JUPITER, Fla. — It says a lot about the fluid and unproven state of the Cardinals’ outfield that the team's most experienced outfielder and center-field starter hit the injured list a week before the season opener, and no one seemed all that alarmed.
The Cardinals are going to miss Harrison Bader’s elite defense as he rests and rehabilitates an ailing forearm. A team that cites defense (and perhaps its under-the-radar bullpen) as its biggest strength will take a step back in run suppression without Bader roaming center. But there is another side of the coin to consider here, and it shows that Bader has been, at best, a league average hitter so far in his career; that he often is too easy of an out against right-handed pitchers; and that he was in the midst of a three-for-28 slump this spring.