St. Louis Cardinals: Biggest questions for the 2020 season

Who will be in the outfield on Opening Day?

This is something that should be answered during spring training. Coming in, the Cardinals have six outfielders on the 40-man roster, even after they shipped off Randy Arozarena and Jose Martinez.

Between Harrison Bader, Dexter Fowler, Lane Thomas, Tyler O’Neill, Justin Williams, and Austin Dean (not to mention Dylan Carlson who is not on the 40-man and Tommy Edman who is not listed as an outfielder), the Cardinals have to figure out who to play. Many of us would bet money that Bader and Fowler take center and right field at least out of the gate, but after that, there are a lot of question marks.

I would bet that whoever does better between Thomas and O’Neill will get the first look in left field, but beyond that it’s really going to be tough to tell. Edman is going to need playing time somewhere and Dylan Carlson could snag a spot on the roster with a stellar spring.

I would say it’s probably an unpopular opinion, but I am really intrigued by what Austin Dean offers in terms of his power bat shown in AAA and he could be a dark horse roster candidate. Justin Williams finally seemed to turn the corner last year with an .856 OPS at AAA last season. Williams fits the role of a lefty bat that the Cardinals have said they were looking for and was on pace for 25 homers at AAA last year.

Not retaining Marcell Ozuna may sting on the surface, but there are a lot of options as you can see and what the outfield looks like in April may be very different than what it looks like in July. Harrison Bader and Dexter Fowler may hold the keys at the moment, but after Bader struggled last season, he may not have a long leash in his third year. For Fowler (who will be 34 by Opening Day), too many struggles could lead to a quick hook for him as well.

The Cardinals have bet that one of the many outfielders could match or beat Ozuna’s 106 OPS+ which is a bet I’ll take, but how it looks will be very interesting with all the options they have.

Who knows… in July, you could see an outfield of Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Carlson, and Justin Williams. That doesn’t sound very exciting, but at this point, the unknown is almost more exciting than the known. If anything, it is definitely a big question for 2020.