Jason Heyward Addition Creates Lineup Adjustments for St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals made their biggest splash of the offseason early when they completed a trade with the Atlanta Braves, sending Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins to Atlanta in exchange for Jordan Walden and Jason Heyward. The move solidified the gap left in the outfield by the tragic death of Oscar Taveras. It also generated buzz regarding where Heyward would hit in the lineup.

The Cardinals host an annual event every year known as Winter Warm-Up that gives fans and media access to the players for the first time in the new year. As the players met with various media members, including Matt Whitener of I-70 Baseball, the subject of Heyward's potential impact was brought up frequently. His role is yet to be defined, but it certainly seems like his teammates are excited he's here.

His teammates may be happy he's here, but some are slightly more impacted then others. Randal Grichuk, for instance, stands to lose some playing time. Prior to the events that led to the death of Taveras, the team was very open that Grichuk and Taveras would come to spring training to compete for the starting job in right field.

The addition of Heyward changes Grichuk's role and forces him to work a bit harder for attention. Whitener notes the player's concerns in his recap of the first day of Winter Warm-Up:

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Thoughts off the bat? Not good for me. But obviously we are here to win a championship, and bringing a guy in like that is a huge piece to the puzzle and he’s going to help us get to the next level. Regardless of who is here, you have to go into spring training the same way I went in last year: trying to win a job and open some eyes to get playing time. So nothing really changes.

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Playing time might be difficult for Grichuk. That's a fact that doesn't escape the young outfielder.

"It's about getting reps in at every position and being ready to play whenever you are called," Grichuk said.

If he can embrace that mindset and be ready when the team calls on him, his impact on the team will be substantial.

Grichuk's presence on the bench for the Cardinals is a welcome addition, but Heyward's impact is not isolated to transplanting another outfielder. In the past, Heyward has been used in the middle of the lineup, as a leadoff hitter and in the two-hole.

Matt Carpenter is in place as the leadoff hitter, and Matt Holliday, Matt Adams and Jhonny Peralta make up a formidable middle of the lineup.

Carpenter sees himself and Heyward in a similar fashion, noting that both players have power potential and a strong ability to get on base. Carpenter sees that as a big advantage, and he shared those thoughts with Whitener and other media members during the second day of Winter Warm-Up:

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I think this group can be really dangerous. You would think that between me and Jason, we would be at the top of the lineup. While I don't want to speak for him, I would say that (Heyward) hasn't really tapped into his potential as a power hitter, and I would like to put myself in that category as well. So you have two guys at the brink of finding out their power threshold and meanwhile doing a really good job of getting on base as well.

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Also on the second day of the fan-centered event, Holliday spoke with the media about concerns over the 2014 team and what may change in the future. At the center of that is Heyward, who has the potential to drastically impact the power numbers for the team. Holliday believes that Heyward best serves this team utilizing that power.

"He is a potential 25 home run guy, and I think that is more of what we need than someone batting leadoff and trying to get on base," Holliday said.

All signs seem to point to Heyward hitting second in the batting order, helping set the table and drive in runs on a regular basis. If he can discover the power potential that Carpenter and Holliday allude to, the Cardinals lineup takes on a very different look.

As long as he continues to reach base and play solid defense, he certainly won't hurt the team.

If he is the game-changer the team thinks he can be, the next discussion will be about a contract extension to keep Heyward in St. Louis for a long time to come.

Transaction information in this article courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Bill Ivie is the founder of I-70 Baseball. Follow him on Twitter to discuss baseball anytime.