Playing start, bench, and option with the Cardinals' outfielders

There are too many mouths to feed in the Cardinals' outfield, they need to define roles for each of their outfielders.

The St. Louis Cardinals entered the 2023 season with so many different position players who could have made an impact on their roster. Because of that, the Cardinals decided to enter the season with a bit of fluctuation amongst their position players, specifically in the outfield.

It's late April, and it's now clear as day that the Cardinals have too many mouths to feed in their outfield.

Some would say that was obvious back in Spring Training, but I would push back against that. Sure, there were a lot of players needing playing time, but a few things have made it even more difficult to decipher that.

First, Jordan Walker made the Opening Day roster, adding another player to the mix. Second, Alec Burleson has played above most fans' expectations and has made himself someone who needs consistent playing time. Third, Nolan Gorman has been the Cardinals' best player this year, making DH at-bats virtually non-existent for guys not named Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras.

I won't say the Cardinals' depth is a bad thing by any stretch, but the reluctance to "roll with some guys" may really be damaging their ability to find consistent offense. Honestly, the club probably messed up a little bit not finding a trade for one or two of their outfielders this offseason to improve their pitching, but their thinking wasn't bad. With how this season has started off though, they cannot worry about getting everyone at-bats in St. Louis.

So in this story, I am going to tell you which three outfielders should start, which one should be on the bench, and who should be optioned to Triple-A Memphis for the time being while the club figures out what they have in their outfield.

Lars Nootbaar

This is the easiest decision on the list, Lars Nootbaar should be an everyday starter for the Cardinals.

The international superstar is currently slashing .276/.475/.517 with 2 HR and 4 RBI so far this season. He has 11 walks already in 9 games and had become the perfect leadoff man for the Cardinals with his mix of power and elite on-base skills.

Nootbaar also provides tremendous stability in the Cardinals' outfield defensively. While guys like Walker and Alec Burleson struggle defensively, the Cardinals can throw Nootbaar at any of the three outfield positions and expect great production at the plate and in the field.

It's pretty amazing how far Nootbaar has come in the last two seasons. One of my first stories for Redbird Rants was ranking the ceilings of the Cardinals' outfielders, and Nootbaar ranked last for me. He's definitely proven me wrong and has become one of the Cardinals' most valuable players.

Verdict: Start

Alec Burleson

As I said earlier, Alec Burleson has really surprised many Cardinals fans so far this season, as he started off hot and was batting in the two-spot against right-handed pitching for St. Louis.

Since then though, things have cooled off a lot for Burleson. He's slashing .211/.268/.316 in his last 11 games and just hasn't been the same force at the plate that he was. Again, that's not surprising for a guy who is so young and has so few MLB at-bats.

Burleson has a lot of potential to be a guy who hits at a very high clip with pretty good power. He could be that for the Cardinals long-term, and still represents a valuable bat off the bench for them today.

I'd bench Burleson, and use him as the primary bat off the bench at this moment, and then give him starts in the outfield or DH when there are opportunities. Brendan Donovan could slide out there with Gorman at second base if they would rather have Burleson DHing on the days he starts.

Verdict: Bench

Tyler O'Neill

Man oh man, the ghosts of 2021 Tyler O'Neill seem to haunt me in the worst way every day. If he could just get back to his 2021 form...I think that to myself quite often.

While some of his Baseball Savant page looks promising, he's starting to frustrate me a lot as a player more than he used to. He's just not doing the same damage with the ball that he used to do, which was what let you live with his high strikeout rate and low walk rate. Now, he's hitting singles, not stealing bases, striking out a ton, and not really walking.

And yet, I still think he's a starter for this club...for the moment. His numbers on the season are nothing to write home about (.250/.303/.380 with 2 HR and 5 RBI), but he plays really great outfield defense for the Cardinals and I don't think his OPS will remain below .700 for long.

I do think it's only a matter of time before that power surges back, and we are looking at minimum a guy with a .750 OPS. Not what I would have hoped for this season, but I do think he at least rebounds some and has the potential to rebound a lot bigger than that.

Now, I do think O'Neill is the guy who sits more often than Nootbaar and Walker for obvious reasons. It's still good to have four outfielders and rotate the other one in semi-consistently, and the first one to sit in the rotation, and the most often, should be O'Neill.

Verdict: Start...but he's on a short leash

Dylan Carlson

When I was first starting this list, I was going to argue for optioning Dylan Carlson at this moment. Then I switched to Burleson, and then I switched back to Carlson, and here is why.

Carlson still has a ton of talent and is not a bad player, but his ability to hit right-handed pitching is just non-existent right now. He needs to figure that out, especially if the club is going to move on from a Tyler O'Neill in the near future.

Burleson, unless he just doesn't come out of his slump, represents a weapon off the bench for the Cardinals, and then can operate as the fourth outfielder when rest days are needed. Carlson can have some time in Memphis to work things out and hopefully return to St. Louis as an everyday player.

I also just believe, like O'Neill, that there is too much talent in Carlson's game to underperform as he has to this point. I think both O'Neill and Carlson would improve a lot if they are playing more often, but there just isn't enough opportunity in St. Louis for Carlson to get those at-bats right now.

Who gets called up in place of Burleson then? Well, the Cardinals still have a 40-man roster spot open with Taylor Motter's DFA, which makes me think they have a corresponding move in mind if they were to option one of the outfielders.

Oscar Mercado has been pretty darn good for Memphis this year and is someone you don't have to worry about playing all that often. He can provide the defense late in games Carlson could provide, but not need to get starts outside of clear rest days for their starters.

Verdict: Option Dylan Carlson