The St. Louis Cardinals went 71-91 last season, posting their lowest winning percentage (.438) since 1995. It was their first losing season since 2007, showing how this franchise is used to winning.

They had a big offseason to try and get back onto the right track, signing Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson to completely revamp what was an abysmal starting rotation in 2023. We can question whether the moves they made were wise, but they did make an effort, at least.

The Cardinals hoped to show that they had improved in Spring Training, but this spring has been nothing short of a disaster for them. Not only will Gray, the team’s undisputed ace, begin his Cardinals career on the IL, but St. Louis also lost two outfielders, Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbarr, to injury.

Fortunately for St. Louis, they did have solid outfield depth with guys like Alec Burelson and Dylan Carlson ready to step in. Carlson was expected to be the everyday center fielder until Edman returned from his injury, but he just went down with an injury of his own in the Cardinals’ second-to-last spring training game. Brutal luck.