With strong finishes to the 2026 season from rookies Leo Bernal and Nathan Church, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said those two players will at least go into Spring Training in 2027 as the incumbents at catcher and center field.

Whether they lock those positions up long-term or not remains to be seen. As for the third base position – a spot where the Cardinals tied Nolan Gorman, Ramon Urias, Blaze Jordan, Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin at various times – Marmol had a two-word response to describe how the club will view that position heading into next season.

“Wide open,” Marmol declared of the Cardinals’ vacancy at the hot corner.

If the Cardinals are going to break through their rebuilding process and get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2022, they are going to have to make some major gains at various spots on the field in 2027. As the numbers from the 2026 bear out, the Cardinals were a slightly better than average offensive team in 2026 – even as Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker were crafting career years. Among their National League brethren, the Cardinals ranked 10th in runs, 13th in doubles, 13th in homers and tied for ninth in RBI.

Likely because of the hot, humid air at Busch Stadium, the Cards were much more potent on the road than at home. They averaged 5.06 runs a night in visiting stadiums compared to 3.82 runs a night at Busch. Also, they 99 road long balls (T-8th in the NL) compared to just 68 home homers (68).

To get a better understanding of where the Cardinals stack up offensively on a position-by-position basis in the National League, here is a look at the production the team got from each spot and where they ranked in the 15-team NL in 2026:

Hits: 134 (T-6th); doubles 25 (T-7th); home runs 15 (T-11th); RBI 59 (14th); batting average: .239 (seventh); OPS: .689 (10th).

Note: Bernal finished with a flurry after being promoted from Triple-A Memphis on Aug. 31, driving in 21 runs in 24 games. Pedro Pages caught 79 games, Ivan Herrera caught 54, Jimmy Crooks caught 46 and Bernal was behind the plate in 20 games.

Hits: 173 (T-2nd); doubles 36 (T-1st); home runs 25 (T-7th); RBI 119 (2nd); batting average: .272 (6th); OPS: .782 (10th).

Note: Much of the production here came from Burleson, who led the Cards in hits (169), doubles (37), RBI (116), batting average (.279), slugging (473) and OPS (.816). Could he win a second Silver Slugger award?

Hits: 153 (9th); doubles 14 (14th); home runs 17 (7th); RBI 56 (T-12th); batting average: .243 (11th); OPS: .683 (10th).

Note: Rookie JJ Wetherholt homered in his first game, had a walk-off hit in his second game and was otherwise solid at second base. One issue: Wetherholt went from May 19 to July 30 without a homer at Busch Stadium.

Hits: 118 (14th); doubles 20 (14th); home runs 16 (T-10th); RBI 68 (T-10th); batting average: .211 (14th); OPS: .620 (14th).

Note: Jordan, who played in 52 games and had 44 starts at third base, was starting to lift the ball better and he smashed a three-run homer on Aug. 27 – the day his second ended because of a high ankle sprain while making a stellar play at third base. Could top prospects Rainiel Rodriguez or Jesus Baez factor into the calculus at third in 2027?

Hits: 142 (9th); doubles 25 (9th); home runs 10 (14th); RBI 73 (7th); batting average: .238 (9th); OPS: .647 (14th).

Note: Masyn Winn is the favorite to win a second straight Gold Glove at shortstop, but even he wonders what he can do to produce more offensively for the Cards? He hit just .232, had an on-base percentage of .308 and slugged just .317 with 21 doubles and five homers.

Hits: 137 (T-12th); doubles 26 (11th); home runs 20 (T-7th); RBI 74 (8th); batting average: .236 (11th); OPS: .688 (11th).

Note: Joshua Baez electrified the baseball world by homering in the first three at bats of his MLB career. Once the smoke cleared from that record-setting moment, Baez mostly struggled despite some hard contact. He must improve upon a 33-to-4 strikeout-to-walk rate in 2027 by shortening his swing at times and chasing fewer pitches out of the zone.

Hits: 126 (T-13th); doubles 20 (T-12th); home runs 11 (14th); RBI 55 (12th); batting average: .235 (11th); OPS: .635 (13th).

Note: Church hit .280 with six doubles and four RBI over his final 24 games to clear up some of the questions about his offensive deficiencies. However, there are still plenty of concerns about his patience at the plate and he walked just four times over his final 82 at bats. The Cardinals need him churning out an on-base percentage more like he had in September (.322) over his OBP for the season in 142 games (.290).

Hits: 161 (4th); doubles 34 (3rd); home runs 27 (T-3rd); RBI 94 (2nd); batting average: .256 (6th); OPS: .762 (7th).

Note: Walker became one of the feel-good stories of the MLB season with how he cast aside his struggles of the first three years and put up career-best numbers across the board. He became the first Cardinals player to join the 20-homer, 20-stolen base club since 2017 – and he already has his sights set on 30/30. Walker’s numbers could have been even better had he not played in pain and hit just .172 in September with 35 strikeouts and just seven walks.

Hits: 141 (9th); doubles 25 (12th); home runs 23 (8th); RBI 86 (4th); batting average: .233 (10th); OPS: .721 (T-9th).

Note: Already a man without a position because of his arm issues behind the plate, Herrera took a step back offensively when his batting average (from .284 to .241) and OPS (from .837 to .735) took nose dives. To his credit, Herrera did play 161 games, and his 717 plate appearances were second in the NL and his 31 hit by pitches tied a 116-year-old franchise record.