How the Cardinals plan to improve their offense in 2021

How can the St. Louis Cardinals expect their offense to improve?

The St. Louis Cardinals need to upgrade their offense – and they do not have a lot of time to do so.

There are holes to be filled in the outfield, second base and at catcher. Dylan Carlson and likely Harrison Bader are the two outfielders on the current roster who figure to garner the most playing time. Tommy Edman is the internal candidate to replace Kolten Wong and he does not inspire much confidence. And Yadier Molina is a free agent and there are no clear internal candidates to adequately replace him.

Yet, even with these questions and little time to address them, the Cardinals understand that the offense needs to be better than it was a year ago.

“We have to see an uptick in our offense,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said recently, “or it’s going to be a long year.”

Manager Mike Shildt recently indicated to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that trying to find ways to get increased production from a very similar group of hitters could involve getting creative. One way they’re thinking, Shildt said, is by splitting playing time at different positions to maximize matchups.

“So that’s one of the bigger things that we’re going to use,” Shildt told Goold. “We have used it and the access to some of the measurables and technologies out there are going to help us better understand what those matchups look like. You’re looking at the production from a position, but also ultimately the bigger picture of what production you get from the lineup. I do think that’s what we’ve done. That is where my head has been at with what we’re doing, and how we’re doing it.”

If the Cardinals truly expect the offense to improve in 2021, they’re going to need to bring in outside help. Maximizing matchups, while an effective strategy, can only do so much. The team can still bring back Molina and Wong and perhaps an outside addition (Joc Pederson?) to fill out the outfield.

But the Cardinals are the only National League Central team to not make a move on the major-league roster and in a division that is easily winnable, they have done nothing to take advantage. The time is ticking for them – and if they stand pat, they could squander an opportunity to win the most winnable division in recent memory.