PITTSBURGH — The return of Harrison Bader to his spot in center field gives Cardinals manager Mike Shildt the choice of outfielders the club imagined it could use for favorable matchups to start the year, or the option he’s going to take a month into the regular season.
“We’ll ride with what this looks like for the time being,” Shildt said.
On his first day back on the active roster after most of spring and the first month of games, Bader returned to the position he left, center, and singled out of the eighth spot. Rookie Dylan Carlson, who handled the position well during Bader’s absence, slid to his eventual home, right field.