6 Cardinals who are scuffling in Spring Training

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Spring Training doesn't matter. We all know it. The St. Louis Cardinals finished Spring Training in 2023 with the best record in baseball, and look at how that season turned out. Hitters are tinkering with their swings and pitchers are playing around with their arsenals. If a normally strong player is performing poorly, there is often a good reason to write it off as him trying something new while the games don't count.

Regardless, the data from Spring Training is all fans have to go off of, so it's incredibly easy to make snap judgments of how players will fare during the season by poring over their Spring Training stats. So with the disclaimer that subpar performance in Spring Training is far from a death knell for a player, let's get into six Cardinals whom fans would like to see more out of before the regular season begins.

Kyle Gibson

The Cardinals headed into the offseason with a plan to sign starting pitchers who would be able to go deep into games and keep the bullpen fresh, and with that strategy in mind, they signed University of Missouri alumnus and longtime Cardinals fan Kyle Gibson, who ranks 15th among active players in innings pitched.

Gibson has been shaky so far in Spring Training: Through two starts, he has given up seven earned runs on eight hits in just five innings, with an opposing batting average of .348. Gibson has little margin for error in his pitch-to-contact approach, and if the 36-year-old shows his age and loses significant spin or break on his pitches, disaster will likely follow.

If Gibson's spring troubles carry over into the regular season, the Cardinals might have to seek reinforcements for the rotation. Sonny Gray's injury news is looking more positive by the day, so hopefully the Cardinals wouldn't have to dive too deeply into their farm system.

Paul Goldschmidt

After a banner year in 2022 that saw him win the National League MVP award, Paul Goldschmidt tumbled down a slope in 2023, accumulating an OPS of .810, his lowest mark since his rookie year. This spring, Goldschmidt has started slowly, hitting .200 with 4 hits in 20 at-bats while striking out in 10 of them.

It's worth noting that Goldschmidt nearly always takes a while to get going, so fans shouldn't hit the panic button on him even if he carries over his sluggish hitting to begin the season. However, Goldschmidt is 36, so the cliff could arrive at any time for the veteran slugger.

The Cardinals will undoubtedly roll with Goldschmidt as their primary first baseman throughout the season unless he gets hurt. Their primary replacement for him will likely be Alec Burleson. Jordan Walker might receive some reps there as well, although the Cardinals will likely want to play him in the outfield more to see if he can further improve his defense.

John King

John King emerged as a bullpen stalwart after his trade to the Cardinals from the Texas Rangers as part of the return for Jordan Montgomery, owning a 1.45 ERA in 18.2 innings after the deal. His 3.84 FIP suggested that he was getting by with smoke and mirrors, though, and his performance in Spring Training isn't doing him any favors.

King needs to elicit weak contact to be successful, but he's been smacked around in spring, surrendering a whopping 14 hits and seven earned runs in his five innings of work so far. His spot as a left-hander out of the bullpen could be usurped by Zack Thompson, Matthew Liberatore or even spring standout Drew Rom. King still has a minor league option that the Cardinals could utilize, so he could soon be headed to Triple-A if he can't iron out his issues.

Willson Contreras

Willson Contreras started slowly in 2023, but it was ultimately a successful year for the backstop, as he led the Cardinals in OPS at .826. He has sputtered again this spring, hitting only .176. However, all three of his hits have been doubles.

From the start of last season through June, Contreras hit only .215, but from July 1 on, he batted .339 with a 1.059 OPS. Now 31 years old, Contreras will likely require more maintenance days to keep him fresh behind the plate. Spending more time as a designated hitter will let Contreras focus on his offense more, which has always been the strength of his game.

Ivan Herrera should spell Contreras most days, and his promising play last season and in the Caribbean Series should make him a strong backup. A collapse from Contreras is unlikely, but a dependable backup is a luxury few teams can boast.

JoJo Romero

JoJo Romero stepped up after the trade deadline in 2023 to bolster an ineffective back end of the bullpen, serving as the Cardinals' closer late in the season. He pitched to a 3.68 ERA and a sparkling 2.22 FIP in 36.2 innings.

Romero has had little success in Spring Training so far, giving up eight hits, six earned runs and four walks in five innings. As a left-hander whom the Cardinals are looking to use as a key bullpen piece, Romero will hopefully return to being the effective pitcher the Cardinals saw last season.

If Romero is unable to rediscover his 2023 form, other bullpen southpaws will have to step up, such as Zack Thompson and John King. Romero appeared to unlock something in his toolbox after the trade to the Cardinals in 2022, so it's reasonable to hope that he will continue to pitch well despite a shaky spring.

Dylan Carlson

With outfielders Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbaar potentially unavailable for the start of the season, Dylan Carlson is expected to slide into a starting role. But after a rookie year that displayed so much promise, Carlson has yet to come close to replicating those numbers.

So far in spring, Carlson is hitting only .208, and there were murmurs before Spring Training that the Cardinals might try to have the switch-hitting Carlson bat only from the right side. That doesn't appear to be in the cards this season, but something needs to change for Carlson to have a future in St. Louis.

The Cardinals shipped Richie Palacios to the Tampa Bay Rays for Andrew Kittredge, and it's worth wondering if Palacios could have taken the fourth outfielder job over Carlson after showing real promise late in the season. Carlson needs to figure out his swing soon to take advantage of the opportunity he's receiving, especially since it could be his last.

Spring Training means nothing, but it does provide a glimpse into what players might be working on. Just as players who excel in spring can crash back to earth, so too can those who struggle flip a switch when the regular season comes around.

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