THE REDBIRD REVIEW
Greetings. In conjunction with spring-training activities, it’s time to examine another question about the 2026 Cardinals.
Today: Where does Nelson Velazquez fit in?
Answer: The outfielder is part of the scramble to make noise and draw attention in the competition at left field. And I will explore his situation later in the Review.
The LF job belongs to incumbent Lars Nootbaar, but he’s still rehabbing from double-heel surgery and is unlikely to be ready for the start of the regular season.
Noot’s absence opens up a potential opportunity for a variety of LF candidates, and I’ll list them alphabetically:
Nathan Church
Jose Fermin
Thomas Saggese
Bryan Torres
Nelson Velazquez
Fermin, Saggese and Velazquez hit from the right side. Church and Torres swing from the left.
Until Noot is ready how will the Cardinals handle left field? I’ll defer to my friend and KMOX colleague Matt Pauley, who is on the ground in Jupiter, picking up on the camp chatter.
– As long as Nootbaar remains sidelined, Pauley believes the left-field patch will likely become a time-share between Fermin and Church.
– That would set up a de facto platoon arrangement, with Church facing righties and Fermin going against lefties.
– But here’s the thing; in Fermin’s limited MLB exposure he’s performed better against right-handed throwers. And during his first 347 major-league plate appearances, Saggese pretty much hit the same against LH pitchers and RHP. Per wRC+, Saggese is 22 percent below league average offensively overall (in MLB.) Saggese hit very well in the minors so I assume some offense is coming from him. There’s no rule that prohibits utility players from hitting effectively.
– Church is the primary backup at all three outfield stations, and the front office thinks highly of him. In general he’ll have a chance for prominent playing time. Which makes sense given Church’s impressive showing at Triple A Memphis in 2025. (.335 average, .921 OPS.) But Church must supply some offense in 2026.
– Saggese figures to be a busy camper. Though he’s an infielder by trade – second base, third base and a little shortstop – the Cardinals want to expand Saggese’s domain to include center field and left. (What the heck; I guess Saggese could hang out in right field as well.) Let’s go with that time-honored cliche and describe him as a Swiss Army Knife.
– Saggese is being sharpened up to possibly join a grand Cardinals’ utility-man club that includes Red Schoendienst, Jose Oquendo, Tommy Edman, Brendan Donovan, Scott Spiezio, Skip Schumaker, Miguel Cairo, Aaron Miles, Mike Ramsey and Ken Oberkfell. The Cardinals have had so many movable defensive pieces, they actually could form an actual Swiss Army. Forget the knife.
– Bryan Torres? Well, he’s more of a Leatherman Tool. Since I am the information man (in addition to being the Stat Boy) here’s the definition so you’ll understand the reference: “Leatherman tool is a versatile, folding multi‑tool that combines pliers, knives, screwdrivers, files, and other essentials into a single compact device. It’s built for everyday carry, outdoor use, repairs, and emergency situations. Think of it as a rugged, plier‑centered evolution of the Swiss Army Knife.”
– The intriguing Torres is definitely a leatherman because he carries the leather – the gloves – to handle just about every parcel of land on a baseball field. Torres can play all over the map; during his long and winding journey through international baseball and the U.S. minor leagues, this man has played catcher, first base, second base, third base, left field, right field and center. He’s had more experience in right field than left. He can steal bases, too.
– Torres isn’t a carnival performer; his game is legit. Last season at Triple A Memphis he batted .328 with a .905 OPS, swiped 26 bases, and drew so many walks that he chiseled a .441 onbase percentage. The front office placed Torres on the 40-man roster after the season. But why do I have a feeling that he won’t get a full opportunity to make the big club out of camp?
– Two thoughts on that: (1) if the Cardinals don’t think Torres is worthy of a spot on a rebuilding team, then why did they give him that 40-man spot? And (2) given this team’s offensively challenged lineup, if Torres isn’t good enough to earn a chair in the big-league clubhouse … then why is he here?
– Back to Fermin: Though he appeared in only 30 games (with 70 plate appearances) for the Cardinals last season, his .377 onbase percentage and 129 wRC+ were good reasons to put him in the audition. And he did log time at second base, third base and left field in 2025. Fermin is out of options, though. Will that factor into Chaim Bloom’s roster decisions?
