This lineup construction would unleash the Cardinals offense and defense in 2024

The St. Louis Cardinals' position player group is littered with exciting young talent. Anyone who is betting on the upside with this team in 2024 is banking on that young nucleus to take steps forward this year alongside veteran stars like Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras.

Even so, the Cardinals, in the words of Bernie Miklasz, continue to collect "antiques" on their roster as well, and while that's primarily happened with their pitching, it's begun to seep its way onto the position player side of things.

Signing Matt Carpenter and Brandon Crawford aren't necessarily "bad moves". Neither is being asked to play a significant role for the club. Carpenter is there to help take pressure off Arenado and Goldschmidt when it comes to leading the clubhouse, and Crawford is insurance for the Cardinals now that Tommy Edman's status for Opening Day is in question.

The Cardinals have a ton of pressure on them to make up for a poor 2023 campaign with a strong rebound season in 2024. They cannot afford to get cute with their roster this year, and I've put together the best possible way for them to maximize both their offense and their defense during the season.

While the Opening Day position player group is going to look a bit different due to some injuries to their outfielders, I do want to look at what I believe would be the best possible lineup against both right-handed and left-handed pitching in order to have the best offense and defense possible.

I've gone ahead and constructed both of these lineups, and although I'm not confident it's the direction St. Louis would go, I do believe it best sets them up for success in 2024, when they are fully healthy.