Victor Scott II signs autographs for fans on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, at the Cardinals’ spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla.
MESA, Ariz. — When the call came from the Cardinals on Monday evening, Victor Scott II was doing what he seemed unlikely to do all of spring training.
He had stopped.
On his drive from Florida to Memphis and the starting job as the Class AAA Redbirds center fielder, the Cardinals’ go-go-go prospect paused to spend time with family and friends in Georgia. He and his girlfriend settled in to watch a movie, then Scott’s phone started buzzing with news alerts about Dylan Carlson’s shoulder injury. Soon after, Scott got the call. The Cardinals had booked him a 6 a.m. flight to the majors.
“I’ve got to go home and try to figure out what in the world I’ve got to put in a bag,” Scott recalled telling his girlfriend. “I have no idea. I tried to look as presentable as possible. Didn’t know necessarily that I needed a suit. Going to go get one of those.”
At the same time, the Cardinals confirmed Tuesday morning that Carlson would open the regular season on the injured list with a sprained left shoulder, they announced Scott, a sensation of spring, would be their opening day center fielder. Manager Oliver Marmol told Scott in person after he arrived in Phoenix that he had made the major league roster, vaulting from Class AA to close last season to Dodger Stadium to open this one.
And just like that, as quick as one of the top base-stealers in baseball, the sudden and radical change to the Cardinals outfield was complete.
The Cardinals began December by naming their three starting outfielders, and they’ll reach the end of March with two of them, Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman, on the injured list. A third, Carlson, also went on the 10-day IL on Tuesday. The absence of two planned starters and Carlson, who won the starting center field job in spring, means the Cardinals will have four players 23 or younger in their lineup. If Alec Burleson starts at DH on Thursday against the Dodgers, five members of the opening day lineup will have two or fewer years of service time.
In what’s been a whiplash week for the Cardinals, they’ve gone from prioritizing stability in the outfield to trying to balance offense and defense, to now injecting a rookie with elite speed and a minor league Rawlings Gold Glove Award at center field. He’ll be flanked by a Gold Glove-winning utility fielder in Brendan Donovan and Jordan Walker, who continues to work to be comfortable and aggressive in right. The manager called it “a different makeup, for sure.”
A whole new dynamic has been forced upon them.
“You think about the stress our outfield has been under — not having Tommy Edman, not having Nootbaar, now losing ‘DC,’ and it’s going to be a challenge,” said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations. “One thing we know about Victor Scott is he’s a talented defender and certainly will help our outfield in that regard.”
Said Marmol: “He can definitely wreck a game.”
To finalize their roster for Thursday, the Cardinals will have to make a move to clear a spot on the 40-player roster for Scott, the Cardinals’ fifth-round pick in 2022 out of West Virginia. Mozeliak said Edman’s difficult recovery from wrist surgery is not expected to delay him for several months, inviting a move to the 60-day injured list and opening a spot on the big league roster. Nootbaar advanced Tuesday and could be taking swings in game-like situations within the week. The Cardinals are hopeful he’ll have a rehab assignment appearance with Class AAA Memphis and could return to the lineup during the home stand that begins in eight days.
It was only a few days ago that the Cardinals notified Scott that he would begin his season with Triple-A Memphis. He packed up his car Sunday and drove to Georgia, planning to complete the drive to Tennessee on Tuesday.
What happened at the Cubs’ Sloan Park meant he’d be flying, not driving.
In the second inning of Monday’s exhibition game, Carlson and Walker collided while both chasing a line drive into right-center field. Walker said he did not hear Carlson call for the ball and instead dove for it, coming up short of the ball but crashing hard into Carlson’s right leg. Carlson spun and braced himself with his left arm. When he reached for his glove and tried to pick it up, he knew he had a problem.
“Made me doubt I would be able to throw if a ball was hit to me,” said Carlson, who claimed the starting job in center with a strong finish to spring and a team-best three homers. “I put myself in position to really feel good for the first time in awhile, and to have this happen definitely hurts, definitely stings.”
Still in pain Tuesday, Carlson was diagnosed with an AC joint sprain.
He’ll return to Ƶ to be evaluated by the Cardinals’ medical officials and begin a treatment plan. The club believes his recovery will be “a matter of weeks, not months,” but that will depend on the damage done and any lingering discomfort.
Scott, 23, earned a non-roster invitation to spring training by stealing 94 bases this past summer, his first full season as a pro. A left-handed batter, Scott hit .303 with a .369 on-base percentage and proved at Class A and Class AA to be more than a contact hitter. Scott said he went from a sprinter who played baseball to a ballplayer who can sprint. He started to drive the ball and showed that during spring. He laced a base hit against Houston’s lefty All-Star reliever Josh Hader. He entered Tuesday’s game in the middle of it and immediately lined a base hit up the middle. Scott finished spring with a .317 average. He reached base 40% of the time and led the Cardinals with four stolen bases. There were times he disrupted other teams with his presence on the bases — short-circuiting routine force outs at second or, notably, leaving Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa flat-footed on a ground ball Scott outran for a base hit.
“Yes, he’s fast, he’s exciting, but he’s a ballplayer,” Marmol said. “He’s hungry for more. We have a really good player on our hands. You go into camp thinking you have ‘Noot,’ ‘DC’ and Edman ready by opening day. That’s just not the case. Other guys are going to step up, take their shot, and I’m excited to see it.”
For the second time in as many years, the Cardinals will have a non-roster player make the team out of spring training and start in their opening day outfield.
Scott follows Walker, and he does so several seasons ahead of when the Cardinals would have to add him to the 40-player roster to protect his rights. If Scott spends the entire season in the majors as opposed arriving at some point in May, the Cardinals will lose a year of control. If he takes a run at the NL Rookie of the Year Award, the new collective bargaining agreement assures him that year of service time and also gives the Cardinals a chance at winning a draft pick for promoting him on opening day.
Mozeliak had a fitting description for the decision.
“He’s going to get a lot of opportunity to be playing in the beginning part of the season,” the executive said. “We’re fast-forwarding this.”
Fitting.
Scott plays fast.
He was outfitted with a new number fast: No. 11, so that it reads SCOTT 11 on his back, like Scott II.
He’s advanced fast.
He had to pack fast.
About all he didn’t do fast was find a suit before Tuesday’s charter flight.
They’ll be plenty of places to get one in LA.
