7 players who could contend for the Cardinals' final bench spot in 2024

Jose Fermin

Familiarity breeds contempt, and Cardinal fans are quite familiar, and contempt, with Jose Fermin. Out of necessity last year, Fermin appeared in twenty-one games for St. Louis, garnering sixty-one plate appearances. A .235/.339/.255 slash line gave him a 76 wRC+, one of the worst on the team. Fermin, however, did have a respectful K rate (13.1%).

Jose Fermin is able to play can play all infield positions including shortstop. His positional flexibility would be the biggest factor in his chances of breaking Spring Training in St. Louis rather than Memphis. While he didn't play shortstop last year in St. Louis, he has played the position in the minors before.

Fermin would be another low-risk, low-reward player to start the season in St. Louis, but the Cardinals know what to expect from him at least. He is on the 40-man roster, but I don't think he's the best player the team has to offer for the final bench spot.

Moises Gomez

Moises Gomez went from being the best hitter in all of the minor leagues to a player who runs the risk of being cut from the Cardinals' organization. In 2022, Gomez had the best season of his career. He slugged .624 on the season, and he hit thirty-nine home runs. Gomez is able to play both corner outfield spots, but his defense isn't his calling card.

The issue for Moises Gomez comes in two facets: first, he can't play anywhere on the infield. The Cardinals have ample outfield depth between Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson, and Brendan Donovan. Having another player who can ONLY play the outfield doesn't help. Second, Gomez isn't who he once was. He has high strikeout rates, and he didn't hit well enough last year to outweigh those maladies.

Gomez is on the 40-man roster, so his promotion shouldn't require much manipulation. I don't think it is likely that Gomez makes the MLB roster out of Spring next year, but he has an outside chance.