Pedro Pagés and Victor Scott II continue to lose playing time amid their massive struggles at the plate. Could the Cardinals be getting close to making roster moves that change their starting catcher and center fielder positions?
While the 2026 season is largely supposed to be about player development for the St. Louis Cardinals, one can’t help to wonder if playing time opportunities are growing thin for slumping catcher Pedro Pagés and light-hitting center fielder Victor Scott II?
Heading into Tuesday night’s game in Sacramento against the Athletics, Pagés is mired in a 0 for 21 skid at the plate that includes eight strikeouts. He threw out Fernando Tatis Jr. in last Thursday’s 2-1 win over the Padres for his MLB-leading ninth caught stealing of the season. However, he suffered through two poor defensive games over the weekend, giving up two passed balls and allowing a stolen base in Saturday’s loss and surrendering three stolen bases in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat in 10 innings.
As for Scott, he has recently lost out on playing time to rookie Nathan Church, who started both weekend games in San Diego in center field. Scott II hit just .113 in April (7 for 62) and went 1 for 7 in San Diego and he was caught stealing following his one hit.
Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has shown he has no hesitancy in rewarding promising prospects and cutting ties with ones who are falling short at producing. On Monday, the Cardinals made 19-year-old sensation Rainiel Rodriguez into the second-youngest position player in Double-A by promoting him from High-A Peoria to Springfield. Also, they promoted Jack Gurevitch – the organization’s co-Player of the Month in the Minor League system – from Palm Beach to High-A Peoria. To make room for those players, the club released Mike Antico and Carlos Linarez – two players who were in big-camp with the Cards during Spring Training.
As if Scott and Pagés needed any added pressure, both have to be feeling the heat of competition on their heels. Church has adapted to MLB pitching after struggling in 27 games in 2025 and has five doubles and five homers in 2026. Overall, his OPS+ is 105, meaning he is producing at a 5 percent clip better than the average MLB player.
Also, there’s this as it relates to Scott: Lars Nootbaar is nearing a return to game action in the Minor League following offseason surgeries on both of his heels. Nootbaar is expected back with the Cardinals by early June, meaning Scott could be relegated to fourth outfielder status in the coming weeks if his production doesn’t pick up.
Memphis standout catcher Jimmy Crooks, 24, could be nearing another shot at the big leagues after recently pushing his home run total to 12 in Triple-A play. Crooks, who struggled badly at the plate in a 15-game cameo last August and September, has an OPS of 1.050 with 12 homers and three doubles in 30 games with Memphis. After seeing his strikeout rate skyrocket in April, Crooks has drawn more walks (nine) than he has struck out (six) so far in May.
Scott, Pagés thrive defensively despite offensive woes
Undoubtedly, Pagés and Scott are two of the more popular and likeable players in the Cardinals clubhouse. Both have strong histories of defensive play with Scott ranking in MLB’s Top 10 in Outs Above Average in 2025 and Pages being a favorite of the pitching staff for how he calls games and usually controls the running game.
For the season, Scott is slashing just .186/.252/.237/.489 with a homer, two doubles, five RBI and six stolen bases. However, the 23-year-old speedster has seen his OPS+ fall from 73 in 2025 to 43 in 2026. He is still the Cardinals top defensive outfielder (two Outs Above Average), but Church (1 OAA and three home run robberies) has also shown well defensively in left field and center.
In 27 games with the Cardinals, Pages is 18 for 88 (.205) with three doubles, three homers and eight RBI. He has struck out 24 times compared to walking just four times. His OPS+ has gone from 84 in 2024 to 80 in 2025 and 70 this season.
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