St. Louis Cardinals: Possible roster moves and lineup changes

Proposed 25-man roster going forward

With Fowler and Wong returning from the DL soon after the All-Star break, here’s what the corresponding roster moves should be:

Next, designate

Greg Garcia

for assignment. He would likely be picked up by

another team because he is a scrappy player that gets on base and can play anywhere in the infield, except first base.

He’s the odd man out, and at twenty-seven, it makes more sense to keep DeJong, Luke Voit and even Randal Grichuk on the 25-man roster. Garcia is a fine player, who I’ve grown to appreciate, but I think other players add more value.

With the 25-man roster now set, here are some shakeups and tactics that should happen in the future:

• Let Paul DeJong thrive at shortstop. DeJong is the only applicable shortstop on the roster, unless you count Jedd Gyorko. I have no problems with this unless DeJong falters in the field or continues to strike out at a high rate while not taking many walks. This is why it might make more sense to keep Garcia on the major league squad. He would be the only viable backup option at shortstop.
• Fowler and Pham should get the fair share of at-bats in the outfield. Although Folwer had a slow start and Pham started the year in AAA, they have been the most consistent outfielders all year. Stephen Piscotty‘s slugging percentage is barely above .400, Randall Grichuk lacks plate discipline and Jose Martinez… what’s the knock on Martinez? I can’t find a major one. Martinez is my third outfielder.
• Utilize bullpen arms more. Brett Cecil seems to have returned to his normal self. Tyler Lyons is good against lefties. Matt Bowman can get out of a jam with his ground-ball inducing abilities. I understand the bullpen has struggled this year, but Matheny should trust them more.
  Instead of Lance Lynn serving up a 5th inning home run to Christian Yelich on July 4th, I would have liked to see Cecil or Lyons, especially with the All-Star break coming up. Sure, you don’t want to overuse your bullpen, but with Luke Weaver and Lyons in the bullpen for now, they can eat up innings.
  Matheny has his go-to options in the bullpen, but it’s time to put favorites aside and focus on winning games with the best match-ups available.