Cards look to regain Central prominence in ’17

ST. LOUIS — So conditioned to playing through October, the Cardinals instead find themselves in the unfamiliar position of already looking ahead to 2017 early in the month.

After finishing 17 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the National League Central and one game out of an NL Wild Card spot, the Cardinals now turn their attention toward closing those gaps. General manager John Mozeliak began meeting with manager Mike Matheny and baseball operations staff earlier this week to start formulating the team’s offseason strategy.

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“Overall, I’m very excited about where we are,” Mozeliak said. “You look at all the clubs in our division, it doesn’t really look like anybody is going to take a step backwards moving forward. It really will put a lot of pressure on us to continue to find ways to be successful. But we look forward to that.”

Mozeliak has already hinted at what his priorities will be. Improving the club’s defense and injecting athleticism into the lineup rank atop Mozeliak’s to-do list. He noted his expectation for a “healthy turnover,” and acknowledged that the club may have to deal away Major League talent in order to address its identified deficiencies.So with the Cardinals already preparing for the upcoming Hot Stove season, here is a position-by-position look at what the Cardinals already have — and where they might add — as they work to build a team capable of reaching the postseason in 2017.

Arbitration-eligible: RHP Trevor Rosenthal, 1B Matt Adams, RHP Seth Maness, RHP Carlos Martinez, LHP Kevin Siegrist, RHP Michael Wacha

Free agents: 1B/OF Brandon Moss, RHP Jerome Williams

Options to consider: OF Matt Holliday, LHP Jaime Garcia, RHP Jordan Walden

Rotation: Though the Cardinals ranked seventh in the NL with a 4.33 rotation ERA, there does not seem to be an urgency to add another starter this winter. One reason for that is the impending return of Lance Lynn, who missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’ll join Adam Wainwright, Mike Leake, Martinez, Wacha, Alex Reyes and Luke Weaver as rotation options. Marco Gonzales, Tim Cooney and Tyler Lyons — all of whom missed substantial time this year due to injury — will reinforce the rotation depth. The Cardinals have a club option on Garcia they could exercise if they want to retain him for another season.

Bullpen: A midseason closer swap moved Seung Hwan Oh into …

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