ST. LOUIS -- On the one hand, the Cardinals were delighted to get Lars Nootbaar back from a thumb injury, and the dynamic and versatile outfielder paid almost immediate dividends by hitting a game-tying, two-run home run on Sunday.
However, on the other hand, Nootbaar’s return only further crowded an outfield that already has a serious logjam and is one that usually necessitates manager Oliver Marmol precariously trying to shoehorn five capable players into three slots. Keeping all those players happy and in rhythm is virtually impossible, Marmol conceded, so the Cardinals will continue to mix and match those outfield options with alignments that best fit that day’s opponent.
Incumbent veterans Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson and Nootbaar all deserve regular playing time, and so too do young players Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson, who have entered the outfield chat with strong early-season flashes. The 20-year-old Walker showed off his enormous potential by opening his career with a historic 12-game hitting streak. Burleson has consistently hit the ball harder than any Cardinal not named Paul Goldschmidt.
This influx of outfielders, of course, is not a new issue.
The arrival of the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Walker was about as subtle as a punch in the nose, and Burleson burst on the scene with his ability to consistently get barrel to ball. And in center field, the Cardinals have three capable options with O’Neill, Carlson and Nootbaar. Carlson is easily the best defensive option; O’Neill has the most high-end potential as a slugger and as a chase-down defender; as for Nootbaar, he deftly blends those two facets along with also bringing infectious enthusiasm and energy.
So, what’s a manager to do? Having too many outfielders, of course, is better than the alternative and Marmol admitted that there have been times in the not-so-distant past when “we’ve sat here and gone, ‘Man, we need to go get somebody because we don't have enough [capable players].’”
Now, he’s charged with finding enough at-bats and reps for the crowded bunch, while also understanding the ruffled feathers that invariably come when players are unfairly snubbed.
“It's not fair and that’s not what this industry [is conducive to],” Marmol said of sitting deserving players. “It's not fair and I’m not going to describe it as fair. Is this fair for Dylan Carlson? Not really, because [he deserves] to play three or four times a week. But at whose expense? … I'm not going to sit here and say Dylan Carlson should be OK with it, or Tyler O'Neill should be OK with it, or whoever sits next should be OK with it.
“We have a lot of outfielders who can all play every day. But they all can’t, which makes it difficult,” Marmol added.
A perfect example is O’Neill, who is back in left field after a brief experiment as a center fielder because of his potential there as a defender with top-end speed. O’Neill made two brilliant grabs and nearly made a diving catch of a third ball in left in Friday’s win. He then found himself out of the starting lineup the next two days.
The burning question is this: Can too much of a good thing ultimately be bad for the Cardinals? That question ultimately prompts many others. Will not playing regularly stunt the growth of the 24-year-old Carlson, a first-round pick and someone far too talented to consider trading? Will the streaky O’Neill be in the lineup enough to find his rhythm? What happens to Walker when he invariably goes through prolonged cold spells? How can the team justify removing Nootbaar and Burleson when they continue to get on base and hit the ball so consistently hard?
One thing Marmol does like about having so many outfield options: Sheer, unadulterated, may-the-best-man-win competition. All day, every day.
“There's the component of knowing, ‘I have to do something today in order to be back in there,’” he said of the outfielders. “That's just the reality of there not being a level above this one; this is the big leagues. … There's heightened pressure for everybody in that clubhouse.”