The St. Louis Cardinals are the best in the league at this key facet of the game

From 2021-2022, the St. Louis Cardinals were one of the best defensive teams in baseball. This stout defense helped solidify two very strong teams in both years, and it was a major boost for the team. In fact, both the 2021 and 2022 squads won the Rawlings Gold Glove Team Awards.

The Cardinals built their team around strong defensive players like Harrison Bader, Nolan Arenado, Tommy Edman, and Brendan Donovan. Their pitchers were contact-first hurlers who relied on ground balls and shifts. Yadier Molina behind the plate in both years helped stall baserunners, too. Across the diamond, the Cardinals boasted plus defenders in 2021 and 2022.

Things changed during the next two years. In both 2023 and 2024.

I wrote in 2023 analyzing the club's poor defensive positioning and use of out-of-position players. The league's new shift ban prior to the 2023 season took away the Cardinals' advantage, and the club's coaches couldn't help the players adapt. Additionally, players like Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Willson Contreras saw plenty of innings at various positions across the diamond, and they were all negative defenders.

Redbird Rants contributor Cliff Williams wrote prior to the season that the Cardinals could be a troublesome defensive team. Cliff took a look at each position on the diamond and shared his worries about various players. The loss of a perennial Gold Glove contender in Paul Goldschmidt also gave Cliff pause.

Rather than crumbling, things appear to be turning in a positive direction for the Cardinals on the defensive end in 2025.

The 2025 St. Louis Cardinals are one of the best defensive teams in all of Major League Baseball.

As a team, the Cardinals currently rank first in Outs Above Average (OAA) with 22, tied for fourth in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) with 17, and first in assists with 372, and their 15 errors are tied for the third fewest in baseball. Their .989 fielding percentage is tied for the second-best mark in baseball, too.

No matter the defensive metric you use to evaluate a team, the Cardinals find themselves near the top of the leaderboards. This begs the question: How are the Cardinals doing this when they were so bad defensively for so long?

It all starts with coaching.

New assistant coach Jon Jay has been exceptional when working with outfielders. Victor Scott II and Jordan Walker worked diligently with Jay over the last few months, and their hard work is paying dividends. Prior to the season, manager Oliver Marmol spoke optimistically about the team's outfield defense. "I'm more bullish on our outfield defense than I ever have been here. The work that they’re doing will lead to better defense. There is some low-hanging fruit for some of the guys and some process-driven that will take some time. They’re headed in a really good direction.”

Right fielder Jordan Walker credits his new coach, Jon Jay, with his own defensive improvements. “I think [outfield coach Jon Jay] has been good about telling me, ‘Trust that first step! Trust that first step!’ I’d rather go hard and maybe misread that first step and still have time to adjust than hesitate, said Walker. "There are going to be balls that are hard to read, but my main goal every time now is to trust my first step and go from there."

This hard work is paying dividends. The Cardinals' outfielders rank first in OAA with eight and first in DRS with 11 runs saved. Their outfielders have also committed the fewest errors this year, and their .996 fielding percentage is tied for the best mark in the league. Clearly, Jon Jay's inclusion on the coaching staff is paying dividends already.

Only two position players on the team currently have negative OAA values at specific positions: Brendan Donovan in left field and Thomas Saggese at second base. Every other player on the roster is either a neutral or plus defender at their respective positions.

One of the many trademarks of some of the greatest Cardinal teams in franchise history has been a stout defense. The 2021 and 2022 Cardinals rode solid defensive performances to postseason appearances, and the 2025 squad could replicate those successes. Thanks to help from Jon Jay and hard work by players like Victor Scott II and Jordan Walker, the St. Louis Cardinals are one of the best defensive teams in the league right now.