4.5 reasons for Cardinals fans to be thankful this year

#4 - Be thankful the Cardinals finally have outfield stability.

The Cardinals' outfield has been extremely inconsistent in years past. In 2021, fans finally thought the trio of Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson, and Harrison Bader was going to solidify the outfield. The future looked promising, but after injuries to all three in the 2022 season, the plan changed. Bader was shipped off to the Yankees in exchange for Jordan Montgomery, and O'Neill and Carlson will likely be on their way out in exchange for pitching depth as well. Fortunately, the emergence of Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker has made the transition quick and once again it looks like the Cardinals have their future corner outfielders set for many years to come.

Jordan Walker showed significant promise in his 21-year-old rookie campaign, posting a slash line of .276/.342/.445/.787 and a 114 OPS+. His defense was admittedly quite poor, but he was inexperienced in the outfield after moving from his natural third base and showed significant improvements toward the end of the season. Perhaps the Cardinals will make fans even more thankful by extending him this offseason.

Lars Nootbaar's emergence from "fourth outfielder at best" to an untouchable player in trade negotiations also gives Cardinals fans something to be thankful for this year. He provides great defense at all outfield positions, even center field, with above-average offense and elite on-base skills. His 2023 season was the best by a Cardinals leadoff hitter since Matt Carpenter and he's shown great ability to set the table for Goldschmidt, Gorman, and Arenado.

Nootbaar's off-the-field charisma also greatly benefits the team. He provided energy even during a losing season, and his relationships with his Japanese WBC teammates could also come in handy this offseason. If the Cardinals do manage to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto, some credit should be given to Nootbaar.

#3 - Be thankful Yadier Molina wants to come back.

Much of the Cardinals' pitching struggles in 2023 have been attributed to the transition at catcher from Yadier Molina to Willson Contreras. While a lot of criticism directed at Contreras was unfounded and misplaced, Molina's pitch calling was certainly a missing asset that would've masked the poor starting rotation last year.

During Molina's tenure in St. Louis, it was clear pitchers were most comfortable throwing to him rather than any other backup catcher. He always seemed to know what pitches to call and his preparation was unparalleled. It seems like the Cardinals unfairly expected Willson Contreras, a bat-first catcher, to replace Molina's defensive contributions, and that led to their pitching downfall in 2023.

Fortunately, the Cardinals are in talks with Molina to return to the organization in a coaching role. It's no secret that Molina wants to pursue coaching and managerial roles in Major League Baseball, and he's already been offered roles from other teams such as the Miami Marlins, but his preference for St. Louis should be appreciated.

Unless the Cardinals want to part with Oli Marmol after expressing confidence in his managerial abilities, Molina won't be able to manage right away in St. Louis. He also won't be the bench coach, as the Cardinals added Daniel Descalso earlier this week. According to reports, Descalso as the bench coach should not affect Molina's ability to come back, so he may take a smaller role first. The club is still in talks with him to find a good position for him. Be thankful for Molina's loyalty to the Cardinals as he could get a much larger role elsewhere.

#2 - Be thankful for Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.

Every Opening Day, the Cardinals remind fans that they've had a Hall of Famer in uniform every year for the last century. After the retirements of Pujols and Molina in 2022, two new players have replaced them as the future Hall of Famers on the team: Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. Though both players had down years in 2023, they're just one year removed from both finishing in the top 3 in MVP voting. Both were a key component in the division-winning 2022 team, and they should not be overlooked as top players in the league going forward.

With the old veterans retired, Goldschmidt and Arenado are the new clubhouse leaders. The younger players count on them and look to them to provide mentorship. Despite not having the World Series success of the old guard, Goldschmidt, and Arenado solidify the middle of the Cardinals lineup with threatening power and hold down the infield defense at the corners. Without them, the Cardinals are in complete shambles. No strong pitching staff and no strong lineup.

With all the criticism John Mozeliak gets for trading Adolis Garcia, Randy Arozarena, Zac Gallen, and Sandy Alcantara, he should get equal praise for acquiring Goldschmidt and Arenado from the Diamondbacks and Rockies for absolutely nothing. The two have been invaluable to the Cardinals' elite lineup and will continue to win games next year. If they can bounce back to their 2022 heights, count on the Cardinals to win the NL Central and make a deep postseason run.

#1 - Be thankful for the young talent.

Many contending teams have weaker farm systems due to drafting lower and trading away prospect capital for established veterans. However, the Cardinals have maintained a great balance of veteran stars and young talent. Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, and many others form an extremely promising young core that should lead the Cardinals to success for years to come. The Cardinals also have talent in the Minors that should make an impact very soon. Thomas Saggese, Victor Scott II, Tink Hence, and Tekoah Roby are all players who could get called up next season.

The young talent also gives the Cardinals to swing trades for top-end starting pitching without sacrificing depth on the Major League roster. If the Cardinals trade Tommy Edman in a package for Tyler Glasnow, either Saggese or Scott could join the team to fill his role. A crowded outfield of Dylan Carlson, Tyler O'Neill, Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, and Jordan Walker won't work next year, but a few of those names are sure to be traded to bring back much-needed pitching help.

I discussed Nootbaar and Walker earlier in the article, but Nolan Gorman deserves to be highlighted just as much. Despite injury and only playing 119 games, Gorman showed prodigious power at second base, slugging 27 home runs and posting a 117 OPS+, a tremendous improvement from 2022. Had he stayed healthy, he easily would've eclipsed 35 homers, a huge asset at second base.

The Cardinals have a wealth of young Major League-ready position player talent and up-and-coming starting pitching talent. The future for this team is certainly bright, and there are so many different ways they can approach it. Let us hope they won't waste it.