6 changes the Cardinals need to make to maximize their roster and win more games

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These six changes will maximize the Cardinals roster and help them keep winning games

The St. Louis Cardinals began the 2023 season with the worst record in the National League and all but losing hope on the season as a whole.

Recently, the Cardinals have begun to play better baseball and look more like the team we thought they could be coming into the year. While Nolan Arenado is still struggling at the plate, the rest of the offense has been picking things up as of late, finally driving runs in to go along with their other great statistical performances.

While the rotation continues to be an issue for the club, the bullpen has seemed to tighten the ship a bit this last week, at least in big spots. In general, there is a feeling of optimism in the dugout, believing that they can win each game, rather than putting their head down after going down in any game.

In all honesty, it's kind of surprising that this is the week they have started to put good results together. Over the weekend, they suffered a series loss to the Detroit Tigers (although, they broke their losing streak on Sunday), and removed Willson Contreras from his primary catching duties, catching a ton of controversy. And yet, they look like a much better team today than they did this time last week.

Still, there are things the club can be doing right now to improve their chances of winning each game and get themselves back on track to compete this season. Here are six changes I would make to the roster, lineup, and pitching staff to continue their winning ways.

Change #1 - Restore Willson Contreras as the primary catcher

We've all questioned the Cardinals' move to remove Willson Contreras from being the primary catcher. But before we any further - let's see if the Cardinals were right to believe it would help their starting pitching.

On Wednesday's edition of BK & Ferrario on 101 ESPN, Brandon Kiley looked at the rotation's and bullpen's ERA before and after April 27th, when the Cardinals first began having Andrew Knizner catch half of the games they played before becoming the primary catcher. Here is the breakdown.

Starting Rotation
Before April 27th - 5.20 ERA (24th in MLB)
Since April 27th - 5.20 ERA (22nd in MLB)

Bullpen
Before April 27th - 4.00 ERA (17th in MLB)
Since April 27th - 3.85 ERA (15th in MLB)

So far, the results seem to suggest what everyone else believed, besides the Cardinals, that the clear issue with the pitching this season has not been Contreras' fault, but rather, bad performances from their pitching staff. Shocker, right?

Well, all Contreras has done since this weekend is rake, and it's time to put him back as the primary catcher. Have the starters or coaches call games if you have to, but it's clear that Contreras deserves his job back, and that it makes the Cardinals so much better having his bat there, rather than clogging up the DH spot.

#2 - Call up Matthew Liberatore, send Steven Matz to the bullpen

Speaking of the Cardinals' struggling rotation, it's past time to call up red-hot pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore from Triple-A to join their rotation.

Liberatore was named the Triple-A International League Pitcher of the Month in April and looks to have taken major strides since last year. In seven starts, Liberatore is 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA and 11.8 K/9 in 39 innings of work. I understand there are five starters up in St. Louis right now, but the only starter who is clearly a better option than Liberatore right now is Jordan Montgomery.

Steven Matz is the easiest candidate right now for a move to the bullpen. He's 0-4 with a 5.70 ERA in 36.1 innings of work, and his 5.25 FIP and 1.60 WHIP don't help his cause by any means.

Moving Matz to the bullpen would allow him to take on a left-handed specialist role, as lefties are slashing just .130/.200/.261 against him this season, or become a long-man out of the pen until a rotatoin spot opens back up. If you think the Cardinals wouldn't pay a reliever that kind of money, that's basically Andrew Miller money he's making.

Regardless, it's time to get Liberatore into the rotation.

Change #3 - Make Brendan Donovan the official every day left fielder

Again, this change may not last for a long period of time, but right now, Brendan Donovan should be playing left field every day.

With Nolan Gorman, Tommy Edman, and Paul DeJong all deserving playing time right now, finding a place for Donovan gets more and more difficult. Lately, he's been finding himself out in left field, and playing great defense out there.

At least for the time being, Donovan is the Cardinals' third best outfielder, and he should be playing out there as often as possible. When Tyler O'Neill returns, I'm sure the club will be giving him some run again, but until O'Neill proves he's deserving of that role, or one of the Cardinals' other middle infielders struggles, Donovan should be the priority there.

The nice thing about Donovan playing there is that the club can move him around into the infield mid-game if needed as well. His versatility is elite, and he provides good value with the bat right now as well.

Change #4 - Start Nolan Gorman at second base everyday, Juan Yepez at DH

Nolan Gorman has been one of the best players on this Cardinals team this year. At this point, it's time to see what he can do against left-handed pitching. He doesn't have a hit off of a lefty this year, but he has only had nine plate appearances and only struck out once.

Gorman is slashing .272/.356/.553 with 8 HR and 24 RBI against righties this year, and although some players never figure out how to hit against the lefties, it's too early to call Gorman one of those guys.

