St. Louis Cardinals' mentality for 2023: If you hit, we'll find a position for you

#1 - Off days will naturally rotate the lineup

Outside of the ability to play the splits in a very advantageous way (more on that in my lineups story), the Cardinals will naturally create at-bats in a number of ways, the first of which is through off days.

The Cardinals appear to be a team that will want to rotate their stars, such as Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, into that DH spot to give them rest on various days. New catcher Willson Contreras will likely see time there as well, but with so many options on the roster, I'd prefer they just give him full off days rather than seeing him DH. In 2022, Goldschmidt and Arenado combined for 40 games at DH, which if that is repeated in 2023, limits that position to just 122 games for the rest of the bunch.

Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, and Juan Yepez can fill in for Goldschmidt and Arenado on those days, so it's not fair to say it completely zaps the position from ABs, but those days would require St. Louis to sit one of their outfield options for that game.

Even if the Cardinals are putting Goldschmidt and Arenado at DH frequently, there are plenty of other guys who will need rest as well. Tommy Edman played almost every day in 2022, and the Cardinals would be wise to slide Donovan over to short or get DeJong some spot starts more frequently in 2023, which then creates at-bats at second base for Gorman, and still frees up DH for someone else. Even if the Cardinals land on three primary outfielders, those guys will need rest as well, creating opportunities multiple times a week there as well.

I expect the Cardinals to be one of the teams that leads the league in lineup combinations in 2023, and that should play to their advantage. The Cardinals have elite depth, leading the league in players who are expected to be above league average. The lineup will not take a step back when starters are rotated out, which is something few teams can say about their own teams.

#2 - Player performance will dictate playing time more than ever before

Like I talked about earlier, cold stretches from players will come with shorter leashes than the club could afford in recent seasons due to the level of depth on this roster.

If one of their outfielders is struggling for a few weeks, then the club will find playing time for other guys. If Donovan or Gorman struggles, the other will play. The DH spot will feature whoever is hitting, rather than being filled by someone because it has to be. This is actually a major reason why the Cardinals should be patient in thinking of dealing from this talent pool.

One of the biggest frustrations fans have had in recent years is the success of guys like Randy Arozorena and Adolis Garica for other teams. Both guys got very brief stints in St. Louis before being let go due to a lack of roster space and ended up blooming in their new environments. The club might as well wait and make sure they commit to the right guys before making drastic changes. The intentions of upgrading starting pitching are good, but the worst-case scenario would be committing to the wrong bats in the process of doing that.

What if one of Carlson, O'Neill, or Nootbaar struggles big time in 2023? Heck, what if two of them do? If the Cardinals had already dealt away other pieces, they'd be stuck feeding playing time to underperforming players. What St. Louis has done here is set themselves up for any cold stretches or steps backward in performance or development, so that they can always field great lineups regardless of that.

Gorman, Walker, Gomez, Burleson, and Yepez are all guys who could spend time in Triple-A as well in 2023 if the club wants consistent at-bats for them. While it may not be the ideal scenario for the players individually, it would provide them the opportunity to play every day if they are not in St. Louis.

The last way is inevitable for every team, but seems to have been a them for St. Louis in recent years.

#3 - Injuries will create opportunity throughout the year

In 2022, Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson, and Harrison Bader all missed significant time with injuries over the course of the season. At some point in the season, one of the Cardinals' OF/DH/2B options will get hurt, opening up more playing time for other names on that list.

This is not to mention potential significant injuries to the likes of Goldschmidt, Arenado, or Edman. No one wants to or expects to see that happen, but should any of those guys go down for an extended time, the Cardinals' current depth can help cover their production to some extend and remain competitive in the midst of it.

Should the Cardinals make moves now to "clear out" some of this log jam, they may end up having to acquire replacements later this season if the injury bug hits harder. Back to why the Cardinals would trade, yes, getting an ace right now would be awesome. But outside of the fact that there are not really any available, making that kind of trade now is really pinning your season to whoever you keep around, which is a risky decision when you just do not know the future production or health of many of them.

Could an opportunity present itself soon that is too good to pass on? Sure! But unless that happens, there really is no harm in waiting to see which bats rise to the occasion for the Cardinals' own lineup, and then working to make a deal with those you are willing to part with. The Cardinals have the rotation and bullpen necessary to get them through at least a few months of the season, and if catastrophe does strike their pitching, then they'll have the resources necessary to repair the gaps.