Will the Cardinals risk letting another injury-prone outfielder play center field?

The St. Louis Cardinals have bene unable to nail down a center fielder over the last number of years, and it appears they'll be entering the 2025 season with a competition for the position yet again.

Michael Siani, the unlikely incumbent who fell into the role after multiple options in front of him were injured or failed, will likely enter camp as their top option for the position. Victor Scott II will have the opportunity to usurp Siani for that role, but the Cardinals seem to prefer Scott to develop further next year before trying that again.

Well, there is one more challenger who may be entering the ring, at least according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold.

Lars Nootbaar wants to win the Cardinals' center field job

In his chat on Monday over on STL Today, Goold was asked about the Cardinals' center field situation, and after reiterating that Siani is their top option right now, he did mention that Nootbaar would like to change that.

"A wild card in this whole thing will be Nootbaar", Goold wrote in his chat. "He has wanted to show and prove he can handle center in the past and moved around a lot for the Cardinals in 2024. Staying healthy. Staying production. And making a case for center field. He may get that chance. But as of today, Nov. 11, the Cardinals see Siani at CF -- and anyone else will have to outperform him to take it."

While Siani is the far superior defender of the two, there is no doubt that Nootbaar would provide a ton of value as a center fielder, should he be able to maintain that role. But as Goold alluded to in that answer, staying healthy is a significant part of the battle for Nootbaar.

It is no secret that Nootbaar has been injured quite a bit in his short big-league career thus far. His career high in games played in a season to this point is 117. With the amount of random injuries he seems to pick up, placing him in center field may be a mistake. Goold pointed out some disagreements in the industry regarding whether center field or corner outfield spots have a higher injury risk, especially with the way Nootbaar plays in the outfield.

Tyler O'Neill pushed to play center field going into the 2023 season in large part because of how it could raise his value as he approached free agency. Nootbaar has actually proven he can play the position before, so it's not exactly the same, but it does remind me of how frustrating that situation became. O'Neill quickly showed he did not have a feel for center field, but he also continued to battle injuries all year long. Should the Cardinals let Nootbaar put himself in that position?

I actually say yes. It's a reset year. The Cardinals should be willing to take risks like this. If Nootbaar is able to handle the position, his value to this team continues to increase. He's a well above-league-average bat already, and putting that in center field on a consistent basis would help this team out quite a bit.

Instead of having Siani or Scott's bat in the lineup each day, Nootbaar could handle center field while someone like Donovan or Burleson plays left field. Consider how this lineup could play for St. Louis this year.

1. SS Masyn Winn
2. 3B Brendan Donovan
3. 1B Willson Contreras
4. CF Lars Nootbaar
5. C Ivan Herrera
6. LF Alec Burleson
7. RF Jordan Walker
8. DH Nolan Gorman
9. 2B Thomas Saggese

Not the most menacing lineup in the world, but it does have upside. Move the names around if you'd like, but Nootbaar in center surely lengthens the lineup.

Individually, Nootbaar has the potential to be a 3.5-4.0 fWAR player pretty easily if he plays a full season in center. 2025 is a huge year for Nootbaar and his career. Producing at the level we've seen him be able to offensively while holding down center for a full season will make good on the hype and promise he's had for so long.

If he cannot do it at a high level or is oft-injured again, then we know that is who he is at this point. Would it be frustrating? Of course. But again, with the expectations the Cardinals have set for themselves in 2025, I don't see why you don't try it.

Siani and Scott's upside, at least in 2025, does not compare to Nootbaar's in center field. And if Scott specifically is not ready for the role, then Nootbaar should get a shot at it. Siani just is not valuable enough to stand in the way of Nootbaar from manning that position.

We'll see how seriously the Cardinals take Nootbaar's desire to play center field in 2025. A decision like that has the potential to be a huge win for both Nootbaar and the organization going forward. And the downside? Well, more of the same from what we've already seen from Nootbaar.