Every year, or at least every year since 2012, we’ve taken some time after the season was over to look at the past 162 games through the lens of the players that played them (and the management that was in charge of them). Last year, the Exit Interview series spent less time digging into splits and finding numerical oddities and more time reflecting on the player and their season. It was a style that seemed to work so we’re going to bring it back again this year. The legendary cardinalsgifs is back to bring us excellent series art, so it’s all downhill after you see that!
Player: Michael Siani
Stats: 124 G, 334 PA, 42 R, 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 20 SB, 3 CS, .228/.285/.285, 0.7 bWAR
Statcast: 2.3% barrel, 32.6% sweet spot, 104.8 max exit velocity, .257 wOBA, .243 xwOBA, 27.5 K%, 6.3 BB%
Grade: B
The Cardinals went from “there’s no way we can have Michael Siani be our starting centerfielder” to “there’s no way we CAN’T have Michael Siani be our starting centerfielder” in the span of about a month. There’s no doubt that Siani’s glove was breathtaking. The fact that he didn’t win a Gold Glove is pretty stunning, especially since he was eligible due to his play at other positions. When you have a pitching staff that doesn’t really strike a lot of people out, getting someone out there that can catch their mistakes is a big deal. It never made a lot of sense why the club was hesitant to play him to start the season, instead forcing Victor Scott II into a spot he wasn’t ready for. (Not a spring training tradition I’d like to see them continue for a third straight year.)
Of course, it didn’t make a lot of sense why they had to keep him in the starting role after his return from the injured list. The Cardinals were already playing out the string in early September when he came back. VS2 was hitting a bit. The club could have slid Siani into that backup/defensive replacement role that he seemed designed for while seeing what they had in Scott. Instead, they doubled down on Siani with Scott eventually heading back to Memphis. It wasn’t the worst choice in the world, of course, and it probably didn’t make a lot of difference to the end results for this season, but it didn’t feel very forward looking.
What’s in store for 2025: The front office has made some noise about Siani being their guy going forward, which seems like doubling down on a questionable decision. The difference between a 25 1/2 year old and a 24 year old can be significant, especially when you compare the profiles of Siani and Scott. Obviously it’d be fun to watch Siani patrolling center field next season but there’s a strong possibility this was the high water mark of his career. That being said, him being the starter on Opening Day is probably the odds-on favorite right now.
