In the midst of trades, signings and the shuffling around of players, are the Cardinals going to find a winning combination?
It has already been announced that the infield will include Matt Carpenter at first base, Kolten Wong at second, Aledmys Diaz at shortstop, Jedd Gyorko and Jhonny Peralta sharing third, and Yadier Molina catching. The 40-man roster also allows for Matt Adams, Eliezer Alvarez, Greg Garcia, Edmundo Sosa and Breyvic Valera to see some time in the infield. The infield is looking pretty good, but where do we stand with the outfield?
The outfield is probably the most uncertain part of the team for the 2017 season, there are still lots of questions about what it is going to look like. The Cardinals passed on Matt Holliday and Brandon Moss, allowing for them to move into free agency. Outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks, taking him off the Cardinals’ roster. We’ll likely see Stephen Piscotty in the outfield, as he spent most of his playing time in right field last season. Randal Grichuk will probably spend some time in the outfield, though it has not been announced whether he will be a starting outfielder. There has been some speculation about seeing Tommy Pham in the outfield, though he also has not been given a starting position. Other options for the outfield include Anthony Garcia, Jose Martinez and Magneuris Sierra.
The pitching rotation is expected to consist of Adam Wainwright, Mike Leake, Carlos Martinez, hopefully a healthy Lance Lynn and Alex Reyes. Michael Wacha might see some starts if his arm is healthy. We might even see Trevor Rosenthal start, depending on how he does before the start of the season. The Cardinals also exercised their option on Jaime Garcia, so we could very well see him on the mound next season. Tim Cooney was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians, though we did not see him last season as he was out with a shoulder injury. We could see more starts from Luke Weaver and Mike Mayers, who both debuted in the majors last season.
The Cardinals bullpen is seeing some changes, with the most recent being the signing of lefty reliever Brett Cecil. Seung Hwan Oh will likely keep the closing position, judging by his performance last season. Zach Duke is out for the upcoming season after having Tommy John surgery. Seth Maness is still out after his Tommy John surgery; he will be a year out in August, so we might see him later in the season. The 40-man roster also includes Matt Bowman, Jonathon Broxton, Tyler Lyons, Kevin Siegrist and Rowan Wick. We could see any of these faces charging out of the bullpen next season. Though, as Cardinal Nation knows, the team is very fond of bringing up new talent from the farm system, so we might see some new faces on the mound.
This next season should be interesting to watch. Fans are hoping Senior Vice President and General Manager John Mozeliak will find a new outfielder to complement the rest of the team. The Cardinals are known for raising their own talent, but they need to strongly consider signing another outfielder. Mozeliak’s goal should be to create a lineup that will standup up to rival and 2016 World Series winner, the Chicago Cubs. There is still plenty of time to pick up some more talent, we will just have to wait and see.
