JUPITER, Fla. • Jose Oquendo, longtime Cardinals third-base coach and infield coach who will switch to instructing minor leaguers for much of this year, has been around the prospective Cardinals’ infield for several days before camp officially begins here. And he has seen enough.
“It’s going to be a huge difference having (Paul) Goldschmidt at first,” said Oquendo. “I’ve always said _ and I said this to Albert (Pujols) when he moved down to first base _ that for infielders to win Gold Gloves, your first baseman has to be a Gold Glove winner.”
By that, Oquendo meant that outstanding defensive first baseman save many errors that would have resulted from off-target throws.