Cardinals Hit Reset, Demote Struggling Victor Scott II

The St. Louis Cardinals are sending the speedy outfielder down to Triple-A.

Jun 6, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II (11) hits a one run single against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II has had a very tough season offensively so far and the club is making a change.

On Sunday night, Tamar Sher of KMOV reported that Scott has been optioned down to Triple-A Memphis and didn't travel with the team ahead of their three-game series against the New York Mets.

"News: The Cardinals have optioned center fielder Victor Scott II to Triple-A Memphis. He did not travel with the team to New York," Sher wrote. "Scott was batting .194 with 2 HR, 9 RBI and a .534 OPS."

The Cardinals Aren't Messing Around

Jun 7, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II (11) lays down a bunt against the Cincinnati Reds during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

As of writing, the Cardinals haven't officially announced the move, but with Nathan Church down on a minor league rehab assignment, it was known that some sort of decision was going to be on the way. Church kicked off his minor league rehab assignment on June 4 and was able to get through the weekend healthy.

If Church is activated for the Mets series, then this move would make a lot of sense. Scott just hasn't been able to get things going offensively this season. In 61 games, he's slashed .194/.276/.258 with a .534 OPS, two homers, nine RBIs, 16 walks, and four doubles. Scott has nine stolen bases on the season so far. He's played well defensively, but not offensively. Before Church got hurt, he was playing well defensively and was doing more with his bat than Scott.

Church has played in 45 games in the majors this season and was slashing .247/.282/.390 with a .672 OPS, five homers, 18 RBIs and six doubles. With Scott going down to the minors, the Cardinals' lineup all of a sudden looks dangerous at every spot. The outfield should be electric with Church — whenever he returns — Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker. Alec Burleson has been awesome over at first base. JJ Wetherholt is a superstar in the making. Masyn Winn hasn't had a lot of pop this season, but has big-time potential. Iván Herrera and Jimmy Crooks are going to provide some serious offense behind the plate. Nelson Velázquez has been a good bench bat. There are questions about Nolan Gorman, but he does have power.

Whenever Church does return, we're talking about an immediate jump over 50 points in batting average from the center field spot. Plus, Nootbaar in the mix. The Cardinals have already been good this season and are just getting better.