10 Questions Facing the St. Louis Cardinals Going into 2023
By: Louis Greubel
March 15th, 2023
The goal of every sports season—the crowning achievement that all fans hope for—is to win a championship. And with the Cardinals putting on a stellar spring training performance so far, it seems like fans have a lot of good stuff to look forward to in 2023. Still, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of questions and concerns going into the new season. It sort of feels like we’re on the precipice of a new era of Cardinals baseball, and it should make for an interesting remainder of the decade.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though; let’s think about the here and now. As Opening Day draws closer, here are ten questions facing the St. Louis Cardinals going into the 2023 season.
10. How will Paul Goldschmidt Follow His MVP Season?
Paul Goldschmidt is the first Cardinal to win the NL MVP since Albert Pujols won it in 2009. With 35 home runs, 115 RBIs, a .317 average and a .981 OPS, Goldschmidt more than earned the award, netting 22 out of 30 first-place votes, handily beating out Manny Machado (who earned 7 first-place votes).
It’s always a great feeling when your team’s guy walks away with the award, but the question follows: how will he do this time around? Will he come close to matching his unbelievable 2022 numbers? Will he have an even better year? Or will he fall off completely? If we had to guess, he’ll more than likely post another stellar season in 2023. But will it be enough to win the award again and be the first repeat winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and 2013? We’ll see.
9. How will the Cardinals Adjust to Life without Yadi?
Yadier Molina is a once-in-a-generation talent. Leading the Cardinals to two World Series, spending his entire career with the club, winning a stupid amount of Gold and Platinum Gloves, and standing up for the entire city of St. Louis against noted idiot Brandon Phillips, Molina was just as important to the Cardinals and Cardinal fans off the field as he was on the field. He absolutely, without question deserves the peace and rest of retirement after an all-time great career, and his legacy is solidly cemented forever as a sure first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.
The question is: how will the team—and the fans, for that matter— adjust to life without Yadi? The squad went out and got an excellent replacement in Willson Contreras, and he’s already more than shown that he’ll fit in well both with the team and the fans. But many of us longtime Cards fans have dreaded the day when the team would be without Yadi. Now that that day has finally come, we’ll have to see how long it takes to get used to his absence.
8. What will Adam Wainwright’s Final Season Look Like?
Speaking of longtime Cardinals veterans we can’t imagine life without, Adam Wainwright has said that 2023 will be his last ride. Everyone thought he would go out with Pujols and Yadi (which, let’s face it, would have been pretty special), but the legendary Redbird ace thinks he has one more year left in him. Waino’s style has certainly changed a bit over the years, transitioning from a closer to a starter and, in more recent years, adjusting to a sharp drop in the velocity of his fastball. But his breaking stuff has always been nasty, and he can always lean on his classic curveball to get him out of a jam.
Whether Wainwright’s last season is plagued with injuries, short hooks, and losses, or he experiences good health, deep games, and more Ws in his win column remains to be seen; but obviously we’re hoping for the latter.
7. Will Ollie Marmol Experience a Sophomore Slump?
Ollie Marmol’s first regular season as a manager went about as well as it could have. The team finished 24 games above .500, winning 93 games and finishing first in the NL Central. With the Brewers finishing 7 games behind the Cards, the division was locked up pretty handily. At the same time, Marmol got to lean on the veteran expertise of guys like Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright. We certainly don’t want to take away from Marmol’s success, but his 2022 regular season was set up well for success from the get-go.
The postseason, on the other hand, was a bit of a disaster. The Cardinals succumbed to the new best-two-out-of-three wildcard format, losing two to Philadelphia (at home no less), ending their feel-good regular season on a pretty sour note. With a clean slate, how will Ollie do this time around? Will the team win the Central again? Will they make a deep playoff run? Or will they miss the postseason entirely? Whatever happens, we’re definitely rooting for Ollie to be successful through September… and beyond.
6. How will the Defense Do?
Remember that time in 2021 when the Cardinals literally won over half of the National League Gold Gloves? Goldschmidt, Arenado, Edman, O’Neill, and Bader all took home trophies for their respective positions. It was probably one of the most stacked defensive teams in baseball in a while. 2022 was still a great defensive year, but this time around, only two Cardinals (Arenado and Donovan) took home Gold Gloves.
Don’t get us wrong—two Gold Gloves is still amazing, but you get the point: the Cardinals are always defensively solid, but keeping pace with that ridiculous 2021 team will always be a tall order. The franchise has always been very defensive-minded, though, ever since Ozzie Smith backflipped into our hearts in 1982. History tells us that the defense will be great as usual—but just how great remains to be seen.
