The Cardinals should explore this strategic position change for their top prospect

The St. Louis Cardinals are in the midst of a self-proclaimed "transition" year, and if that's the case, fans should expect to see the club begin to, well, transition in some of the ways they go about doing things.

Until John Mozeliak's tenure as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations ends following the 2025 season, it's hard to know how substantial those shifts could be. But one area I fully expect to see those major changes in is player development since president of baseball operations in waiting Chaim Bloom has been given the keys to the kingdom there this season.

Many of those changes have already begun to take shape. New hires in the front office related to player development, new coaching roles and coordinator positions, and investments in infrastructure and technology are some of the first steps in what will end up being a multi-year overhaul of their player development department. Bloom's background with both the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox tells you that he has a grand vision for what direction this should be heading in.

While those things are more of a 10,000- or 5,000-foot view of how player development will evolve over the coming months and years, I wanted to bring up an idea I heard recently from two men far smarter than I, who really got my gears turning about a potential position change for Cardinals top prospect JJ Wetherholt.

Back on January 15th's episode of "Wednesday with Walton," Brian Walton of "The Cardinal Nation" and Kyle Reis, who is now the co-host of "Wednesdays with Walton and Reis," played around with the idea of Wetherholt getting some run in center field. While that might seem like a wild change on the surface, the more I thought about it, the more it made a ton of sense for the Cardinals to at least try this year. I highly recommend listening to their full episode, but you can check out that part of the conversation at the 14:35 min mark.

I know some of you are already ready to raise a flag and say, "Well, how'd a move to the outfield go for Jordan Walker? What about Nolan Gorman to second base?" Fair points, but there are two things I want us all to remember. First, this going to be a different regime moving forward, and one that is making the necessary investments into coordinator positions and strengthening communication across the minor leagues to ensure development is not botched like it may have been before.

Second, just because Walker has struggled defensively (albeit while his position change itself was handled poorly by the organization) and Gorman hasn't exactly lit the world on fire at second base, that doesn't mean the club should no longer try experimenting with players at different positions. I read comments all the time about how Walker was a "natural" third baseman and needed to go back there or move to first base, with extreme confusion as to why the Cardinals ever considered moving him to a different position.

Position changes are common among prospects. Just because a prospect played a position in college or high school does not mean they should stick there for life. And when it comes to someone like Wetherholt, who can handle shortstop, is a natural athlete, and is a baseball rat, there is precedent for players like that excelling elsewhere on the diamond or in the grass.

Jackson Merrill's position change shows how impactful a move to center field could be for Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt.

One of the most recent examples of such a switch was last year's National League Rookie of the Year runner-up, Jackson Merrill. Merrill, who was a shortstop for the Padres throughout the minor leagues, skipped the Triple-A level and played in 155 games for San Diego in center field after never playing the position before professionally. Merrill did get five starts in left field at Double-A in 2023, but that is hardly a transition period.

Merrill was unfazed by the transition, playing well-above-average defense in center field while performing like one of the best young bats in the game. Merrill's shift to center field was mostly explored due to a logjam in the middle infield and a gap in center field, much like what the Cardinals may soon experience when Wetherholt is ready.

Masyn Winn is the Cardinals' shortstop of the future. Nolan Gorman and Brendan Donovan, at least for now, appear to be the two guys slated to man second and third base for years to come. Thomas Saggese is trying to find his way on the roster now as well and figures to be someone the Cardinals would love to have play in their infield as well.

Wetherholt is a bigger name than all of those names other than Winn, but the Cardinals are hoping he can even surpass the potential they've seen in Winn thus far. There is no doubt the Cardinals will create a space for Wetherholt when he is ready, but why not make that spot center field?

I am a big fan of Victor Scott II, and I cannot tell you how hopeful I am that he can lock down center field long term for the Cardinals. I also believe Lars Nootbaar could become a very valuable player in center for the Cardinals as well. But as of right now, no one has a firm grasp on that center field role, and not only would it help the Cardinals' roster construction to have Wetherholt as an option there, but it could increase his value even further long term.

Most of you are well aware that positional value plays a large role in a player's upside. It is the reason why shortstops and center fielders are taken at the top of drafts and valued so highly as prospects. Being able to hold down one of the more valuable positions in the game while producing at the plate means so much to a club, and it is why Masyn Winn has already ascended into potential "face of the franchise" territory for the Cardinals.

Wetherholt, if all goes well, projects to be a very valuable player at second base and third base, but if he can prove that he can handle center field at least early on in his major league career, that will help his value to the Cardinals balloon even further.

Obviously Wetherholt has to continue to prove he can hit like scouts think he can, and he'd also have to actually thrive in center field for that to be an option, but that is my whole point. What is stopping the Cardinals from trying this out? I have no doubt Wetherholt could shift back to shortstop or another infield position if that experiment does not work out, but if it does go well, it could mean so much for the organization.

Scouting grades-wise, Wetherholt grades out very similar to Merrill as both an athlete and defender. I wouldn't expect Wetherholt to become a Gold Glover out there by any means, but I do think there is upside for him to hold down the position and play quality defense while letting his bat do the talking.

Outside of Merrill, we've seen other shortstops and infielders, like Trea Turner, Oneil Cruz, Chris Taylor, Tommy Edman, and Jazz Chisholm, make the switch to center field at the big league level, and there are far more examples of prospects making that shift before they even made it to the majors.

The Cardinals need to start getting creative with the things they do, and this is one of those risks they should be willing to take. The odds that it sets back Wetherholt developmentally feel pretty low, while the potential upside is extremely high. I'm all for the Cardinals trying this in 2025, and I sure hope they are for it too.