Oli Marmol sends message to another Cardinals player after Dylan Carlson promotion

Dylan Carlson is back from injury after suffering a sprained AC joint in spring training. Carlson had been the favorite to start in center field on Opening Day, but the ailment set him back a month. In a couple of corresponding decisions, St. Louis sent catcher Pedro Pages to Triple-A and inserted Matthew Liberatore into the starting rotation.

A less notable consiquence of Carlson's call-up is how it impacts the rest of the outfield. Lars Nootbaar, who has been struggling at the dish but still hit sixth in the lineup on Saturday in a loss to the White Sox, has been moved down to ninth on Sunday. Carlson will instead hit fifth and get a fresh start in his season debut.

Considering Nootbaar is hitting well under the Mendoza line, Marmol felt the need to send a message to the rest of his team, let alone the 26-year-old outfielder. The production just hasn't been there from this group, which also includes the likes of Jordan Walker, Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, Victor Scott and more.

Walker was optioned back to Memphis just a few weeks ago. It certainly doesn't help matters that Tyler O'Neill, a former Cardinals outfielder the franchise was willing to trade elsewhere, has performed admirably in Boston so far.

Dylan Carlson has to make an impact now for the Cardinals

While Carlson is far from a superstar at this point in his career, his average production since 2022 -- albeit not inspiring -- is a significant upgrade over what St. Louis has dealt with so far this season in center field. Nick Deeds of MLB Trade Rumors laid out the case for starting Carlson over the rest.

"Since the start of the 2022 campaign, Carlson has slashed just .230/.316/.364 with a below-average 94 wRC+ in 204 combined games. Still, those numbers are at least decent for a center fielder and would represent a major upgrade over the club’s current production at the position, where is hitting .182/.280/.227 with a wRC+ of 56."

It's tough to argue with that logic. St. Louis has thus far held onto Carlson despite trade rumors connecting him with the New York Yankees and more. Trading away a former top prospect and first-round pick is never easy, but this year may very well be Carlson's last chance to make an impact.

No pressure.