Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Could Bench Superstar For ‘Few Days’ To Help Get Him Back On Track

St. Louis may give one of its biggest stars a couple of days off in the near future

Patrick McAvoy

May 3, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) and
May 3, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) and / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The St. Louis Cardinals certainly haven’t had the start to the 2024 season they expected to have.

St. Louis had a disappointing 2023 season and spent the offseason looking for ways to turn things around so it didn’t have to go through a similar experience in 2024. The Cardinals’ struggles last season mainly were from pitching struggles.

The Cardinals’ starting rotation wasn’t up to speed and it led to an overuse of the bullpen and struggles there as well. St. Louis spent the offseason reloading the rotation and bullpen and actually has had a lot of pitching success this season.

While this is the case, the offense surprisingly has struggled. One player who hasn’t gotten hot at the plate yet this season is star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The 2022 National League Most Valuable Player has hit just two home runs and driven in 11 runs while slashing .195/.287/.263 in 35 games played.

It’s unclear why he has struggled at the plate, but the team is considering giving him a “few days” off in order to hopefully get back on track, according to the Belleville News Democrats’ Jeff Jones.

“Asked (Cardinals manager Oli Marmol) last night if there’s been thought of sitting Paul Goldschmidt for a few days,” Jones said “Yeah, we’re evaluating everything in order to get him right. He’s a big part of our lineup. I care about this dude a ton. He cares about this team a ton, and he’s going through it.”

Goldschmidt is an important part of the Cardinals’ lineup and if the club wants to get back on track he likely will play a major role in that fact. St. Louis has the talent to win games but currently is 15-21 and in last place in the National League Central.

It seems like something needs to be done and maybe giving Goldschmidt a few days off could help.

More MLB: Former All-Star Pitcher Available; Could Cardinals Pursue To Add More Depth?

Published
Patrick McAvoy

PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu