Defense Is St. Louis Cardinals' Biggest Weakness So Far In 2016

By Nick Vorholt

The St. Louis Cardinals have had a plethora of young talented hitters play substantial roles so far in 2016. They have also had pitchers who are forcing hitters to hit ground balls. Unfortunately, the Cardinals’ biggest weakness so far in 2016 has been their defense, so things are progressing perfectly. Their hitting has been their biggest strength, but defense must remain a consideration.

The Cardinals’ defensive issues began last year with the injury to Matt Adams. Once he was injured, the Cardinals realized that they could piecemeal first base between Mark Reynolds, Matt Carpenter and Brandon Moss. This year first base has been even more crowded, with Stephen Piscotty and Matt Holliday starting games there. This fit-a-piece-wherever mentality has extended to the rest of the field.

Carpenter was the opening day third baseman and has started games at second and first. Currently, he starts most games at second. Since coming back from a spring training injury, Jhonny Peralta has been playing third with his replacement, Aledmys Diaz, retaining the shortstop position. With opening day center fielder Randal Grichuk in a huge slump, the Cardinals recalled opening day second baseman Kolten Wong to play center. It’s like a Rubik’s cube of fitting a random eight players onto the field defensively.

More importantly, it has cost them. The Cardinals have the second-most errors in MLB. They also have the second-worst fielding percentage. This has combined to allow the fifth-most unearned runs in all of baseball. In fact, Diaz leads the majors with 14 errors, and he’ll come close to 30 at this rate by the end of the season.

For years, the Cardinals have been built around pitching. With the loss of John Lackey and Lance Lynn, they needed to recreate themselves in 2016. They created a monster offense, but one that has the side effect of bad defense. Maybe they’ll learn to overcome their deficiency.

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