Cardinals Could Be Nearing Surprising Outfield Decision

The Cardinals have some decisions to make

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have seemingly been having a competition to see who would win the team's starting center field job.

Victor Scott II, Michael Siani, and Lars Nootbaar have seen time in center. Nootbaar is going to have a big role no matter which outfield spot the Cardinals decide to play him at. Scott and Siani are much more up in the air.

If you look strictly at the offensive numbers, it wouldn't be close. Scott has had a far better camp offensively than Siani. He's slashing .371/.476/.657 with two home runs, five RBIs, and seven walks. Siani is slashing .114/.225/.114 with one RBI and five walks.

There's more to the game than just offense and Siani is a great defensive player. But, if it is a competition, it seems like Scott has been the better option to this point. The Athletic's Katie Woo shared that Siani could end up being the starter, though, no matter what happens over the next two weeks.

"Victor Scott II clubbed his second homer of the spring Monday, raising his spring average to .371 and his OPS to 1.133," Woo said. "From a performance standpoint, he is the clear front-runner for the starting job. But as discussed in a recent roster projection, the team’s plan to somewhat platoon center field could lead it to start Michael Siani regardless of performance.

"That Siani has had a poor spring only complicates the matter. Siani, who was scratched due to illness before first pitch Monday, is just 4-for-35 this spring. Still, he wowed the organization with his stellar center-field defense last season and has the upper hand from that standpoint. But Scott has left positive impressions across the board, with (Oli Marmol) saying as much Monday."

We should find out more about the team's thinking shortly with Opening Day approaching, but this is a pretty big update.

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