JUPITER, Fla.–The Cardinals start their Grapefruit League slate Friday against the Astros, and you can expect to see plenty of regulars in the lineup, manager Oliver Marmol confirmed Thursday morning. That’s not a huge surprise, especially with an accelerated schedule to get ready for the April 7 season opener.
But where those regulars are playing does add some context to answering some of the team’s questions heading into 2022. According to Marmol:
- Tommy Edman will lead off and play second base.
- Paul DeJong will start at shortstop
- Lars Nootbaar will be the designated hitter.
Edman struggled as a prototypical leadoff hitter in 2021 and was moved out of the top spot for a time. Marmol has suggested that his lineup construction will be malleable based on matchups, which is obviously less of a concern in the spring than it will be in the regular season.
Starting DeJong at shortstop follows up on the show of faith the organization voiced in the offseason, eschewing a high-profile crop of shortstops available in free agency. Will DeJong seize the new lease on the opportunity, following several seasons derailed by injury and COVID, or will Edmundo Sosa build on a promising 2021? Edman could also be part of the equation at shortstop.
The front office stayed out of the deep waters of the free agent market when it came to supplementing internal options at DH, like Nootbaar and Juan Yepez, with the thought of also using the position to rotate off-days in the field defensively. The team is signing outfielder Corey Dickerson, who like Nootbaar, could see time both in the outfield and at DH.