The Cardinals’ outfield plan points to patience. St. Louis appears ready to give rookie Joshua Báez an extended chance in left field and let Nathan Church and Victor Scott II handle much of the early work in center, even after the club ranked in the bottom third of MLB outfield production. That choice puts development ahead of a quick fix: the team is asking its current players to show they can cover the position while its prospects continue to climb the minors. It’s a measured approach, though it leaves little room for the group’s offensive shortcomings to disappear from view.
Center field remains an internal competition
Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in a reader chat that St. Louis isn’t expected to aggressively pursue a short-term center fielder. Church likely has the early advantage over Scott, while the Cardinals wait for prospects Tai Peete and Josiah Ragsdale to advance. That suggests the club sees the position as a bridge to a later decision, rather than a vacancy it needs to fill immediately. A short-term addition could raise the floor, but it could also take playing time from players the organization still needs to evaluate.
Church, 26, appeared briefly in 2025 before earning a larger role this season. He opened the year in a left-field platoon while Lars Nootbaar recovered from heel surgeries, then moved to center to keep his place in the lineup. After Báez debuted, the Cardinals traded Nootbaar to Arizona. Church’s path through the outfield has therefore depended partly on the club’s changing roster needs, not just on a single position battle. That flexibility helps explain why he’s in line for another opportunity, even though his season didn’t establish him as an everyday offensive force.
Church finished with a .247/.290/.364 line and 10 home runs in 470 trips to the plate. He made contact but seldom hit the ball hard or drew walks. His batting average improved late in the season, though his overall offensive output remained limited. Those details matter because a center fielder who isn’t producing much power or reaching base often needs to contribute in other ways to justify a regular role. Defensively, Church graded around average or a little better, giving the Cardinals a workable baseline in the field. The question is whether that defense can carry enough value while his bat develops.
Scott, 25, brings a different skill set: elite speed and Gold Glove caliber defense. His .193/.270/.253 line, however, led to a three-month option to Triple-A Memphis. When he returned in September, his role was largely limited to pinch-running and defense. The contrast between his glove and his hitting makes his fit easier to define in a narrow role than as a starter. Church and Scott could serve as useful fourth or fifth outfielders, but neither has established himself as a long-term regular. For now, the competition looks less like a settled choice than a chance for each player to make a case.
Báez offers power, with strikeouts attached
Left field carries more upside in the form of Báez, who turns 23 and is set for his first extended major league opportunity. The former second-round pick made history in August by hitting a home run in each of his first three career at-bats. That debut gave the Cardinals a vivid preview of the power he can bring, but three at-bats can’t tell a team how a hitter will handle a sustained run of major league pitching. The bigger test is whether he can make enough adjustments once opponents have more reason to challenge his weaknesses.
That burst didn’t settle the questions around his bat. Báez added four homers but hit .208 with a .260 on-base percentage after his debut. The split reflects the profile he showed in the minors: substantial raw power, paired with frequent strikeouts. He ranked second among Triple-A hitters with 34 home runs this year, while striking out in nearly 30% of his plate appearances. Power can change a game, but it doesn’t erase the cost of frequent outs, especially when a hitter isn’t reaching base often. The numbers here are underwhelming as a full offensive package, even if the home run potential is clear.
St. Louis should expect uneven stretches as Báez adjusts to major league pitching. Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker have shown how quickly power can be accompanied by difficult swings and misses. Their examples don’t determine Báez’s outcome, but they underline the kind of tradeoff the club may have to accept while he learns which pitches he can drive. Here's the thing: giving a young hitter regular at-bats can reveal what a brief debut can’t. The Cardinals’ willingness to give Báez room suggests they’re prepared to live with that development curve. A learning season, with rough patches.
Prospects won’t arrive immediately
Peete and Ragsdale ended the season in Double-A. St. Louis acquired Peete from Seattle in the Brendan Donovan deal and Ragsdale from Milwaukee in the trades involving Dustin May and JoJo Romero. Both are likely to start next season at the same level and could reach Memphis by year’s end, leaving the current group to cover center field in the meantime. That timeline makes the internal options more than a temporary preference: the club may need them to handle the position for much of the season before either prospect is ready to affect the major league roster.
The club may still consider an inexpensive fit if one emerges. Right-handed hitters Tyrone Taylor and Myles Straw could complement the left-handed Church in a platoon; Straw’s availability would depend on Toronto declining his club option. St. Louis could also explore a trade for an underperforming former top prospect such as Evan Carter or Dylan Crews if another team makes one available. Those possibilities offer different kinds of uncertainty: a platoon player could help with a specific matchup, while a trade for a former prospect would mean betting on a rebound. Neither option is presented as a settled plan.
What patience will test
For now, the Cardinals’ roster flexibility gives them room to address other needs, including starting pitching and third base, without forcing an outfield purchase. That allocation has a cost: if Church and Scott provide limited offense and Báez’s strikeouts persist, the team could spend a long stretch looking for production from the position. And yet, buying a short-term solution would only make sense if the player improved the roster enough to justify the playing time and resources involved.
This is more significant than it looks because the plan depends on several different bets working well enough at once. Church must make his defense and contact useful; Scott must offer value in a more limited role; Báez must turn raw power into a sustainable major league approach. If you’re working in this space, the key signal won’t be one hot week or a few highlight plays, but whether those roles start to look dependable over time. The practical test will be whether Báez’s power and Church’s defense can make an internal solution credible while Peete and Ragsdale develop.
