Albert Pujols’ signing by the St. Louis Cardinals could have some drawbacks.
Albert Pujols has allegedly agreed to a one-year contract worth $2.5 million with the St. Louis Cardinals. With his mere presence, he will have an impact. So it’s difficult to see how adding him would be detrimental to the club.
Andrew Knizner, Corey Dickerson, Eduardo Sosa, and now Albert Pujols will be on the bench. Lars Nootbaar and Juan Yepez would compete for the last position.
Fans of Juan Yepez, on the other hand, are acutely aware of the issue. Last season, Nootbaar put in a lot of effort as a pinch hitter and outfielder off the bench, earning him near-legendary status.
Cardinals: There’s a risk in signing Albert Pujols.
Prior to Pujols’ signing, it was thought that Yepez would join Nootbaar on the bench, competing for time as a designated hitter or first baseman. The team has big expectations for Yepez as a future superstar. And it appears like the team is already working to retain him on board.
According to MLB.com’s John Denton:
An interesting shift for today: #STLCards rookie Juan Yepez will play LF and Tyler O’Neill will DH. The Cards are trying to find ways to keep Yepez at the big league level and muscle his big bat into the lineup as much as possible. Being able to play 1B and LF helps his chances.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) March 28, 2022
Oli Marmol, the new manager, is anticipated to place a strong emphasis on playing his complete squad in matchups. The Cardinals will find a way to keep Yepez on the bench if this expectation holds true and he does not present a reason to keep him off the major league roster.
Denton tweeted earlier on Sunday about the cause of the newfound interest in Pujols:
#STLCards pres. John Mozeliak & manager Oli Marmol said repeatedly in the first 2 weeks of Spring Training they wanted internal candidates Juan Yepez, Lars Nootbaar or Nolan Gorman to win the DH job. All have struggled, & that assuredly played a role in the Albert Pujols signing.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) March 28, 2022
Clubs will be able to have 28-man rosters throughout the month of April. Nootbaar and Yepez will work hard the rest of the spring, and most likely the rest of April, to earn a spot on the big club when teams return to 26-man rosters in May.
While Yepez and Nootbaar work to improve, the Pujols deal provides some backup. That should be regarded as a positive development. Those who don’t make the cut will be assigned to Memphis’ Triple-A affiliate and will be the first to return if needed.
While Marmol would prefer to use them depending on the situation, playing in Memphis would ensure that they get to play every day, which would be beneficial to their long-term development.
