Where can the St. Louis Cardinals upgrade on offense this offseason?

The St. Louis Cardinals led the National League in runs scored in 2013 while winning 97 games and the pennant. In 2014, the club's offense struggled to tally runs, finishing ninth in the league in runs scored. It's clear that the St. Louis offense could use an upgrade for 2015, but at what position(s)?

Non-Pitchers

The Cardinals finished with a batting average (BA) and on-base percentage (OBP) above the overall MLB non-pitcher rates. It was the punchlessness that hurt most. The Redbirds finished tenth in the NL in slugging percentage (SLG) and fourteenth in Isolated Power (ISO), a stat that excludes singles and focuses solely on extra-base hits. The Cards are most in need of some pop in the order.

Catcher

Yadier Molina's absence due to injury hurt the Cards' batting production at catcher quite a bit. Tony Cruz was so abominable at the plate—.200/.270/.259 (.242 wOBA, 51 wRC+)—that the Cardinals signed washed up veteran A.J. Pierzynski as a stopgap at the position until Molina's activation from the disabled list post-wrist surgery. Pierzynski hit for a line of .244/.295/.305 (.273 wOBA, 72 wRC+)—every single one of his primary offensive stats was worse than the MLB catcher average. Upon returning from the DL, Molina was an easy batting upgrade over the Pierzynski/Cruz combination, even if Yadi didn't hit like his old, pre-injury self. A full season of a healthy Molina will go a long way toward upgrading the Cardinals' offensive production at catcher.

First Base

Matt Adams posted a 2014 batting line that was perfectly acceptable for a major-league first baseman. Sure, the walk rate is rather low (about half of the MLB first baseman BB%) and that means that his OBP is actually five points below the big-league first baseman rate despite his BA ending up 36 points higher than his MLB first baseman peers. Adams's power-hitting was right on par with those MLBers who manned first base this season, as measured by ISO.

The issue with Adams isn't his overall line, though, it's his splits. Adams hit quite poorly against lefthanded pitchers in 2014: .190/.231/.298 (.236 wOBA, 47 wRC+) vs. LHP compared to .318/.349/.505 (.367 wOBA, 137 wRC+) vs. RHP. Understandably, many are calling for a righthanded platoon partner for Big Mayo. Such an addition would certainly improve the offense against southpaw starters (and perhaps late-inning relief specialists) in 2015.

Second Base

After a slow start and shoulder injury, Kolten Wong turned in a decent though unspectacular rookie season. Wong's BA was about on par with those in MLB who played the keystone in 2014 while his OBP was disappointingly below his peers. Wong made a larger share of outs than one would like to see anywhere in the lineup. On the other hand, Wong displayed impressive power, rapping out extra-base hits at a rate far higher than his second-base peers. Because of this and Busch Stadium's offense-suppressing tendencies, Wong was slightly better than MLB second basemen overall in park-adjusted offensive production. If Wong takes a step forward at the bat in 2015—especially in reaching base safely—the St. Louis lineup will be deeper and more potent.

Shortstop

On a team starved for power, Jhonny Peralta provided extra-base hits in spades. Peralta's 21 homers were the most ever for a Cardinals shortstop. His 38 doubles tied Marty Marion's 1942 total for the seventh most in franchise history. One shudders to think about the 2014 Cardinals lineup with Pete Kozma or Stephen Drew getting the majority of plate appearances at short instead of Peralta. It would be incredibly difficult for the Cardinals to find an upgrade over Peralta at shortstop.

Third Base

Matt Carpenter had a 2014 the rivaled Robinson Cano's at the plate. His 2014 was bound to disappoint by comparison; it was just a question of how and by how much. Carpenter's power-hitting fell off significantly. In 2013, the lefty cracked 55 doubles; this year, that number fell to 33. His homer total slipped from eleven to eight and his triple tally tumbled from seven to three. The result was an ISO that sagged from .163 to .103. Carpenter's increased walk rate helped make up some of the OBP he lost when his BABIP dropped from .359 to .318 and took his BA with it. But Carpenter still turned in a very good batting season. His 117 wRC+ ranked eighth among third basemen who qualified for the batting title. An upgrade over Carpenter at third base will be difficult to find. Throw in his team-friendly salary for 2015 and it's nearly impossible to find a better fit at the hot corner for the Cards.

Left Field

Matt Holliday posted the lowest BABIP, BA, OBP, SLG, ISO, OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ of his Cardinals career in 2014. But he also led the 2014 Cards in wOBA and wRC+. Put otherwise: he was the team's top hitter in 2014 yet again. Holliday's wRC+, a stat that adjusts for home park and places a batter's offensive production on a scale with 100 as league average with each point above 100 constituted a percentage point above average, ranked seventh in MLB among left fielders. Holliday isn't going anywhere in 2015 and that's good news. The Cards lineup would look far worse without him in the middle of it.

Center Field

Perhaps due to the wrist injury he sustained in July, Jon Jay hit for virtually no power whatsoever in 2015. He also didn't walk much. But Jay's strikeout rate was also low, his BABIP was quite high, and his HBP total was eye-poppingly high. So the slap specialist posted a line of .303/.372/.378. The Cards will have trouble finding center-field production better than that from Jay or anyone else and so they've already announced the former Hurricane as the 2015 starter.

Right Field

How much of a black hole was right field for the Cardinals in 2014? Allen Craig's ISO and wRC+ were both higher than the club's overall right-field marks in those stats. To say that Oscar Taveras Was a disappointment in his rookie campaign would be an understatement. But that disappointment and the club's horrendous lack of production at the spot overall is heartening when one looks ahead to next season. It's difficult to imagine right field—whether it's played primary by Taveras, Randal Grichuk, or Stephen Piscotty—as providing the St. Louis lineup with less offense than it did in 2014. The Cards can stand pat and very probably greatly improve their batting production from right. But that doesn't necessarily mean general manager John Mozeliak will stand pat.

Note: All stats are via Fangraphs.