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

The Cardinals are in a position of strength with so many position player options in 2023

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming into the 2023 season with a lot of different players expected to compete for playing time during Spring Training and in the regular season.

The areas of competition include all three outfield spots, second base, and the designated hitter role, meaning there are some questions about who will fill each of the five spots on a consistent basis. Eight different players appear to be fighting for those spots, including Tyler O'Neill, Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, Jordan Walker, Juan Yepez, Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Gorman, not to mention guys like Moises Gomez and Paul DeJong.

This has led many to question why the Cardinals would hold onto so many position players when they have needs on their pitching staff. All of those names should see Major League at-bats at this point, and yet, some of them will not even be able to fit on the roster. This has led to some interesting discussions, one that was prompted again after this tweet from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold.

His point is spot on, five different names will get ample playing time. The questions that are rising for fans and pundits alike though are fair: how will the other four manage to get enough playing time? Sure, without the presence of Albert Pujols at DH anymore, there will be more playing time to go around, but it's not quite as simple as Goold made it seem to be.

The bottom line for manager Oli Marmol this season will be one word: competition. If you can hit, you will play, and there will be little margin for players to have prolonged cold streaks in their lineup. In past seasons, the Cardinals have had to "stick with their guys" even when it does not appear they will turn the corner, as they just didn't have anyone else they could rely on. Now the tune is different, and that is something to be celebrated, not frustrated by.

The one concern I do have here is that with so many options, will it cause players to press, or stunt development if they are not getting regular playing time? Yes, this should favor the team big time, but it will test Marmol's ability to manage players' personalities if they are receiving the short end of the stick.

I'll be posting a story soon with different lineup combinations the Cardinals may rely on in 2022, but in a preview of that, let's look at the different ways the Cardinals will get creative to find at-bats for any of these position players that are fighting for playing time.

#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.

#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.