Is it Too Early for the Cardinals to Look for Outfield Upgrades?

Coming into 2021, one of the biggest question marks for the Cardinals was the performance of the outfield. Harrison Bader and Tyler O’Neill hadn’t set the world on fire. Dylan Carlson had mixed results in his short rookie season. Lane Thomas hadn’t been able to seize a role. Austin Dean couldn’t stay healthy in 2020. And for some reason, Justin Williams hadn’t received a real shot at playing time.

10 games into the season and the cracks are showing. Bader and O’Neill are on the injured list. Carlson is hitting for power, but not frequently. Thomas didn’t make the opening day roster, but has looked decent in limited playing. Dean has looked OK as well. Williams has struggled and probably still isn’t ready. It’s gotten to the point that Tommy Edman is playing right field and the team is relying on Matt Carpenter at second.

It’s early in the season, but could the team find help?

The only free agent option are Yasiel Puig and Yoenis Cespedes. Both players sat out in 2020 (Cespedes played 8 games with the Mets before opting out) and have a history of clubhouse issues. Both players also have proven track records that none of the Cardinal outfielders have.

Puig split 2019 with the Reds and Indians, hitting .267/.327/.458 with 24 homers. He’s a career .277/.348/.475 hitter with 132 homers and an OPS+ of 121.

Cespedes missed 2019 to injury and was attempting a comeback in 2020; he struggled to a line of .161/.235/.387 with 2 homers in 34 plate appearances before he disappeared from the team, eventually informing them he was opting out. He’s got a career line of .273/.327/.497 with 165 homers and a 125 OPS+.

While the “clubhouse cancer” stigmata might deter some fans, it probably wouldn’t be an issue with the Cardinals. The Cards have some natural leaders in Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Adam Wainwright, and Yadier Molina.

The real issue with these 2 would be ramp up time. Neither player had spring training and would need at least a month to get up to speed; by that point, you could see a player on the roster get hot, or the Cardinals could dig themselves in a hole that they won’t be able to climb out of.

Instead, the team could try to pluck a rental from a struggling team. The chances of this are slim though, since we are only 10 games into the season and most teams will want to give it a month or 2 before calling off their season. It couldn’t hurt to ask at this point.

One name I like is Kole Calhoun of the Diamondbacks; Calhoun is sitting behind David Peralta and Pavin Smith on the corner outfield depth charts and making $8M this season with a $9M club option/$2M buyout. If the Cardinals were willing to give up a mid-level prospect, I could see the D-back sending a couple of million to off-set some of the contract.

David Dahl is another player that could be coming available in the next few weeks; the Ranger’s left fielder is on a 1-year deal worth $2.7M, but has 2 years of team control remaining. The cost would be higher, since the Rangers don’t need to move him and it’s early in the season. If you could get him for a Junior Fernandez and Jhon Torres, it would be worth it.

The other area the Cardinals could upgrade a hitter is shortstop; Paul DeJong just isn’t cutting it. He’s struggling to make contact and it’s limiting his powers, which was his calling card. The team might be better off giving him a full season, especially if they were to acquire an outfielder. The free agent market after the season will be incredible for shortstops: Javier Baez, Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, and Corey Seager are the big name guys, with guys like Marcus Semiens, Andrelton Simmons, and Chris Taylor in the second tier.

One thing is for certain, this team won’t win the division if they don’t get better production from the outfield (and we aren’t getting into the rotation issues; that a separate article).