The St. Louis Cardinals have been the class of the NL Central for over a decade now. Ever since Albert Pujols made his MLB debut, the Cardinals have had one of the most successful franchises in the majors. This year people are predicting another record-setting season, but the Cardinals are looking more average than they have in a long time.

One need look no further than the shortstop position to understand the Cardinals’ plight this year. Incumbent starter Johnny Peralta hurt his thumb early in spring training. The Cardinals went out and brought in Ruben Tejada to cover the gap, and he quickly got injured as well. Now they are using their top backup infielder, Jedd Gyorko, out of position and ill-prepared rookie Greg Garcia to cover the gap. Garcia may end up surprising offensively and Gyorko may be acceptable defensively, but neither is certain.

The other issue is the pitching. To start the season, the Cardinals have already lost Lance Lynn for its entirety and are looking at having relievers Jordan Walden and Mitch Harris on the disabled list. These injuries could easily derail the Cardinals’ run at the playoffs. Way earlier this year, I proposed lefty Tim Cooney as most the important player on the team. I also predicted that the Cardinals would go 92-70, which isn’t looking very good right now. The bullpen and shortstop both look to be issues of concern for the Cardinals to start the season.

This team always seems to make it work. If not, the Cardinals may be an afterthought in a tough NL Central in 2016.