Cardinals Made Right Call With Victor Scott II Demotion, Now What’s Next?

The St. Louis Cardinals reportedly made a difficult decision on Sunday night.

After taking down the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep, the Cardinals opted to option center fielder Victor Scott II down to Triple-A Memphis due to his offensive struggles at the plate and the looming return of fellow outfielder Nathan Church. While not officially announced, it wouldn't be shocking the slightest to see Church activated as soon as Tuesday ahead of the club's series opener against the New York Mets.

Regardless of whether Church is ready to go on Tuesday, he should be very soon. With Scott now heading down to Triple-A, here's what the next steps should be for St. Louis.

If Nathan Church Is Ready On Tuesday

May 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Nathan Church (27) hits a RBI double during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images

If Church is able to return from his minor league rehab assignment for the Mets series, things will be very easy to figure out. In that scenario, the Cardinals could simply place Church in center field with Lars Nootbaar in left field and Jordan Walker in right field. Nootbaar has center field experience and so the club could move him over and put Church in left field, but having the rookie in center field arguably would be for the best.

From there, everything else is the status quo. Nelson Velázquez is the fourth outfielder and can fill in and give the club a big bat off the bench.

If Nathan Church Isn't Ready Tuesday

May 4, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nathan Church (27) catches a fly ball against the Milwaukee Brewers during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

If Church isn't ready to return on Tuesday, then the easy solution would be to play Nootbaar in center field for the time being and roll with Velázquez in left field until Church is able to return. He has provided a bit of a spark since being promoted to the big leagues. In seven games, he has gone 7-for-17 with a homer and four RBIs, which is good for a .389/.450/.611 slash line.

For now, the Cardinals are making the right move, whether Church is ready to play on Tuesday or not in the majors. Scott has been really struggling offensively so far this season. He has played in 61 games and is slashing .194/.276/.258 with a .534 OPS, two homers, nine RBIs and nine stolen bases. If you're trying to win big league games, you can't roll someone out consistently with a slash line like that. It's not April anymore. It's now June and that's a big enough sample size to know something needed to be done. Hopefully, Scott's able to get back on track down in Triple-A.

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