Cardinals GM on Taveras: 'At some point he's going to need to play more'

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When the St. Louis Cardinals called up top prospect Oscar Taveras at the end of May, the intention was for him to receive regular at-bats.

A demotion and another promotion later, and the Cardinals are still struggling to find Taveras the kind of playing time his development needs.

General manager John Mozeliak was candid in his comments to MLB.com Thursday, explaining the challenge of having five outfielders competing for three spots with one of those players just 27 games into his career.

He is still somebody that we view as a prospect, and at some point he's going to need to play more. Whether that is here or back in the Minors, for his development, getting at-bats is important.

At the Major League level, I understand that you have to try to go with the hot bat -- or in this case to try and get both guys going. It's not an easy task. As you can imagine, it's a fine balance between sitting and playing. Currently, it's not a great situation for either one. Hopefully, in the next week or two, it might find a way to be resolved. If not, there are obviously some answers to help create playing time.

One of those options include a more consistent platoon between the left-handed hitting Taveras and Allen Craig, who is in the midst of a career-worst season. It's a catch-22 for the Cardinals, who are among the bottom ranked teams offensively and currently in the thick of a playoff race.

Taveras is hitting .205/.239/.277 with one home run and three doubles across a sporadic 88 plate appearances. Mozeliak agrees the 22-year-old has nothing left to accomplish at Triple-A, but letting a young player learn on the fly is a risky proposition for a contending team.