Cardinals Announce Rare Position Change For Gold Glover Amid Injury Woes

The St. Louis Cardinals entered the season with so much outfield depth that many speculated they would trade one or two of them for pitching help -- a need that was apparent early on and has not gone away.

However, as we sit here in early June, the Cardinals are having to move infielders into the outfield after a cluster of injuries and some lackluster production.

Outfielders Tyler O'Neill and Lars Nootbar are on the injured list with back injuries. Dylan Carlson, Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and Óscar Mercado are all on the active roster but have failed to produce much -- all four have negative WAR's this season.

These struggles forced Cardinals manager Oli Marmol to play some infielders in the outfield, namely Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman. After a strong start in his new role, the latter has earned more time out there.

"For the benefit of the club, Edman (in center field) does that for us at the moment," Marmol told the St. Louis media, as transcribed by The Athletic's Katie Woo. "We have the ability to move Donovan to second, (Nolan) Gorman to second, and play with it that way. But looking at where we rank in running things down and playing good defense, this is our best shot.”

Edman won the National League Gold Glove award at second base in 2021 and has been a steady presence up the middle for the Cardinals over the last few years. St. Lous would ideally like to bring Edman back to his natural infield spots but will continue to use the versatile 28-year-old in center field until they are healthy enough to fill the position with a productive player.

For now, he'll continue to impress with his quick first step and impressive routes.

More MLB: Cardinals Linked To Guardians' Shane Bieber Among Eight Trade Deadline Suiters