3 position battles that will define Cardinals Spring Training and who will win

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of baseball's most historic and beloved franchises. They have a rich history of developing successful players and, ultimately, winning World Series championships. Every real baseball fan knows, though, that long before superstars are household names leading their teams deep into the postseason, they must first earn their chance to play during February and March in MLB Spring Training.

The Cardinals are in an extraordinarily tough spot, as they underperformed dramatically last year, finishing last in the NL Central with only 71 wins. According to Baseball Prospectus, they are projected to win 85 games in 2024, which would be good enough for a total flip of the fortune and for them to win their division. 

Last year, during the Cardinal's worst struggles, there was uneasiness and frustration between the president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak and manager Oli Marmol. Now, they have purportedly rebuilt trust between one another and are on the same page in terms of what they want to do with this roster and who they want to see on the field come opening day. 

This roster is Led by superstars Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and newly signed ace Sonny Gray. With that being said, there are some back-of-the-roster spots up for grabs, and several players are going to fight for a chance at one of them.

Here are three position battles that I believe will be the most competitive and important during the Cardinal's spring training, as well as who looks most likely to win those.

All statistics used in this article were taken from fangraphs.com