Cardinals: Sign, trade, or hold at each position of need this offseason

Outfield

What was supposed to be a strength for St. Louis in 2022 ended up being a source of frustration, leaving many to wonder whether or not significant changes need to be made to the club’s outfield in 2023.

Free agency has some interesting options, including left-handed bats like Brandon Nimmo and Joc Pederson. Both would be upgrades to the Cardinals and should be in their price-range. The trade market does not currently have any names that stand out, but depending on how things shake out, names like Bryan Reynolds or even Mike Trout could be available, which St. Louis should pounce on, but both are unlikely at this point.

It really was not that long ago that Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson looked like cornerstone players for St. Louis. If it were not for injury plagued seasons, the pair likely would have finished the 2022 season on much better notes than they did. Lars Nootbaar’s rise in 2022 should also give the club enough confidence to roll into 2023 with their internal options.

Many expect top prospect Jordan Walker to be one of the club’s everyday outfielders as soon as Opening Day, but at the very least, by early summer. Adding another outfielder would than leave one outfield spot and designated hitter for the following players: O’Neill, Carlson, Nootbaar, Juan Yepez, and Alec Burleson. Even if some of these guys end up in trades, this just does not seem like smart roster construction.

Odds are at least one of Carlson or O’Neill bounces back next year, giving the Cardinals plenty of outfield options in 2023. Worst case, an outfielder becomes their number one trade target around the trade deadline, but they are least saw what they had in their outfield core. If the Cardinals would give Paul DeJong a chance in 2022, then I do not see why they would give up so quickly on their current outfielders.

Verdict: Hold