5 biggest storylines to watch as the St. Louis Cardinals begin spring training

3. Will offense or defense win the day at the Cardinals' two most important position battles during camp?

Defense wins championships...right? The Philadelphia Eagles sure made the case on the gridiron Sunday. Yet, when the offense is such a stark difference, does that lessen the benefit of said defense?

No, we aren't talking about football now. We are talking about how the Cardinals will handle center field and catcher this year on the diamond.

There are currently three major contenders for the center field role come Opening Day. First, the incumbent, Michael Siani, who played Gold Glove-level defense in 124 games for St. Louis in 2024...albeit hitting 26% below league average at the plate. Second, the speedy Victor Scott II, who has a ton of potential but was 60% below league average offensively during his rookie year. And third is the oft-injured Lars Nootbaar, who, despite not having the center field defense that those two have, boasted the fourth-best wRC+ on the team last year with a 114.

If Siani or Scott show they've made strides offensively in camp, they are likely the best options to man center. But if not, the best way to maximize this lineup would be to have Nootbaar out there, right?

A similar story is brewing with the catcher position. Pedro Pages clearly caught the eyes of the dugout for his ability to manage the pitching staff, but his offense was also well below league average (83 wRC+). Ivan Herrera, on the other hand, had 41 more plate appearances and posted a 127 wRC+, second-best on the team. Yes, we are all well aware of his issues throwing runners out, but I cannot fathom not playing him as the primary catcher.

Maybe the Cardinals split the difference and opt for offense in one area and defense in the other. Maybe they shock us by playing their most promising bats at both spots. Or they just roll with the defensive first guys again and hope it works out for them in the end.

How Oliver Marmol handles these situations this spring will say a lot about the direction of this team.