Albert Pujols. Corey Dickerson. Lars Nootbaar. The Cardinals have some big bats at hand ready to be called upon as designated hitter.
Lead Cardinals beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Derrick Goold joined Kevin Wheeler on Friday night's edition of Sports Open Line to discuss the 2022 Cardinals ball club. The two discussed Cardinals spring training, starting pitching, the bullpen, and of course, the return of #5. Their full conversation can be heard in the audio clip at the top of this page.
Albert Pujols signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals on March 28th for the 2022 season, simultaneously announcing that it would be his final year in the majors. With Pujols' return, the Cardinals have even more options when it comes to choosing a designated hitter. With multiple options, the right man for the job will be dependent on the type of pitcher (right-handers vs. left-handers) and their success on specific types of pitches (fastball, breaking ball, slider, etc.) But who fits what situation? Derrick Goold tells us in Sports Open Line:
Albert Pujols
Albert will be used for left-handed pitchers and "changeup-type righties," according to Goold. Pujols' success hitting lefties over righties was evident in Friday's spring training B game, where he hit a single to center field off left-handed pitcher Génesis Cabrera and grounded out against right-hander Jake Woodford. Albert is just 21 home runs away from hitting a career total of 700.
Corey Dickerson
Dickerson will be the DH against right-handers "who are low in the zone, like power sinker guys," says Goold. "We're gonna see Dickerson as a low-ball hitter. Here's a guy who hits balls that bounce in the dirt, and he hits them for doubles."
Lars Nootbaar
Nootbaar will be used against "righties, and maybe some lefties who throw with velocity. Top of the zone guys," Goold states. "[The Cardinals] see Lars as a guy who can hit upper register fastballs. DeGrom, Scherzer- those guys he's gonna face."
Andrew Knizner and Edmundo Sosa will be on the bench, presumably, making them available to DH when the time comes.
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"It feels like there's a lot more wiggle room to how they want to deploy the roster this year than we've seen maybe ever with the Cardinals," Kevin Wheeler tells Derrick.
Goold makes clear that the Cardinals' implementation of the DH mid-game will not result in the simultaneous substitution of several other players, like a line change in hockey- a style the San Francisco Giants seem to have taken a liking to. "It's more of a targeted, timely matchup than it is a wholesale Giants-style," Goold explains.
St. Louis fans will have the chance to see a designated hitter in a Cardinals uniform come April 7th, when the Redbirds take on last year's NL Central cellar dwellers, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first pitch is set to be at 3:15pm CT, with the the pregame show starting at 1:40pm on KMOX and the Cardinals Radio Network.
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