3 ways to fix the Cardinals struggling offense as right now

The St. Louis Cardinals are 9-10 entering their weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers, and oddly enough, it's been their pitching and defense that has carried them to wins so far. Their OPS ranks 24th in all of baseball, with significant bats like Paul Goldschmidt, Jordan Walker, and Nolan Gorman not producing to begin the year.

I believe the Cardinals have all of the pieces necessary to have a top offense in baseball and the fact that they are almost .500 when the strength of their team has not been living up to its billing. Even so, the team needs its offense to get on track as soon as possible, and it may be worth making some significant changes to make it happen.

Here are three changes I believe could spark the offense right now while the big bats work on getting things right.

Fix #1 - Move Lars Nootbaar to center field

I understand the Cardinals have been resistant to the idea of moving Lars Nootbaar to center field, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Victor Scott II and Michael Siani are both hitting below .100 right now. If the top hitters in the Cardinals lineup were producing like they should right now, that really wouldn't matter all that much. But while things are the way they are, the Cardinals may need to sacrifice some defense to get more runs on the board.

The Cardinals' defense has taken major steps forward this year, and I understand why people don't want to mess with that. It's also fair to be worried that Nootbaar's health could be at risk if he's flying around center field every day. Here's why I think it's worth the risk:

1. Letting Nootbaar play center field for the time being is not a long-term commitment. Scott and Siani in center field are not the sole reasons the team's defense has gotten a lot better. Winn playing shortstop every day, Nolan Arenado getting back to himself defensively, the continued strides from Nolan Gorman at second base, and Jordan Walker's improvements in right field are a big part of the defense taking a step forward. I don't think Nootbaar in center field would destabilize that, and if it somehow did, there's nothing stopping them from switching back immediately.

2. Nootbaar has been prone to those weird injuries, and helping him avoid them is certainly important. But if he can't find a way to stay healthy for the next month while they wait for Carlson or Edman to return, that's a bigger issue in itself.

Moving Nootbaar to center field also allows the Cardinals to fit another significant bat into their lineup each day, something I'll address next.

Fix #2 - Play Ivan Herrera every day

Ever since Nootbaar came back, the conversation has been "How can the Cardinals keep Ivan Herrera in the lineup?". Well, without Nootbaar in center field, it's not really possible outside of sitting one of Gorman, Walker, or Donovan. Well, moving Nootbaar to center field allows for a new arrangement and gets Herrera's bat into the lineup.

Herrera or Contreras can be the designated hitter each day while the other one catches, Donovan plays left field, and Nootbaar is in center. There'll be days when one of Scott or Siani plays in center or Donovan is needed to fill in along the infield, so they'll still need to move guys around. But with the way Herrera's bat has played (.811 OPS, 4th on the team this year), they really need his bat each day, at least until some of their other bats get going.

There really isn't a ton of risk with playing both catchers most days. If some kind of injury were to happen to the guy behind the plate, the one who is DHing that day can slide to catcher, and they just have to play classic National League baseball for the rest of that game and figure out if they need to recall Pages for the next game.

I'll say this again as well, this is not a long-term plan I am coming up with. Sure, it could develop into the way the Cardinals structure their lineup each day if it's clear that it makes them the best team possible, but assuming their other bats get going at some point, they can decrease some of Herrera's playing time, move Nootbaar back to left field, and reprioritize some defense again as needed. The goal is always to have a lineup that can be as predictable as possible for a manager, but when your team is not producing like it needs to, you have to get creative.

Speaking of getting creative, the next change has been suggested by many fans, and might actually need to happen in the near future.