Cardinals All-Quarter Century Team after 25 years of historic baseball

Bench

3B Nolan Arenado

I know the last few years have not gone well, but Nolan Arenado is still in the top ten among Cardinals' position players in fWAR since 2000 in just five seasons of play, with two of them being well below what we know Arenado to be. At his best, Arenado was a two-way superstar like Scott Rolen, and in 2022, he finished third in NL MVP voting behind Goldschmidt and Manny Machado, putting up a 7.2 fWAR and 149 wRC+. Arenado is arguably the best defensive third baseman of all time, and it is a shame that the team did not have more success when Arenado and Goldschmidt were in St. Louis.

OF Carlos Beltran

The last three names on this list were so hard to narrow down, but Carlos Beltran sneaked onto the list due to how impactful he was during his two seasons with St. Louis. Beltran basically filled the hole that Pujols left when he went to the Angels, posting a 127 wRC+ and helping lead the Cardinals to the World Series in 2013 and to within a game of the Fall Classic in 2012. Had Beltran not gotten hurt in the 2012 NLCS, the Cardinals may not have blown their 3-1 lead to the Giants. Beltran is arguably a top-ten hitter for St. Louis over the last 25 years.

UTL Brendan Donovan

The Cardinals are likely to trade Brendan Donovan this offseason, but if they were to hold onto him, Donovan would likely become a Cardinals Hall of Famer. Donovan was named the NL's first-ever utility man Gold Glove winner in his rookie season, and his 119 wRC+ ranks 14th among qualified Cardinals' position players since 2000. In just 492 career games, Donovan ranks 15th in fWAR among that group as well, and provides immense value with his bat and the ability to plug and play anywhere on the field.

C Willson Contreras

Because Yadier Molina was such a staple of the Cardinals' lineup for the majority of the last 25 years, there really aren't many options to back him up that were more than an actual backup. Willson Contreras gets the nod for me here, as he ranks sixth among all Cardinals position players in wRC+ since 2000 and also provides a bit of versatility off the bench as a good defensive first baseman. We all know Molina is going to catch almost every game, so Contreras can spot start every once in a while and use his bat off the bench to change games.