The St. Louis Cardinals have rightfully been criticized for a lot of mistakes over the past few years, and many of those mistakes culminated in their disastrous 2023 season. While we could write an entirely different story about the mistakes they continue to make as an organization, I think there are multiple areas where the club has made significant changes.
A team doesn’t go from being one of the worst teams in baseball to a legitimate playoff contender in one offseason without improving in many areas, especially when so many of their key position players have been disappointing this year. But what exactly are the areas that they’ve actually “learned” from their mistakes that could be an encouraging sign for the future?
Here are five changes I’ve seen from the Cardinals this year that show me they’ve learned from past mistakes.
The Cardinals’ 2023 Opening Day roster included a major defensive demotion at catcher from Yadier Molina to Willson Contreras, Nolan Gorman still learning how to properly play second base, terrible defense from Jordan Walker in right field and Tyler O’Neill trying to prove he could play center field.
Not exactly a defensive lineup that inspires much confidence.
While pitching was by far the biggest issue last year, the Cardinals’ defense time and time again let the team down in major ways and they couldn’t afford to let that happen again this year.
In 2024, the Cardinals have used Michael Siani almost every day in center field despite his bat being below league average. Even before Masyn Winn broke out offensively this year, the team began the year committed to him at shortstop to improve the defense there. They worked extensively with Willson Contreras this offseason to improve his game behind the plate, and Pedro Pages has supplanted Ivan Herrera as their backup catcher with his stellar defense.
Though the offense has struggled mightily at times, the Cardinals have remained steadfast in their goal of putting their best defense on the field as often as possible, and that’s vitally important for a pitching staff that needs a good defense behind them.
Defense is important in today’s game. It seems like every time a team makes a mistake in the field, the consequences come back to haunt them. Not only do the Cardinals avoid that now, but they also have players all over the field who can save runs. This defense is much better than last year’s and is a big reason why the club is so much better this year.
