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Cardinals have revealed their cards when it comes to Victor Scott II's future

It's hard to imagine a scenario where Victor Scott II is with the club moving forward.
ByJosh Jacobs
May 4, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II (11) lays down a bunt against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
May 4, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II (11) lays down a bunt against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Back on June 7th, the St. Louis Cardinals demoted center fielder Victor Scott II to Triple-A after pumping up his value in the winter. And since being called back up on September 1st, Scott has started just one game for the big-league club. That should tell you everything you need to know about his future with the Cardinals.

Don't get me wrong, barring the Cardinals changing their actions ahead of next season, Scott has a future with another big league club. He has the tools to be a valuable center fielder in this league, though he has a lot of work he needs to do at the plate in order to get there. Scott is both a high-character and high-work-ethic individual, so he can very much turn the tide on his career outlook.

The Cardinals' actions always speak louder than their words, but when both their words and their actions state that Nathan Church is their everyday center fielder, Scott's future with the club is very bleak.

Victor Scott II is unlikely to be back with the Cardinals in 2027

Sure, there's a fourth outfielder or depth 40-man roster role that could be filled here by Scott, but in all likelihood, Scott will be non-tendered or traded this offseason to clear way for new talent to join the Cardinals' 40-man roster.

This season, Scott has slashed .190/.269/.252, amounting to a 50 wRC+ AND -0.4 fWAR in 78 games (192 plate appearances) with St. Louis. Things were hardly better with Memphis, as he slashed just .237/.320/.342 in his 249 plate appearances.

Nathan Church has proven to be a viable option for the Cardinals in center field, slashing .253/.297/.375, amounting to an 86 wRC+ and 0.7 fWAR in his 137 games. Nothing to write home about, but certainly far more production than the Cardinals got out of Scott.

Entering this offseason, the Cardinals have two open 40-man roster spots, but Max Rajcic will occupy one of those empty spots if they wish to keep him, since the 60-day IL exemption does not apply in the offseason. The Cardinals can clear a few more 40-man roster spots through non-tenders, DFA's, trades, or allowing a free agent like Ryne Stanek to walk, but the club also has to consider adding the following names to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft whenever that is set to happen after a likely work stoppage: Jesus Baez, Won-Bin Cho, Jacob Odle, and Ixan Henderson, among others.

Let's just be frank, though. If the Cardinals thought Scott had any kind of future with the big league club, he would be playing more right now. Joshua Baez landed on the injured list last week, and Nathan Church is not someone who is playing so well that he can't have an off-day or two each week. Scott isn't playing for a reason, but the Cardinals don't have a single healthy position player on their 40-man roster who is not already on the big league roster. So here Scott (and Cesar Prieto) are.

I'll be the first to root for Scott to break out in a big way next year for a different club, but I have a hard time seeing any scenario where he is not with a different organization in 2027.

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