Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Insider Shares Why 25-Year-Old Was Last-Second Scratch

The Cardinals had a slight scare on Monday
Patrick McAvoy|
Sep 17, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of a St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Sep 17, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of a St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have a pretty prominent position battle going on in the outfield right now.

Victor Scott II, Michael Siani, and Lars Nootbaar have been in the mix for the team's starting center field spot. On Monday, Scott and Siani were both scheduled to be in the lineup with Scott in left field and Siani in center field. While this is the case, Siani was scratched right before the game.

The Athletic's Katie Woo shared that the reason why he was scratched was due to illness.

"Siani was scratched due to illness, per Cards PR," Woo said,

Once Siani was scratched, it certainly led to a lot of chatter, but it was just due to illness and nothing else as shared by Woo. Scott moved over to center field and continued his red-hot spring. Scott finished the day 2-for-4 with a home run, one RBI, and one run scored. Now, he's slashing .371/.476/.657.

Scott has been the most impressive of the three outfielders so far in camp anyway, but this may not bode too well for Siani. Getting sick certainly isn't his fault by any means, but it seems on the outside looking in that he's going to need as many opportunities as possible to make up ground before Opening Day.

Siani shined defensively last year but didn't do much offensively. This has been the case in Spring Training as well. Hopefully, he gets better quickly and can get back on the field.

More MLB: Cardinals Decision Could Lead To Departure Of 34-Year-Old

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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

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