Cardinals Loosely Linked To Trio Of Shortstops As They Seek Middle Infield Help

St. Louis could use some depth

Scott Neville | Feb 23, 2024

Cardinals Loosely Linked To Trio Of Shortstops As They Seek Middle Infield Help /

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals addressed their biggest concerns entering the offseason when they added three starting pitchers and two high-leverage relievers.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak is expected to be done making splashes but there could be some external help on the way to provide depth up the middle.

St. Louis reportedly is attempting to choose their backup shortstop behind star prospect Masyn Winn and is willing to exhaust all options.

Versatile Tommy Edman is a logical choice -- which would allow someone such as Dylan Carlson or Alec Burleson to join the outfield group for a day. However, some think an external player could be on the table.

"There still remains a handful of available shortstops, including two experienced Gold Glove Award winners in Nick Ahmed and Brandon Crawford," the St. Louis Dispatch's Derrick Goold pointed out regarding the matter. "Former All-Star Elvis Andrus is also unsigned."

Among the names listed Andrus is the only one who had a positive bWAR last season after playing respectable defense and posting an acceptable 81 OPS+ in 112 games last season.

Ahmed and Crawford would be fantastic defensive-minded options with the latter able to provide veteran leadership as a two-time World Series champion, four-time Gold Glove winner and three-time All-Star.

An external addition is not required due to the number of budding young position players in the organization but could aid the team, especially early on as Thomas Saggese continues to work his way up the farm system.

More MLB: Cardinals Given Strong Offseason Grade After Rebuilding Pitching Staff

Published Feb 23, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu