The Cardinals and non-tender candidate Matt Vierling are a match made in St. Louis

The St. Louis Cardinals have a bright future, but their major league roster still looks to possess a few weaknesses in 2027. At third base, the Cardinals endured a revolving door that comprised Nolan Gorman, Blaze Jordan, Thomas Saggese, Ramón Urias, José Fermín, Bryan Torres and César Prieto. Meanwhile, the player who the Cardinals hoped would serve as their center fielder of the future, Victor Scott, may have played his way off of the team, and his replacement, Nathan Church, wields an uninspiring bat.

What if I told you that the Cardinals could patch both holes with one player? A player whose current team is likely to non-tender him and who is from St. Louis to boot, making his hometown Cardinals a potentially alluring fit?

Matt Vierling appears to check the boxes of what the Cardinals are looking for. The graduate of Christian Brothers College High School in Town and Country, Missouri, is a true super-utility man, with the ability to play all three outfield positions as well as the infield corners. Injuries dogged at Vierling over his past two seasons with the Detroit Tigers, which likely contributed to his .215 average and .597 OPS in that span. In 2023 and 2024, his first two seasons in the Motor City, Vierling hit .259 with a .726 OPS, and there's reason to believe he can reproduce those numbers with a fully healthy season.

The Cardinals should pounce on Matt Vierling's bounce-back opportunity

At 30 years old for most of the 2027 season, Vierling should still be able to perform at a high level, and even in his poor 2026, Vierling held a strong 7.7% swing-and-miss rate, and prior to 2026, his hard-hit percentage never dropped below 41%, while the league average during his career is 39.3%. Add in some average defense across five positions and respectable speed, and you have a player who could be more valuable to the Cardinals than some might expect should St. Louis take the plunge.

Despite Vierling's versatility, the Tigers don't appear to have a pressing need for him on their roster, as Riley Greene, Max Clark and others can play a strong center field, and Colt Keith looks to be their long-term third baseman. Vierling is also much more effective against left-handers, and outfielder Ben Malgeri can be Detroit's weak-side platoon option instead.

Vierling's relative lack of production against right-handers could be the one hangup for the Cardinals when it comes to offering him a contract. Over his career, he's hit just .236 with a .666 OPS against them, whereas he holds a .279 average and .738 OPS against southpaws. The Cardinals were marginally better against left-handed pitchers than right-handers last season by OPS, at .697 versus .688, and assuming Gorman is non-tendered, the third base position will lean even further toward right-handed hitters who are more effective against left-handed pitchers.

Still, with a projected salary of about $4.1 million, Vierling would be an affordable option and a potentially easy signing, as the Cardinals have gone to the well of local boys quite often over the past few seasons. If Vierling can return to the type of player he was in 2023 and 2024, the Cardinals could flip him at the trade deadline for more prospects, as they displayed with the Dustin May signing prior to the 2026 season.

Jesús Báez, the Cardinals' potential third sacker of the future, is still working his way through the minor leagues. If everything continues to go swimmingly, he may be ready for the majors in 2028. In the meantime, Vierling is a solid low-risk, moderate-reward option for the Cardinals to pursue this offseason to be a stopgap in 2027.

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