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

The Cardinals can clear space by demoting players.

This is the easiest route to clearing up the positional logjams for the St. Louis Cardinals. Demoting a player to Triple-A to start the year, regardless of who it is, opens up time and plate appearances for everyone.

In my mind, there are four players who could be demoted: Victor Scott II, Nolan Gorman, Michael Siani, and Jordan Walker.

Let's start with Scott.

There's a chance Scott's torrid spring is all a facade. After all, he posted a .770 OPS with 13 hits last year in spring and had a rough 2024 season. Who's to say this year's spring performance isn't a front as well?

Scott could probably benefit from more time in development. He was pushed to the majors too early last year out of necessity, and he lost a year of team control and was affected negatively as a result. Keeping him in Memphis to at least start the year will give him time to make sure his approach and swing are right while also lessening the pressure to succeed right away.

Demoting Nolan Gorman would be for similar reasons to last year's demotion. Gorman has turned it around from the rough start to his spring, but he's still hitting just .200 with only one home run and 12 strikeouts in 50 at-bats. Starting him in Memphis will give him time to fix his strikeout problems without hurting the success of the major-league team, something that still matters for the organization next year. Demoting Gorman allows Victor Scott to play center, Nootbaar to play in left, Brendan Donovan to fill in at second, and Alec Burleson to be the designated hitter most days.

Demoting Michael Siani would be easy; he's not hitting well at all this spring, and his bat clearly isn't up to snuff for the majors. In his stead, Victor Scott II would be on the big-league squad. This doesn't clear up any logjams, though. Scott should play every day if he starts with the Cardinals. This cuts into Alec Burleson's playing time, as Nootbaar would shift to left, Donovan to second, and Gorman to DH.

Jordan Walker is the curious demotion here. JD Hafron of Locked on Cardinals brought this up in one of his recent episodes, and there's some validity to it. Walker has been going through some knee trouble this spring after tripping on a sprinkler, and his numbers haven't been overly promising. He's hitting .136 with a .427 OPS, and he's struck out 11 times in only 22 at-bats. There's clearly something wrong with Walker's approach and presence.

Starting him at Triple-A will give him time to essentially rehab while making up for lost time this spring due to his injury. This allows VS2 to play in center, Nootbaar and Donovan to play in the corners, Gorman to start at second base, and Burleson to DH.

Demoting one of Victor Scott II, Nolan Gorman, Michael Siani, or Jordan Walker will clear up some space for players to see more at-bats.