here."

Greene, 27, is competing for a backup infield job with the Cardinals. He's 7-for-32 (.219) during the spring, with one walk and no extra-base hits.

Tidbits

Manager Tony La Russa said that David Freese experienced no ill effects from playing back-to-back games for the first time this spring. Freese did not start Tuesday, but he will play again on Wednesday against the Tigers in Lakeland. ... Wednesday's game will be the first one this spring to appear on FSN Midwest. ... Minor League Spring Training games begin Friday. Cardinals Minor Leaguers will play intrasquad games on Wednesday and Thursday before beginning their spring schedule on Friday against their Mets counterparts.

Weather report: Wednesday is looking like a warm day in Lakeland. The forecast calls for a game-time temperature in the upper 70s, getting into the 80s by the time the contest is over, with very few clouds and almost no chance of rain.