Doing this, especially if Contreras is catching, allows the Cardinals to give Juan Yepez a run at designated hitter for a while. Entering Wednesday's game, Yepez had only received 17 plate appearances on the season, slashing .294/.294/.471 so far. With Alec Burleson not playing well as of late, and Yepez historically having neutral splits, he represents a great option to run with for the near future.

Should Yepez hit like many believe he can, he should make a strong argument for being in the Cardinals' lineup as often as possible and being a weapon off the bench when needed. Replacing Knizner in the lineup every day with the bat of Yepez is a huge addition to this lineup.

Change #5 - Call up Luken Baker and Oscar Mercardo, send down Alec Burleson and Tres Barrera

Alec Burleson is a valuable part of the Cardinals' future. Right now, he's hardly playing and doesn't have a clear role, so why not call up one of the hottest bats in all of Triple-A and see if you can catch lightning in a bottle in Luken Baker.

If you haven't been keeping up with the Memphis Redbirds, Baker is slashing .302/.430/.672 with 12 HR and 29 RBI in just 33 games thus far. Baker is 26 years old and has nothing left to prove in Triple-A, so why not let his bat go to work for the big league club?

The nice part about having Baker on the roster off the bench is if it works, you may have found the next Cardinals prospect to rise from being relatively unknown to a key member of the club. The Cardinals clearly don't value his future like some of their other young bats, so they don't have to worry about stunting his growth or development. Worst case, he was disappointing off the bench and goes back to Memphis soon.

Burleson can go down to Memphis and play every day, getting ready to be an important contributor for the club once again in the near future. He's now slashing .218/.269/.402 on the season and just doesn't have the same punch he had during the first few weeks. I expect him to regain that, but for now, a trip to Memphis makes sense.

Tres Barrea doesn't need to be on the roster if Contreras is catching, unless he's replacing Andrew Knizner. Oscar Mercado was signed as a depth outfield option this offseason, and could provide outfield defense off the bench late in games if the club needs to move Donovan into the infield, and also wouldn't require much playing time.

Change #6 - Sit Tommy Edman against RH pitching, start Paul DeJong

This may not be a move I would stick with long term, but for the time being, Paul DeJong should be playing every day against right-handed pitching, while Tommy Edman moves to the bench.

DeJong has done nothing but rake since coming off the injured list this year, and has been one of the most productive Cardinals during that time. DeJong is now tied with Nolan Gorman for WAR on the season (0.7) and ranks ahead of both Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman (both are at 0.4). DeJong has done this in about a third of the plate appearances and innings played that the other three have had.

Checkout DeJong and Edman's splits against RH and LH pitching, respectively.

Paul DeJong
vs. RH: .387/.441/.774 with 3 HR and 6 RBI (231 sOPS+)
vs. LH: .222/.300/.222 with 0 HR and 0 RBI (46 sOPS+)

Tommy Edman
vs. RH: .177/.258/.304 with 2 HR and 9 RBI (57 sOPS+)
vs. LH: .400/.455/.767 with 3 HR and 5 RBI (224 sOPS+)

This is the ultimate example of an elite platoon opportunity, and the Cardinals need to take advantage of that at shortstop for as long as it lasts. Late in games, the Cardinals can counter with the other half of the platoon as a pinch-hit option as needed, making it a deadly combo for opposing teams to face.

DeJong being a prominent bat in their lineup against right-handed pitching and Edman doing the same against left-handed pitching strengthens the lineup in a big way and really helps make up for a slumping Nolan Arenado. If he can get things back on track soon, this lineup is scary.

Lineups and rotation after the changes

Lineup vs. RH pitching

RF Lars Nootbaar
1B Paul Goldschmidt
2B Nolan Gorman
3B Nolan Arenado
C Willson Contreras
SS Paul DeJong
LF Brendan Donovan
DH Juan Yepez
CF Dylan Carlson

Lineup vs. LH pitching

SS Tommy Edman
RF Lars Nootbaar
1B Paul Goldschmidt
3B Nolan Arenado
C Willson Contreras
CF Dylan Carlson
2B Nolan Gorman
DH Juan Yepez
LF Brendan Donovan

Bench

C Andrew Knizner
1B Luken Baker
OF Oscar Mercado
SS Paul DeJong/Tommy Edman

Rotation

Jordan Montgomery
Miles Mikolas
Jack Flaherty
Matthew Liberatore
Adam Wainwright

Bullpen

RHP Ryan Helsley
RHP Giovanny Gallegos
LHP Genesis Caberera
RHP Jordan Hicks
RHP Chris Stratton
RHP Drew VerHagen
LHP Steven Matz
RHP Andre Pallante

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I personally feel like this is a really good roster for the time being. The return of O'Neill could strengthen their outfield depth, while guys like Burleson and Jordan Walker could be called up at any time. The Cardinals also have some other intriguing arms in Memphis right now that could factor in at any point.

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