The St. Louis Cardinals pulled the trigger last week, calling up Nelson Velazquez and Jimmy Crooks, and once more, they will gain reinforcements with the return of Lars Nootbaar, who will rejoin the Cardinals roster when the Cincinnati Reds come to town on Friday night. With his return, the current outfield depth will include Victor Scott II, Bryan Torres, Jordan Walker, Jose Fermin, Thomas Saggese, Velazquez, and Nootbaar. Nathan Church is also preparing to begin a rehab assignment on Thursday. Who will be the odd man out on Friday? And who will be losing more playing time due to Nootbaar’s return?
Velazquez is batting .308 since arriving at the major league level, and yes, it is a small sample size, but he has no options left, so it seems that those two factors will keep him safe from being sent back to the minor leagues. Meanwhile, Saggese and Fermin occupy the hybrid infield and outfield roles. Although neither has vaulted themself into a starting caliber conversation, the infield depth remains thin until Ramon Urias returns from injury, not to mention the lack of right-handed bats on the bench if those two were to be removed.
Just by narrowing down the options, it feels as if Torres may be the odd man out on the roster for now. When Church returns, there will need to be a decision made about the centerfield role and who will take control between Church and Scott. While Nootbaar is another option, it seems unlikely that he will jump straight to center after undergoing double heel surgery.
With two spots in the rotation open at the designated hitter spot when Ivan Herrera is behind home plate, the Cardinals could use that for Velazquez and Nootbaar to get both in the lineup at the same time.
Although the Cardinals' outfield logjam is not fully solved, top prospect Joshua Baez, who has crushed 17 home runs this season in AAA Memphis, is making a case to be in the big league lineup by the end of the season. But the Cardinals have not made any indication that they are planning to make that move anytime soon. If Baez continues on his pace and can reduce his strikeout numbers as the season goes on, he might just be putting up numbers so impressive that the Cardinals cannot ignore.
The Cardinals have too many outfield options for their own good, and while there is the possibility that some will be moved at the deadline or in the offseason, time will tell who those pieces are if Chaim Bloom and his team decide to make the tough choices.