ST. LOUIS -- During last year’s Cardinals Caravan and Winter Warm-Up, Tommy Edman was a relative unknown -- not a top prospect, but close enough to the Majors that he could have a shot in 2019.

Fast forward a year, and Edman will tell you of quite a different experience.

“Now I’m going on the Caravan, and I’m seeing people wearing these Edman shirts,” Edman said Sunday at Winter Warm-Up, the Cardinals’ unofficial kickoff for the upcoming season. “It’s a pretty cool feeling seeing that many jerseys and shirts with my name on it.”

Called up in June, Edman brought a spark when the Cardinals needed it, and by the end of the season, he led everyone on the team with at least 300 at-bats in average (.304), slugging (.500) and OPS (.850), and he was second to Kolten Wong in on-base percentage (.350). Going into 2020, fans -- and opponents -- know his name.

If he can produce like he did for four months last season, Edman figures to be a key figure on the Cardinals’ roster once again. The question is where he’ll play. Even Edman doesn’t know. That’s the point. He knows he can do it all, and that’s what will make him so valuable on the roster.

“I’m sure it will be similar to last year, kind of moving all over the field,” Edman said. “Just got to be able to come into Spring Training and be ready to play all over the infield, maybe get a little outfield work in as well.”

Edman is a statistics guy, having graduated from Stanford with a degree in math and computational science. He said he doesn’t use those numbers to help him hit or field, but he understands the value they have in evaluating players.

The best metric to measure his own value? Wins Above Replacement, he said.

“It combines all aspects of the game,” said Edman, whose 3.8 WAR last season ranked fourth on the Cardinals behind Jack Flaherty, Wong and Paul DeJong. “Combines hitting, baserunning and defense, and I think that’s one of the things that makes me so valuable as a player -- to have the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways. WAR does a good job of including all aspects, kind of sums up the overall value.”

The Cardinals realize they can’t let Edman’s value sit on the bench this season.

The front office has advertised Edman as an everyday player who won’t have a set position, moving anywhere from second base, third base, shortstop and the outfield. The Cubs did this with Ben Zobrist when they won it all in 2016; Zobrist played five positions over 147 games, and he had 523 at-bats.

Edman played five positions in 2019, including all three outfield spots, and this year that number will likely rise to six as the Cardinals try to find an occasional day off for DeJong at shortstop. Edman said he’s going to bring three gloves to Spring Training -- middle infield, third base, outfield -- and joked about investing in a first baseman’s glove, too, just in case.

“I’ll just be prepared for pretty much anything,” Edman said. “I’m sure I’ll be playing pretty much everywhere on the field, hitting everywhere in the lineup, and it will obviously change day to day based on the needs. I think that’s one of the main sources of value for the team -- my versatility and my ability to fill in wherever.”

Edman’s ability to play everywhere helps his chances of getting consistent at-bats in the starting lineup. He became comfortable with differentiating his offense and defense last year, so he said moving around the field won’t affect his hitting. It also helps that if injury or poor performance bumps someone from the lineup, Edman can be the player to step in. He did this last year at third base with Matt Carpenter, and when Wong strained his hamstring at Wrigley Field in September, Edman transitioned to second base mid-game. There were some days where Edman started at third base and found himself in the outfield to end the game.

“The best thing for our organization would be if he bounced around and played a lot of different positions,” general manager Michael Girsch said Sunday. “Because that would suggest that all the guys that are penciled in to play those positions are doing well.

“When you look back on Oct. 1 at his playing time, it will be some combination of opportunities that present themselves for him to have playing time. Ideally, he plays five different positions or six different positions and plays multiple times a week all over the place, because everyone is doing well.”