5 Cardinals who must improve this off-season

This off-season’s improvement will be critical for several members of the St. Louis Cardinals roster. Whether it is for the 2023 team or their respective futures remains to be seen. 

A handful of Cardinals had some tremendous moments during the 2022 season. Thankfully the team is loaded with outstanding talent that offset the down moments. But a stepped-up effort would have proved beneficial for specific players down the stretch.

Manager Oli Marmol has already had a complete turnover in his coaching staff. Matt Holliday replaces Skip Schumaker as bench coach. Jeff Albert stepped down as hitting coach due to social media criticism only to take on a hitting director role with the New York Mets. Turner Ward was promoted to hitting coach. Brandon Allen was promoted to assistant hitting coach. Allen was a hitting coach at AAA Memphis and was helpful to major leaguers who visited Memphis for rehab stints.

Dusty Blake took over as pitching coach as Mike Maddux decided to step aside to slow it down. Julio Rangel joined the organization as assistant pitching and bullpen coach.

The promotions of Ward and Allen should be most meaningful for the Cardinals. Ward is a favorite of Paul Goldschmidt, as the pair have known each other since their time in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Allen’s promotion is intriguing as several members of the Cardinals – Tyler O’Neill, Paul DeJong, Nolan Gorman, etc. – found success after working with Allen in Memphis.

Blake has been a pitching coordinator within the organization. It should be interesting to see how this transitions into a coaching role. Hopefully, he will join Dave Duncan and Maddux as a successful pitching coach in the organization.

Let’s look at some Cardinals who should take the offseason to improve, given a new coaching staff.

Dylan Carlson could use a new voice in his ear

Dylan Carlson proved to have a frustrating 2022 season that could be attributed to a lack of honesty on his part. While this is not new for the Cardinals, it’s frustrating to see from one of the organization’s top prospects.

Carlson was poised to take over in center field after the trade of Harrison Bader. He did a great job in the outfield but struggled at the plate. Carlson is one of those players who could benefit from the new coaching staff. From Holliday and Allen’s advice, Carlson should see some improvement at the plate.

While a talented hitter in high school and the minor leagues, he has struggled since joining the majors.  While hitters have struggles, many a hitter could not adapt to Jeff Albert’s instruction.

Here’s hoping Carlson has a marked improvement during Spring Training.

Paul DeJong must have a productive offseason

It seems obvious Mozeliak is reluctant to give up on DeJong. The one-time All-Star shortstop is in the final year of his six-year, $26 million contract. The contract does have a couple of options remaining on the deal. He does appear to be going into this offseason playing for his future with the Cardinals.

There is some hope for DeJong, though. When he was demoted to Memphis during the 2022 season, he finally found his swing again, thanks to working with Allen. DeJong receiving clear instruction throughout an entire season could be good for him and the Cardinals. Since Mozeliak will give DeJong all the chances in the world, I hope his gamble pays off.

Nolan Gorman must find consistency at the plate

Nolan Gorman had massive success at the start of his 2022 season at Memphis. He left the Cardinals no choice but to promote him. And it was a good choice… until suddenly it was not.

Opposing pitchers caught on to Gorman quickly, and he couldn’t adjust. This is one of those cases where he should have gotten proper instruction from his hitting coach to change. And while I’m sure he did, something was not clicking for Gorman as he struggled mightily, even getting demoted back to Memphis in the last month of the season. While he did appear in a postseason game, it was clear he had gotten some tips on adjusting. This must continue through the offseason and into Spring Training. Getting some tips and tricks from Holliday and Ward while working with Allen again should benefit the youngster.

If an obvious adjustment doesn’t happen for DeJong or Gorman, look for some changes to be made.