It’s Time for Cardinals to Make a Major Bench Change

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to need to make a change at some point in the not-so-distant future.

Apr 24, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A view of St. Louis Cardinals players hats and gloves in the dugout during a game with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-Imagn Images | David Kohl-Imagn Images

The vibes are high around the St. Louis Cardinals right now.

St. Louis dropped the series finale against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday before a much-needed off day on Monday. While this is the case, the Cardinals are eight games above .500 at 27-19 and have won four of their last six games. On top of this, the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team, which caught the attention of the Cardinals and fans around the organization after bringing the "Tarps Off" trend to Busch Stadium, will be back in town on Tuesday night when the Cardinals begin a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This club isn't a fluke. The success has been going on long enough this season to believe that the young Cardinals are for real and can sustain this level of play. When a team is rolling, you never want to mess with the mojo. But this team arguably can be even better. Over the course of the season, we've talked a lot about the catcher position. Jimmy Crooks is down in the minors, tearing it up with Triple-A Memphis. While this is the case, the Cardinals haven't made a change yet. Pedro Pagés is highly respected in the clubhouse and does a good job calling a game, despite his offense not being great this season. If the Cardinals don't want to make a change at catcher, the next thing they should do is find a way to upgrade the bench.

The Cardinals Need A Bench Upgrade

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 Cardinals are getting almost nothing offensively from the bench right now. Yohel Pozo has stepped up and is now slashing .259/.259/.296 in 13 games played. The rest of the bench is really struggling, though. Thomas Saggese is hitting .164, Ramón Urías is on the Injured List but was hitting .158, José Fermín is hitting .220, and César Prieto hasn't gotten a hit yet in three games.

The Cardinals are going to be rotating guys in all the time as starters need days off sometimes. The Cardinals need to find a way to get something off the bench offensively. Blaze Jordan or Joshua Báez would be fun, but if the Cardinals are going to call them up, it likely would be for a consistent role and that isn't in the cards right now. Nelson Velázquez is someone who was a Spring Training standout and has seven homers and 19 RBIs on the season so far in 33 games down in the minors.

The Cardinals need more offense off the bench so that when they have to give guys days off, it's not a black hole in the lineup. Velázquez is someone to consider right now.