Cardinals Spring Training: Notes from Oli Marmol, John Mozeliak, and more

Oli Marmol gave clarity on how the DH position will be handled

By the end of the 2022 season, the Cardinals' had Albert Pujols as their primary designated hitter and rarely rotated anyone else through there outside of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. This season, the club plans to be strategic with the position.

When asked about how the DH would be used this year, Marmol mentioned how they would like to use that position to get Goldschmidt and Arenado off their feet and keep their bat in the lineup, as well as Willson Contreras. Goldschmidt and Arenado combined for 40 starts at DH in 2022, and if the club were to give another 10 to Contreras this year, that'll leave about 112 games to rotate their young bats there.

At the moment, Marmol said they are looking at establishing their right-handed and left-handed option for the position on days when they do not need to rotate an everyday player there. Right-handed options fighting for those chances likely include Juan Yepez and Jordan Walker, while the left-handed bats would include the likes of Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson. Depending on who is on the mound will dictate who draws the start at that position.

Still, if someone were to emerge this season, similar to how Pujols did, that platoon use of the DH could dwindle a lot more.