Comparing the Cardinals: Who are the answers at the corners?

Week 1: Starting Rotation

Week 2: Catchers

Week 3: Corner Infield

We are back to the point where we are getting to watch… well sometimes listen… to baseball everyday. Now, all we need is for the ground up north to finish thawing so we can get to these games that count! While the WBC will definitely scratch some of that itch, there is nothing that compares to the Clydesdales and seeing the best uniforms in baseball back on the field.

Every team handles the spring season in a different way, and with the WBC interrupting close to two weeks of camp, position battles have been hot and heavy since the day everyone arrived. The St. Louis Cardinals received some clarity on their infield alignment when they traded Brendan Donovan and set the stage for JJ Wetherholt to make his debut in St. Louis. He is likely to slide into second base, leaving third base wide open for someone to take. On the other side of the field, Alec Burleson will move from the grass to the dirt and handle the majority of starts at first base.

Do the Cardinals’ corners have the power needed to pace the offense?

In last week’s discussion, I covered the catching situation which has actually gotten muddier since Ivan Herrera was cleared to catch in games. Those following me know that I have been pro-Herrera catching a couple times per week and then having Pedro Pages and Jimmy Crooks providing coverage the other days of the week. Rather than rehash that whole story, feel free to take a look at the last Cardinals on My Time where I had Matt from Redbird Rundown and JD from Locked On Cardinals to break it all down. To summarize, if Herrera can remain healthy, the pop he can provide as a catcher and DH would be more valuable to me than just as a DH. That power would also supplement the lineup that is lacking it pretty much everywhere else.

That everywhere else unfortunately takes us to the corner infield, which is traditionally known for power and whatever fielding value can be provided is a bonus. Last season, we did not really get either as Willson Contreras’ 20 homers led the team but that was good for 10th among first basemen and Nolan Arenado added a whopping 12 round trippers of his own with decent enough defense. Both of them have since been traded, but for those that have read my weekly spots know that I tabbed Burleson as the first baseman of the future even prior to the Contreras deal.

While that sounds like high praise, the article actually pointed out that Burly is that player right now out of necessity and lack of high potential first base talent developing in the minor leagues. To go back to the positives, I believe that Burleson is a more than capable major league player and I am looking forward to another full season of his progression with the bat. ZiPS sees Burleson as having a similar, but slightly regressed season with the bat a year after taking home that Silver Slugger award. After hitting .290 with an .801 OPS, Szymborski sees both of those numbers dropping a bit but is projected to hit the 20 homer mark after knocking 18 last season. What is interesting to me in these projections, is that all of the projection systems view Burleson as a butcher in the field, with nearly -10 values across the board. While he has never been seen as an outstanding fielder, he spent the majority of his time in the outfield. The full-time move to first base should provide a major improvement on those defensive metrics, in turn making Burleson an easy threat for a 2.5-3.0 fWAR season, to push within top-15 at the position. Not spectacular, but that makes him one of the best overall players on this iteration of Cardinal teams.

Moving across the diamond, the Cardinals ranked 25th in the league for third base performance last year. Heading into 2026, ZiPS is down down dowwwwwn on the St. Louis hot corner as Nolan Gorman is the expected starter, but projects for just a 1.5 fWAR, good for 32nd in baseball. I am on the other side of these projections and it could be blind faith, but I am excited and hopeful for Gorman to get an unencumbered everyday look back at his natural position. While he is approaching 1600 plate appearances, looking further into how he received those opportunities. In his rookie campaign, he knocked 14 homers in just over 300 appearances, with 66 of his 88 games played coming at second base, a new position, with zero games at third. Then, in 2023, he bounced between second and third and put together his best full season, hitting 27 homers with an .805 OPS. He also had his lowest strikeout rate (still a too high 32%) and highest walk rate (a great 11%)

That performance pushed me firmly into the Stormin’ Gorman fan club, of which I am still a member today. The 2024 season was marked as “weird” for basically the entire lineup, and I admit that 2025 was disappointing for me as a club member. Part of that disappointment came from the fact his runway (sorry) was cut short thanks to Nolan Arenado sticking around and second base being taken by Brendan Donovan after elbow surgery limited his time in the outfield. This year, though, for a lineup that is sincerely lacking power, Gorman’s performance could mean a lot for the Cardinals and his future. The lefty infielder will be arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2026 season and if he can play decent defense at third and approach the 30 homer threshold, the conversation could turn from trade chatter to extension talks. Gorman will turn 26 in May, and I have continuously mentioned him as a “more athletic Kyle Schwarber”, with lefty pop from multiple infield positions raising my intrigue in keeping him around.

While first base is pretty much set that Burleson will be there 5-6 days per week, third could end up cycling through a list of guys, but I truly hope the team settles on giving one guy (Gorm) the everyday job with a day or two off a week as the DH. That cycle could include a plethora of guys like Wetherholt, Jose Fermin, Thomas Saggese, and Ramon Urias. While versatility is going to be important for the roster this year, I would prefer Wetherholt to stick at one position and use the others as the Donovan-lite option. Removing Wetherholt, out of the trio, I am most looking forward to see how Saggese is utilized this season. He has shown the hitting potential in the minors, but his opportunity thus far at the big league level has also been inconsistent. This spring, Saggese has moved around the diamond and has been receiving time in the outfield. Since the Cardinals did not fill their righty outfield bat hole this offseason, Saggese’s best opportunity could be to seize that spot left vacated by Lars Nootbaar and attempt to turn that into an everyday role, at least to start the season.

Personally, I feel that the corner infield could have the widest range of outcomes this season. The outfield has questions as well, but I will dive into those in a couple weeks. Burleson has the potential grow beyond a solid major league contributor, but it is also possible he is approaching his ceiling as a player. If the Cardinals truly commit to Gorman at third, the hope is that the organization gets an answer on his future either way. Behind those two, we may see guys fighting for the opportunity to seize an opening if either of those two miss extensive time or struggle enough to warrant removal from the starting lineup.

SELF PROMO OF THE WEEK

• Massive news out of Redbird Rundown. We have decided to create a Patreon page as a way to make a hub for Cardinals fans to watch, listen, read, and chat. All of our new episodes will be posted there for free, but to access chats and our archives, a FREE account is going to be required. At 6pm tonight, we will announce the move and instructions on our episode, but we hope little to nothing will change for you all. Please please reach out with questions and feedback as we want to make it seamless, yet effective. This is a learning experience for us, so let us know your thoughts!
• Outside of that news, tonight’s episode will feature the one and only Kareem Haq! To jump into Kareem’s expertise, the four of us drafted Cardinals prospects based on whatever we felt most important. Make sure to tune in for this one!

• Random Cardinal of the Week finished Black History Month by diving into one of the most influential position groups of all time: the 1982 outfield. A really fun one this week!
• And finally, we are available on my Twitter (@MrPlaztastic17) and Instagram (@MrPlaztastic) and all podcast related info will be on the Redbird Rundown YouTube, Twitter, Spotify, and Instagram. We look forward to connecting more!

Thanks as always!