Finally, about Nelson Velazquez …
The Cardinals signed him to a minor-league deal in late January, and I liked the move. The reason was simple. Velazquez has displayed prominent power in the past. The Cardinals have a power-outage lineup. I don’t know if Velasquez can flip the switch and power up again, but it sure as heck is worth a look. Plus, his right-handedness gives the lineup some balance. If, in fact, Velazquez can find a place in the St. Louis lineup. And that’s a big question. A wide open question. With so many options on the planning desk, the Cardinals will have to see the boom-boom demonstration from Velazquez.
Look, he’s been inconsistent. He’s had strikeout issues that have held him back, but even then this hasn’t been a hideous problem for Velazquez. It’s just something he needs to work on: fewer strikeouts, more walks.
The power supply is there:
+ During his time in the majors with the Cubs and Royals, Velazquez had 31 home runs, 21 doubles, 87 RBIs and a .433 slugging percentage in 552 at-bats. That’s a home run every 17.8 at-bats, and an extra-base hit every 10.6 at-bats. He’s been about league average overall in the majors (per wRC+) but his Isolated Power number (.221)
+ Among MLB hitters with at least 600 plate appearances from 2022 through 2024, Velazquez put up the same slugging percentage as Nick Castellanos, Riley Greene, Brandon Nimmo and Marcus Semien – and had a higher slug than Christian Yelich, Shane Langeliers, Ryan O’Hearn, Ryan Mountcastle, Justin Turner, Austin Hays, and Eloy Jimenez.
+ Among Velazquez generated that Isolated Power number that was superior to that of Bobby Witt Jr., Adolis Garcia, Manny Machado, Nolan Gorman, Willson Contreras, Freddie Freeman, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Lowe, Ronald Acuna Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, Ketel Marte, Elly De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz. (Among many others.)
+ From 2022 through 2024, Gorman and Velazquez had virtually identical slugging percentages, and both men bombed a home run every 17.8 at-bats. But Velazquez had a higher ISO than Gorman (by eight points) and his strikeout rate was eight percent less than Gorman’s.
+ In 2025, Velazquez regrouped in the Mexican League, and later signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates and played for their Triple A affiliate at Indianapolis. In 49 games in the Mexican League Velazquez had 15 home runs, 13 doubles and a .658 slugging percentage. In his 18 games for Indianapolis, he clubbed five homers, five doubles and slugged .554. In both places Velazquez did a nice job of lowering his strikeout rate.
I’m not trying to oversell Velazquez. I’m not telling you that he’s the solution to the Cardinals’ embarrassing shortage of power. He’s a low OBP guy. He doesn’t hit for a high average.
But the Velazquez resume is better than I assumed. And his power numbers compared favorably to some notable and more heralded hitters from 2022 through 2024. Now 27 years old, Velazquez has made progress in decreasing his strikeout rate.
The St. Louis front office was smart to buy a ticket on Velazquez, and there’s at least some chance of a payout here. But that won’t happen unless Velazquez gets a legitimate showcase to make the club. And I have no idea why the Cardinals would overlook Velazquez after signing him. They need power. He has power.
So Bloom and the Cardinals would be wise to take a long look – unless of course, their real plan all along is to stash Velasquez at Triple A Memphis for a while.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015. Before that Bernie spent a year at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Dallas Cowboys during Tom Landry’s final season (1988) plus the sale of the team to Jerry Jones and the hiring of Jimmy Johnson as coach. Bernie has covered several Baseball Hall of Fame managers during his media career including Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver, Joe Torre and (as an interim) Red Schoendienst. In his career as a beatwriter and columnist, Bernie covered Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil on a daily basis.
Bernie has covered and written about many great St. Louis sports team athletes including Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, Brett Hull, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jim Edmonds, Marshall Faulk, Scott Rolen, Mark McGwire, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Al MacInnis, Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith and Aeneas Williams. Bernie covered every baseball Cardinals’ postseason game from 1996 through 2014 and was there to chronicle teams that won four NL pennants and two World Series. He provided extensive coverage on the “Greatest Show” St. Louis Rams and has written extensively on the St. Louis Blues, Saint Louis U, and Mizzou football and basketball. Bernie was/is a longtime voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
You can access his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STL Sports Central, catch him regularly on KMOX (AM or FM) as part of the Gashouse Gang, Sports Rush Hour, Sports Open Line or Sports On a Sunday Morning shows. And you can catch weekly “reunion” segments here at STL Sports Central featuring Bernie and his longtime friend Randy Karraker.