Cardinals Rumors: 2 ways Cardinals can clear positional logjams for Victor Scott II

The St. Louis Cardinals are at a crossroads in more ways than one heading into the 2025 season.

From an organizational perspective, they're stuck between being competitive now while preparing for the future. They are an organization that could spend money, but spending money recently hasn't panned out well for them. Floating in the middle organizationally is not a good place to be for a franchise.

From a player and personnel perspective, the Cardinals must choose between several young players to fill out the roster. At the moment, all positions except for center field are established, and who plays in center will have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the roster.

Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages will split time at catcher. The infield will be occupied primarily by Willson Contreras, Nolan Gorman, Masyn Winn, and Nolan Arenado. The corner outfield spots will be for Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, and Jordan Walker. This leaves Alec Burleson, Jose Fermin, Michael Siani, and Luken Baker on the bench.

Victor Scott II has introduced a wrinkle into this equation.

Scott is having a fantastic spring. He's done everything he needed to in order to push the envelope on the center field battle. Scott has a .359 batting average and a 1.149 OPS to go along with three home runs, seven walks, and five stolen bases this spring. His performance has forced the front office to have a serious conversation about keeping the 24-year-old outfielder with the big-league club when camp breaks in less than a week's time.

However, making Victor Scott II the team's starting center fielder complicates the roster dramatically. This would shift Lars Nootbaar to left field, Brendan Donovan to second base, and Nolan Gorman to DH. Alec Burleson loses plate appearances in this lineup. Luken Baker wouldn't be able to play first base or DH as often. The effects of keeping Scott on the roster are dramatic and deep.

How does a team solve this logjam? If the Cardinals truly want to see what they have in their young players in 2025, shouldn't Scott and Burleson, who hit 21 home runs last year and had a 106 wRC+, be essential players, too? Keeping Scott down to start the year would surely cause fans to be frustrated. Was there ever really a competition in spring for center field if he's sent to Triple-A Memphis? Was it already decided back in February that it would be either Michael Siani or Lars Nootbaar in center field in 2025?

That's not necessarily the case. All offseason, we've been hearing about Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Lars Nootbaar as key players who need to take the next step. Lately, Alec Burleson's name has been thrown into the mix, too. With the current roster construction, it's not possible for all four of those players plus Victor Scott II to receive at least 500 plate appearances.

Something has to happen for these players to receive their full runs in 2025.

Here are two ways the St. Louis Cardinals can alleviate the logjams they have on their roster in 2025.