St. Louis Cardinals Best/Worst Case 2016: Shortstops

With Jhonny Peralta out until at least the start of June, Aledmys Diaz is making a strong case to see opportunities at shortstop with the St. Louis Cardinals once April hits. What will the club get from their shortstops in 2016?

This piece would have originally been dedicated to Jhonny Peralta, but we all know what happened over the weekend with the St. Louis Cardinals shortstop. Yesterday, Aledmys Diaz took a major step forward in his efforts to win the now vacant shortstop job out of camp.

Diaz turned in a 4-4 effort in the Cardinals’ 5-3 victory over the Twins. Diaz had a pair of doubles, two RBI, and a run scored on the afternoon.

Talk about stepping up and giving the club a shot in the arm. Diaz’s performance didn’t even give me ample time to freak-out about Peralta. I’m totally intrigued by Diaz. Monday’s news was a “here we go again” negative development in the injury department, something Cardinal fans have grown accustomed to since the start of 2015.

But, with Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty‘s efforts last season, the “next man up” mantra is becoming commonplace with the Cardinals as well.

Aledmys Diaz looks to be the next guy to step up for the Cardinals when everything seems to be doomed. Granted, this is one game. Diaz still has a lot to prove before he should be considered the everyday Cardinal shortstop. But how can you not be ecstatic about Diaz’s performance yesterday, when the team needed a lift like that the most?

Jedd Gyorko will most certainly figure into the shortstop equation, as well. He’s the man on the St. Louis roster with the best tool set to replicate what Peralta brought to the table.

Therefore, I’ll do a collaborative best/worst case breakdown of Diaz, Gyorko, and Peralta together as the Cardinals face their new shortstop challenge.

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