A budget version of the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals' roster

Outfield/DH

Right field: Jordan Walker
Center field: Victor Scott II
Left field: Lars Nootbaar
Designated hitter: Willson Contreras

The outfield was a bit straightforward. Hopefully, by 2026, Jordan Walker will have figured out his offensive struggles, and he's ready to take on the mantle of the Cardinals' permanent right fielder. The same can be said of Victor Scott II, though his offensive ceiling is much lower than Walker's. Lars Nootbaar returns in left field as the team's veteran outfielder by then.

The defensive profile of this outfield is pretty strong. Victor Scott II projects as a plus-plus defender with his speed. Nootbaar has always been a plus defender in the corners, and he could even see a few innings in center. Hopefully, Jordan Walker will be less of a negative defender by then.

On the offensive side, Scott's speed can cause a lot of trouble for opposing teams. Nootbaar presents an all-around offensive profile with a penchant to get on base. Walker has a fantastic hit tool and the potential for some serious power. Noot and VS2 are both lefties, so they'll provide a bit of variety to the batting order along with Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman. This is an exciting group of outfielders on both sides of the ball.

At designated hitter, we find Willson Contreras. It was assumed when the Cardinals signed Contreras prior to the 2023 season that he would eventually take this mantle, and 2026 seems to be the most likely year that he (almost) phases out of catching. As I said previously, I still expect Contreras to see some time behind the plate, but the bulk of his time will be spent at DH.

Nootbaar will be in his second year of arbitration, and I can't even guess what he would fetch. Let's say around $7 million. Scott will be making the league minimum of $780,000. Walker will be in his first year of arbitration, and he could see anywhere from $3-$10 million depending on how he performs these next two years. Let's call his figure at $5.5 million. Contreras is the most expensive of the bunch at $18 million. This gives the outfield and DH group a total salary of around $31 million.

Other options for the outfield include Brendan Donovan (more on him later), Michael Siani, and Chase Davis (also, more on him later).