Here's how the Cards might address their outfield concerns

PITTSBURGH -- When the Braves beat the Astros in six games to win the World Series last November, they incredibly did it with three different outfielders than the ones in their Opening Day lineup.

Though that strategy is certainly not advised, the Cardinals might be forced to try to repeat what Atlanta did with an outfield that continues to be in flux because of injuries, wavering production and the squad’s hope to balance offense and defense.

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When the season started, the Cards were thought to have their most stable outfield unit in years with Gold Glovers Tyler O'Neill and Harrison Bader in left and center, and rising star Dylan Carlson in right. That trio has long since been broken up with Bader being dealt to the Yankees on Aug. 2. Now, with O’Neill likely out of the Wild Card Series with a lingering left hamstring issue and Carlson possibly out of the lineup because of his struggles hitting hard-throwing righties, St. Louis could start the postseason on Friday with a completely different outfield than the one with which it opened the season.

“It’s rotated quite a bit,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Credit to the group for staying with it and stepping up at different points. We’ve mixed and matched a lot more than we anticipated. Some of it is injury and a lot of it is [lack of] production.”

Marmol revealed on Tuesday -- prior to his team’s 8-7 victory over the Pirates in 10 innings -- that the musclebound O’Neill’s season of misery might extend into the postseason. O’Neill, who finished eighth in voting for the National League MVP last season after clubbing 34 home runs and driving in 80 runs, has seen his 2022 marred by injuries and struggles. He’s spent three stints on the injured list with shoulder and hamstring issues -- maladies that limited his production to a .228 average with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs. A season after earning a second Gold Glove and posting a career-best .912 OPS, O’Neill was available for just 96 games and his OPS dropped to .700.

“I think the runway is getting short and it’s going to be difficult for him to get what’s needed for him to be ready on Friday,” Marmol said of O’Neill’s latest hamstring injury.

O’Neill, who competed in a simulated game on Monday against St. Louis left-handed pitchers Génesis Cabrera and Matthew Liberatore, understands that his speed is a large part of his game, and his explosiveness is needed for him to bring full value to the Cardinals.

“I need to be able to steal that base, get us a key bag and, like Oli said, be able to run into the gap and track balls down,” said O’Neill, who strained his left hamstring on Sept. 16 while stealing second. “I just have to have that trust to use my legs properly.”

When Bader struggled with plantar fasciitis early on this season, Carlson took over in center and made the former Gold Glover expendable with the way he made spectacular catch after spectacular catch. The 23-year-old former first-round pick played so well the Cardinals refused to include him in any deals at the Trade Deadline and instead swapped Bader for pitching help.

However, Carlson’s journey to becoming a star for St. Louis has been detoured by his difficulties doing damage against right-handed pitching as a lefty hitter. He’s hit just .206 with a .633 OPS, five home runs and 27 RBIs as a lefty. When the switch-hitter is up right-handed, he’s batted .305 with an .841 OPS, three home runs and 15 RBIs in significantly fewer at-bats.

A left thumb injury suffered in early August is believed to have caused Carlson to be so “splitty,” as Marmol referred to it. Carlson’s issues against right-handed pitching led the skipper to platoon him for an extended stretch -- an unthinkable option at the time -- but that has since changed with his recent improvements.

“His at-bats are better versus right handers. He’s driven some balls pull side, and he’s getting them in the air,” Marmol said of Carlson. “He’s on time and there’s more intent to his swing. We want to continue to see that and see if it’s our best option.”

The Cards’ best outfield option, strangely, might be Lars Nootbaar, someone who barely made the roster out of Spring Training, got demoted to Triple-A early in the season and was brought back to St. Louis only after Carlson injured a hamstring. Nootbaar, who can play any of the three outfield slots, entered Tuesday 10 for his last 34 with seven extra-base hits and an OPS over 1.000 in that stretch. He’ll see time in the Cardinals outfield along with Corey Dickerson and Alec Burleson in the postseason.

“His personality, attitude and overall mental approach allows him to do that,” Marmol said of the good-natured Nootbaar digging his way out of a slow start. “Where some guys spiral, he did a really nice job -- to his credit -- to reset and get after it.”