The St. Louis Cardinals are entering the 2023 season with an NL Central title to defend.
With the schedule being more balanced and the Chicago Cubs having made some key moves to close the gap, the road to another NL Central title may be slightly more difficult.
Still, the Cardinals are fortunate to have depth at almost every position, with plenty of solid talent stacked within the organization.
This morning on MLB Network, Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds discussed the Cardinals and their depth at each position, as well as why they are constantly finding themselves in postseason contention each year.
The Cardinals have depth for days!#MLBNHotStove breaks down the loaded roster in St. Louis and the flexibility the reigning NL Central champs will have as they navigate through 162 games. pic.twitter.com/wYI0JVSTha
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 15, 2023
Reynolds took note of the fact that the Cardinals are no longer a traditional National League team.
This is thanks in large part to the designated hitter rule, which allows for a set lineup.
He also gave praise to President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak for his work during his time with the organization, being able to find depth at each position.
Reynolds then noted that the reason there are question marks is that the Cardinals will have a lot of competition for roster spots and it isn’t quite clear what the team will look like.
Vasgersian then chimed in and discussed the outfield.
Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson are coming off of injury-plagued seasons and Lars Nootbaar is not a guarantee.
But St. Louis is fortunate to have pieces such as Alec Burleson, Juan Yepez, Jordan Walker, and Oscar Mercado.
They also could potentially even use Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman in the outfield.
The Cardinals certainly have question marks, but there is no shortage of depth.
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