Can the Cardinals replace Albert Pujols’ production?

The now-retired legend was a key cog in the St. Louis lineup in 2022

The Cardinals last season had one of the best offenses in baseball, and that’s especially the case once you correct for the run-suppressing nature of Busch Stadium. The luminous Albert Pujols was vital to that success in the final and unexpectedly soaring season of his Hall-of-Fame career (unanimous election pending). This, though, is Opening Day 2023. Pujols is lost in the loving arms of a personal-services contract with the Angels, and the Cardinals are pressing on into the post-Pujols era.

This raises the essential matter of how and whether the Cardinals can replace what Pujols did last season, which is hang an OPS+ of 154 and smite 24 home runs in 109 games. This isn’t simply a matter of getting those same numbers from the DH spot. Rather it’s a consideration of all the moving parts now falling into place and how the offense as a whole figures to fare. Stated as a query, can the St. Louis offense once again rank third or thereabouts in the NL in runs scored and OPS without the bestowals of El Hombre? I’m not in the business of feigning knowledge of the future, but we can examine some possibilities and assumptions that hint at an answer. Onward with said possibilities and assumptions.