It’s time to shine for St. Louis Cardinals outfielders

With Harrison Bader starting the season on the injured list, some St. Louis Cardinals players will have their chance to shine and fight for a spot on the team.

The St. Louis Cardinals announced Wednesday center fielder Harrison Bader would begin the 2021 season on the injured list with a forearm issue. The team said Bader received a plasma-rich platelet injection to speed up the healing process in the forearm, which has been an issue Bader has been dealing with for much of the spring.

The team said Bader would be on the injured list for a minimum of four weeks.

That is seemingly a lot of time to work on substitution options. The team has a glut of potential outfielders, and it will be interesting to see how this will all shake out in the end.

On the team’s depth chart, Dylan Carlson immediately follows Bader, but was the projected starting right fielder. Manager Mike Shildt has said that Carlson is likely the first one up to take Bader’s spot in center. Following Carlson in both positions is Lane Thomas, who has had a very nice spring for the club. Thomas also follows Tyler O’Neill in the left spot. Carlson is also listed behind Thomas in left field.

It will be pretty easy to see the team keep O’Neill in left field. He did earn a Gold Glove at the position last summer and is getting better at-bats this spring. Carlson has started in center field in the last couple of spring training games for the team. He has, however, been solid in right field. Carlson’s bat has picked up in the last week, as noted in this piece by Matt Graves.

Thomas has earned a shot at a position as well with 30 at-bats this spring resulting in seven hits and five runs. He is a solid option in all three outfield positions.

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The team also has other outfield options in Austin Dean, John Nogowski, and Justin Williams. It will be hard to ignore the contributions these three will bring to the plate. Dean and Williams are each listed as left fielders, but it would be easy to see them in right field if needed.

In 28 plate appearances this spring, Williams has eight hits, including a homer. He has 5 runs and 4 RBI. Dean has an impressive line as well with 32 plate appearances he has nine hits, including one homer. He has seven RBI and one stolen base.

If he gets his place on the roster, Nogowski would primarily serve as a backup to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, but he has some reps in the outfield. He’s having a monster spring and you just want to find him a spot to play. In addition to his athletic prowess, in 26 at bats, he has 11 hits including two homers and 11 RBI. He has a .423 batting average and an OPS of 1.225.

The outfield has several interchangeable pieces. We will likely see a wide array of combinations this summer:

O’Neill – Carlson – Thomas; O’Neill – Thomas – Carlson; Thomas – Carlson – Williams; Thomas – Carlson  – Dean; Dean – Thomas – Carlson; O’Neill – Carlson – Williams.

The possibilities are really endless! As long as everyone else remains healthy…

The real issue will just be a matter of figuring out who will fit the outfield puzzle piece from day to day. It will be fun to see if any players step up and make it clear they have earned their chance at a permanent slot in the outfield.

This will be a great source of intrigue this summer.