ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals' 40-man roster has a youthful feel.

The team purchased the contracts of eight players from minor league affiliates this week and added them to the 40-man protected roster. None has played in the major leagues and the oldest player on the list is 25.

Added to the roster were pitchers Tyler Norrick, Adam Ottavino and Francisco Samuel; catcher Bryan Anderson, infielder Mark Hamilton and outfielders Allen Craig, John May and Daryl Jones. The 25-year-old Craig is the team's minor league player of the year after batting .322 with 26 homers and 83 RBIs for Triple-A Memphis. The 22-year-old Jones, who batted .279 last year for Double-A Springfield, was player of the year in 2008.