BURNING QUESTIONS
Will St. Louis have enough offense?
In a record-breaking season for homers, the Cardinals ranked 24th — and 13th in the NL — with 210. And that was before they lost two-time All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna to free agency.
Ozuna was third on the team in homers with 29, behind first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (34) and shortstop Paul DeJong (30). He also was second in RBI and runs scored. That’s a significant amount of production that will have to be made up by some combination of Tyler O’Neill, Dexter Fowler and Tommy Edman.
The Cardinals’ offensive shortcomings were apparent when they had a slash line of .130/.195/.179 and were swept in the NL Championship Series by Washington. There haven’t been significant additions to the lineup.
What role will Carlos Martinez fill?
This two-time All-Star was a 200-inning workhorse in 2017, but shoulder problems led to surgery and forced him to the bullpen in the middle of the 2018 season. He hasn’t started a game since.
Still 28, Martinez is preparing with an eye toward returning to the rotation, where he feels most comfortable.
The Cardinals would love to have the old version of Martinez – who won 42 games and averaged 193 innings over a three-season span (2015-17) – back as a starter. However, they have a need at the back of the bullpen with closer Jordan Hicks recovering from Tommy John surgery.
If Martinez doesn’t earn a spot in the rotation, he would be the favorite to close after converting 24 of 27 save chances with a 3.17 ERA last season.
– Steve Gardner