ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s got to be a terribly bitter pill to swallow, being too good to be in the big leagues. That’s a weird scenario to even imagine, but it does happen in baseball. It could unfold with Cardinals outfielder very soon.

How? Well, it’s that damned if you do damned if you don’t predicament of being a young, up and coming player. Because the higher ups in the organization feel like the best thing for your future is to play every day and not serve in a limited role in the majors, you get stuck back in the minors where you can play each day.

If Scott finds himself in that situation, it won’t be because he made it easy for the Cardinals to leave him off the big-league roster. Through 13 spring training games, Scott has batted .371 with a .476 on-base percentage and a .657 slugging percentage. He’d has also stole five bases in seven attempts, and he played all three outfield positions.

“He’s had a really good spring, and he’s taken some really good at-bats,� Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said of Scott on Monday. “Left on left, he’s taken some good at-bats. Yeah, he just continues to, every day, find a way to get better.

“That’s been the goal, just be a better version of yourself every single day. And he’s taken that to heart — defensively with (outfield coach Jon) Jay, offensively with (hitting coach Brant Brown) and his group. It’s been a good process for him, and he’s taken full advantage of it.�

In light of that, I asked Marmol if that makes it tough to make roster decisions that are based on what’s best for the future of both the player and the team.

“Any time you’re making a decision on guys a lot more goes into play than just — to your point — performance,� Marmol replied. “You have to weigh all of it and make sure you’re making the right decision for the player, for the rest of the players involved, and then for the long-term of the org.

“Some of what you mention and more goes into making those decisions.�

A quick recap of the potential playing time logjam: Nolan Gorman, who the Cardinals have said they want to get 500 at-bats or more, will likely see most of his time at second base because Nolan Arenado is still the club’s starting third baseman. That means Brendan Donovan joins Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker as everyday players likely to fill the outfield spots on a regular basis. That likely means Nootbaar playing center field, where he started Tuesday’s exhibition game.

So that leaves the fourth outfielder spot, but that player isn’t all that likely to get regular starts. The Cardinals certainly seem more inclined to let Scott play regularly at Triple-A than serve in a part-time role in the majors.

What does Scott think about the idea that performing too well could keep him in the minors?

“I haven’t really let it enter my mind,� Scott said after he went 2 for 4 with a home run against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. “I’ve just been going out there and putting my best foot forward and saying I’m just working hard and being able to show up every day and say I’m an everyday big leaguer.�

Last season, Scott began the 2023 season at High-A, finished that season at Double-A and then found himself on the Opening Day roster in the majors in 2024 after Dylan Carlson got injured at the end of spring training.

The results for Scott weren’t stellar for in the big leagues. He slashed .179/.219/.283 in 53 games. He spent most of the season in Triple-A. His offensive numbers lagged there as well (.210/.294/.303), but he made a swing adjustment late in the season that helped. He returned to the majors for his final 32 games of 2024, and slashed .244/.278/.384.

During the offseason, Scott started working out at the Cardinals’ Florida complex in November. He researched and watched film of former star players to pick up what he could about bunting, hitting, baserunning and defense from greats like Brett Butler, Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, Willie McGee and Vince Coleman.

He connected with Brown, the new hitting coach, during the winter and started getting feedback on his swing and refining an approach in the batter’s box.

Scott realized the deck would be stacked against him coming into spring training. Even if the Cardinals didn’t have an outfield logjam, Scott would have been battling the incumbent center fielder from last season — elite defensive outfielder Michael Siani.

So he wanted to counter by giving himself the best chance to show out in spring training and not “leave anything on the table.�

“I knew going into it that I needed to have an extra edge,� Scott said. “So that extra edge for me was treating the field and my work like it was a classroom. That was going to give me the intel I needed to go out there and be confident in my skills.

“Because before, I mean, you kind of know you’re a good player. You know what your skillset is, but having that added information allowed me to go out there and say, ‘Okay. This is how I play my game. This is how I can do things. This is how I go about my business.’�

Alas, his business is baseball, and opportunities in the game don’t always come on your time.

If that’s the case and Scott ends up in Memphis due to circumstance and not substance, hopefully Scott uses this experience as motivation to propel him forward instead of something stealing wind from his sails.