5. How will the Offense Do?
While defense is usually easy to predict with the Cardinals, offense is a bit less certain. Last year's numbers were pretty good: they finished 9th in the league with a combined team batting average of .252. They placed 4th in on-base percentage, putting up a .325. The team’s combined OPS was 5th overall at .745. Before looking into those numbers, we didn’t expect them to be that high (in fact, how did this team get knocked out of the playoffs so early?).
Anyway, the squad will continue to lean on big bats from Goldschmidt, Arenado and O’Neill, speed on the bases from guys like Tommy Edman, and relative consistency from guys like Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan. You never know for sure until the season gets underway, but the lineup looks like a definite recipe for success.
4. How will the Pitching Staff Perform?
Ah, yes—the dreaded question on the mind of every Cardinals fan: how will the pitching do this season? We already mentioned Adam Wainwright, a guy whose season could be filled with either high highs, low lows, or maybe even a bit of both. Beyond just Wainwright, though, the rotation is the biggest question mark of this Cardinals team for sure.
José Quintana was a fantastic pickup for the team in 2022, but this year, he’ll be wearing a Mets uniform. Miles Mikolas is solid, and Jack Flaherty should be too (at least in theory), but his history of injuries could continue to hold him back. Ryan Helsley was a great closer in 2022, posting 19 saves and a fantastic 1.25 ERA, but we can’t pretend the rest of the bullpen hasn’t had its issues. This question will perhaps be the most important one to keep an eye on throughout the season; how it’s answered is anyone’s guess at this point.
3. Will Jordan Walker See any Playing Time in the MLB?
Jordan Walker has Cardinals fans excited. The 2020 first-round pick homered on the first professional pitch he ever saw, and fans have been in love ever since. In the minors in 2021, Walker hit 14 home runs and 25 doubles, and he had 48 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He’s been tearing it up during 2023 spring training, too.
But it’s important to keep in mind that he’s never played beyond Double-A ball, and he also has a short but concerning history of injuries, including a shoulder strain he picked up during spring training. A prospect like Walker is exciting, but it’s imperative not to rush his development. Will he step up to a Major League plate in 2023? We’ll all just have to wait and find out together.
2. What will it be like with Chip Caray in the Booth?
Die-hard Cardinals fans have already heard a bit of Chip Caray during 2023 spring training, but the vast majority of the team’s viewers won’t hear him for the first time until the Cardinals host the Blue Jays on Opening Day this year. By all accounts, Braves fans liked Caray well enough during his 12 years in Atlanta, and as the grandson of legendary broadcaster Harry Caray, he comes from an undeniable pedigree.
Still, so many Cardinals fans have grown used to Dan McLaughlin, and his ignominious exit from the broadcast booth is a hard pill for a lot of fans to swallow. If there’s one thing St. Louisans love, though, it’s other St. Louisans, and hopefully the hometown guy Chip Caray is able to find his way into our hearts.
1. What will the Trade Deadline Bring?
Obviously, this question depends on so many things, including who gets hurt, how the team is doing by the deadline, and what the needs are by then. But still, year after year, loyal Cardinal fans are left completely underwhelmed by Mozeliak and company’s decisions at the deadline—or lack thereof. It seems like there’s always some talent out there just waiting to boost a team from good to great, and the Cardinals always seem to miss out. Most recently it was Juan Soto. And sure, that situation had its own intricacies and reasons why it didn’t come to pass.
But the point is, despite the kind of history and pedigree the Cardinals organization has, it seems like they always fall flat at the deadline. And who knows? Maybe this season they’ll be doing well enough by that point where they don’t even need to add anyone. Maybe. But if history is any indication, pre-deadline rumors will sweep fans into a frenzy, and the front office will send them all crashing down with disappointment and indifference. We’ll just have to wait and see.
-RJC
Louis Greubel
Louis is an avid, lifelong St. Louis sports fan. He has a bachelor’s degree in English from St. Louis University, and he’s worked as a professional writer for five years. Louis joined his brother Andy Greubel and their good friend Brendan Phillips in early 2023 to help make Red Jacket Club the premier hub for St. Louis Cardinals podcasts, videos, and blog content. In his spare time, he listens to Billy Joel, Elton John, and the Beatles, and hangs out with his fiancée—his favorite person in the world.
In lieu of connecting with Louis on social media, be sure to follow @red_jacketclub on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. He’ll see you there.
