VerHagen will begin the season as a member of the Cardinals' bullpen, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
VerHagen and Jake Woodford were both in contention for the fifth starter's role, but the two will instead head to the bullpen as multi-inning options after manager Oliver Marmol announced Wednesday that Jordan Hicks secured the final opening in the rotation. The 31-year-old right-hander has previously seen big-league action in parts of six seasons with Detroit from 2014 through 2019, but he spent the past two years in with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan, where he was one of the top starters in Nippon Professional Baseball. He returned stateside this winter on a two-year, $5.5 million deal with St. Louis and looked to have an inside track on a starting role, but a 10.13 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over his eight innings during the Grapefruit League slate prompted the Cardinals to go in a different direction.