St. Louis Cardinals: Four position battles to watch this spring

Second Base

When the St. Louis Cardinals let Kolten Wong walk at the end of the 2020 season, they committed to Tommy Edman as the second baseman at that point. However, the team also didn’t have such a set-in-stone option at third base.

Now, with third base covered, the Cardinals haven’t addressed second base since the start of spring. While Edman is still the top option, Matt Carpenter is a man without a position and is refusing to admit that he’s a part-time player yet. Fans all know Carpenter very well and should not be surprised by this.

Regardless of the fact that Carp’s last two seasons don’t warrant him anything but a bench spot, Carpenter will no doubt be putting in a ton of work to try and earn a starting job. Carpenter won’t be starting without earning it, so if he does earn a spot then even better.

With Carpenter in his last season under contract, the team has no reason to play him without earning it. If he ends up starting at second, Edman makes a fine option for a utility fielder or maybe another corner outfielder.