Why the St. Louis Cardinals Won the Harrison Bader Trade

The Cardinals have a surplus of outfielders

Our very own Ben Remis covered this last week, but the Cardinals have an incredible amount of outfield depth at the moment. On the roster alone, St. Louis has Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Corey Dickerson, Juan Yepez, and Tommy Edman who can all play in the outfield for the club.

In the pipeline, names like Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, Moises Gomez, Connor Capel, and so many others could be making an impact in the outfield for St. Louis this season or in next few years. For a club that had holes at other positions, it was necessary to cash in some of that outfield depth while they could.

Walker has already been moved to the outfield in the aftermath of the Bader trade, and it is clear that the Cardinals now see him as the future right fielder for the club long term. With his arrival to St. Louis being no later than next season, the amount of rosters spots for outfielders is pretty thin, and it made sense why the club would move on.

Carlson has shown little to no drop off from Bader’s defense while filling in during his injury, and projected to be a stud centerfielder for the club for years to come.