The St. Louis Cardinals will own the National League in 2014

While other teams are still figuring out which free agent signings they want to go after prior to the 2014 baseball season, there’s no doubts the St. Louis Cardinals are sitting in a pretty spot right now. My feelings on the Jhonny Peralta signing put aside, the Cardinals made the big moves they needed in acquiring a center fielder that will put on a display a la Jim Edmonds and a shortstop that can hit the ball.
Jun 22, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos (25) makes a catch against the wall in the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Angel Stadium.Pirates won 6-1. Image Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Being able to acquire someone like Peter Bourjos was one of the best moves this offseason. When healthy, he’s right up there with Edmonds in center field and one of the best in the game. From April 20th until August 20th, Bourjos was hitting in the .300 range. He was affected by an injury, which may have led to his hitting slump. He also missed time between April 29th and June 10th.

Bernie offers his thoughts on how the 2014 team will be better than the 2013 squad. For starters, Ty Wigginton will not be anywhere close to the Cardinals spring training complex in the next few weeks. If he is, it’s only to visit and not as a player.

A pitching rotation of Adam Wainwright, Shelby Miller, Jaime Garcia, Michael Wacha, and Player To Be Named Later is not bad either. It’s a question of which player: Joe Kelly, Lance Lynn, or Carlos Martinez. With Cardinals pitching so deep, manager Mike Matheny can afford to give a regular starter the day off and use a Lynn or Kelly for a few innings out of the bullpen.

With the lack of really big moves by the Cincinnati Reds or Pittsburgh Pirates, everything suggests that the Cardinals should win the NL Central.