5 St. Louis Cardinals Who Need To Stay Healthy In 2016

By Bryan Zarpentine

It was a rather unusual sight in 2015, as not only were the St. Louis Cardinals absent from the World Series, but they failed to even make the NLCS. Of course, injuries played a key role in derailing the Cardinals last season, and if St. Louis intends to find redemption in 2016 and make a deep playoff run, they need to avoid major injuries. Here are five players the Cardinals need to stay healthy in 2016.

5 St. Louis Cardinals Who Need To Stay Healthy In 2016

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Trevor Rosenthal — Rosenthal is one of the best closers in baseball, and the Cardinals simply don't have anyone else in the bullpen on his level who could take his place. Jonathan Broxton is a former closer, but he's not the pitcher he once was. Kevin Siegrist doesn't have enough of a track record to be handed the closer's job. Without Rosenthal, the Cardinals may be forced to put Korean signee Seung Hwan Oh in the closer's role, and they certainly don't want to put that kind of pressure on a guy in his first big league season.

Yadier Molina — Molina's limited presence in the postseason last year really hindered St. Louis' chances of advancing, and they'll need him to come back healthy and strong in 2016. His offensive numbers have dipped considerably the past couple of seasons, but his handling of the pitching staff, his performance behind the plate and his leadership in the clubhouse are all invaluable to the Cardinals. Even after signing a solid backup in Brayan Pena, St. Louis needs Molina at full strength in 2016.

Randal Grichuk — Grichuk has quickly become a vital part of the Cardinals and a player the team can't afford to lose. With Jason Heyward moving to Chicago, the Cardinals don't have a ton of outfield depth, especially in center field, and they also have to worry about the aging Matt Holliday in left field. Tommy Pham looked solid during the second half of last season in a reserve role, but the Cardinals may not feel so good if he had to replace Grichuk over a long stretch of time.

Matt Carpenter — Carpenter was arguably the most productive hitter St. Louis had last season, and because he's slated to hit either first or second in the order, he's the spark plug that makes the St. Louis lineup go. Backup infielders like Greg Garcia and Jedd Gyorko are not suitable replacements for what the Cardinals get from Carpenter on a daily basis, and losing him to injury would be a huge blow to St. Louis' chances in 2016.

Adam Wainwright — Obviously, Wainwright's absence for much of 2015 made things more difficult for St. Louis, so they need him to be healthy and give them 30-plus starts in 2016, especially with Lance Lynn likely to miss the entire season. The Cardinals do have some young, talented pitchers in their rotation, and the addition of Mike Leake gives them good depth, but Wainwright is still the ace of the staff. St. Louis is going to need a strong season from their ace in 2016.

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