Is it time for the future?

The Cardinals jumped out to a hot start in the month of April, and even looked pretty good during the first week of May.  Since opening the season with a 20-11 record, however, the birds have been feeling the consequences of having a large group of stars on the disabled list for much of the season thus far.  For a team that has struggled as bad as it has, questions of “what do we do next” or “how can we turn this around” seem to have been on the minds of many fans.

During all the struggles, there have been a few bright spots.  One in particular is Carlos Beltran.  If you were to say eight Cardinals were to spend time on the disabled list by June, one would assume Beltran would be one of them because of his history.  Fortunately, he has been healthy enough to remain active all season so far.  Because of the numbers he has produced up to this point (16 HR, 44 RBI, 6 SB, and a line of .275/.365/.555), he has the potential to be a very desirable trade piece.  Immediately upon hearing these words, Cardinal nation must be freaking out.  “Why would we trade our top offensive threat in June when we’re only three games out of first place?”  It’s a good, and very reasonable question to ask.  With that being said, I would like to counter with a question of my own:  With the team we have at this point this year, do you realistically believe the Cardinals can compete for a World Series title in 2012?

As much as I love the Cardinals and love what Carlos Beltran has been able to do so far, I would love even more for Matt Adams to see more playing time at first base with Allen Craig in right field.  Allen Craig has only played 20 games this season because of injuries so, immediately, it may not seem like a good idea to put a player with injury problems in right field rather than at first base.  With that being said, I point out Lance Berkman of last season.  Craig’s primary health issue has been a knee injury, and as Berkman pointed out last year, playing first base puts more stress on a players knees than any other position with the exception of catcher.

Allen Craig has a strong arm and would be a perfect fit in right field for the Cardinals.  It’s obvious that he is a star in the making and is a key part of the redbirds’ future as long as he can remain healthy.  By trading Beltran, a spot would be opened up for Craig to see playing time everyday as a starter, and the potential to pick up some pretty decent quality prospects would present itself.  Matt Adams is the future at first and Craig is an outfield star waiting to break out.  It’s time to start considering bringing some youth into the mix to see exactly what kind of Major League talent is in the Cardinals farm system.