The St Louis Cardinals were lagging behind the Milwaukee Brewers for a lengthy time in 2022, but they eclipsed the Brewers and won the NL Central crown. However, they were upset by the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Wildcard last season via a 2-0 sweep. The mix of veterans and youth is an admirable facet that any MLB organization must emulate.

Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado will continue to be MVP candidates for the foreseeable future. At 34 and 31 years old, respectively, they must possess the necessary leadership characteristics because this roster comprises many youthful guys. Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan are the best individuals from that group, and they will look to continue building off their stellar 2022 campaign.

The surplus of talent in the Cardinals franchise brings in a few position battles, a good problem to have in MLB spring training.

Center field

Tyler O'Neill has always been assigned as the starting left fielder of St. Louis. A subpar 2022 season will force O'Neill to play exceptionally to lock up his spot in left field. However, it was a massive surprise when O'Neill revealed that he is competing for the starting CF spot in 2023. Dylan Carlson had a decent 2022 season and received most of his starts in that position.

With a WAR of 2.0, it seemed that Dylan Carlson would be the everyday CF of the Cardinals. The inevitable promotion of the No. 4 ranked prospect in the majors, Jordan Walker, means that Tyler O'Neill will not have a spot in left field. He knows he has a better chance of starting at CF, but that will be a considerable risk because centerfield is more demanding, especially with his slow recovery from a serious injury.

Designated hitter

Does the crowded outfield mean that one of them can be inserted as the designated hitter? Unfortunately, that will not be the case, as second baseman Nolan Gorman has the inside track of claiming the starting DH position. Even if Gorman played only 89 games last year, he was still one of the top 10 hitters of St Louis. He contributed 14 homers and 35 RBI with an OBP of .300.

Outfielder Juan Yepez will have something to say as another choice of the Cardinals at DH. Yepez is the better power hitter, so manager Oliver Marmol may decide to give him the opportunities at the early juncture of the season. Yepez's frame and style are more fit for DH than Gorman or someone like Paul DeJong. 

Middle infield

The first and third base positions are 100% locked up by both Goldschmidt and Arenado, respectively. The middle infield positions are a major topic of discussion, and many of the guys involved in this discussion were previously mentioned in the piece. Tommy Edman, Brendan Donovan, Paul DeJong, and Nolan Gorman will compete for two starting infield spots for 2023.

Edman is currently playing for Korea in the World Baseball Classic, so the three other players can get more chances to play both second base and shortstop. For Gorman, he has been hitting the ball at an impressive level in Spring Training so far, but his fielding makes it tough for him to become an everyday 2B or SS. The advantage will still be with Donovan as the starter in the second base because of his tremendous versatility and eye-popping power he has portrayed in Spring Training so far.