Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said that Daniel Descalso is the leading candidate to start at second base.

Descalso is capable of playing third base and even shortstop, but will come into spring training with the second base job as his to lose. He batted just .227/.303/.324 with four home runs and 10 triples in 426 plate appearances last season, and will likely face heavy competition from Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong.

Daniel Descalso homered and smashed a game-tying two-run single in the ninth inning on Friday, leading the Cardinals back from the brink of elimination to defeat the Nationals 9-7 in the decisive Game 5 of the NLDS.

Descalso finished the night 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBI. He clubbed a solo home run off Tyler Clippard leading off the eighth inning, cutting the Nationals lead to 6-5. He then stepped to the dish in a critical situation in the ninth inning against Drew Storen with the bases loaded and two outs, while trailing 7-5, and he came through with a game-tying two-run single. Pete Kozma then followed with his own epic contribution, smashing a two-run single to right to take a 9-7 advantage, leading the Cardinals back to the NLCS where they'll open a series against the Giants on Sunday.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Daniel Descalso will start at second base "most days."

Descalso is batting just .234/.313/.337 this season, but the Cards love what he can do defensively. "Descalso will be in there most days the way he has been playing," Matheny said. "He is a pretty special player defensively." Skip Schumaker and Ryan Jackson will also be mixed in at second, but is appears that Descalso will be the main guy going forward.

Daniel Descalso went 3-for-4 with an RBI triple against the Brewers on Sunday night.

Descalso is playing regularly of late, and he ended up going 6-for-10 with three RBI in the series sweep of the Brewers. The triple was his fifth to go along with seven doubles and three homers in 236 at-bats. Descalso doesn't have the power or speed to be all that useful in fantasy leagues, but with his defense, he's an asset to the St. Louis infield.

Daniel Descalso started at second base Sunday for the sixth time in the Cardinals' last seven games.

Desclaso is a better defender than Tyler Greene and is now hitting better than primary competition for playing time at second base. Neither player carries fantasy value.

Daniel Descalso reached base three times and scored two runs against the Dodgers on Sunday night.

Descalso hasn't been playing much of late, and it will likely take more than one good game to change that. Tyler Greene and Skip Schumaker have both outhit him so far.

Daniel Descalso hit his first home run of the season to help the Cardinals best the Pirates 4-1 on Friday.

Descalso finished the night 1-for-4 with that solo blast off of Jared Hughes in the ninth inning. He's only hitting .200 (8-for-40) on the season, but with Tyler Greene also struggling perhaps this long ball will give Descalso a leg up in the second base competition.

Daniel Descalso will start at second base on Opening Night Wednesday against the Marlins.

Tyler Greene should still get plenty of playing time on the St. Louis infield this season, but it seems that Descalso will get first crack at the everyday second base gig.

Daniel Descalso drove in four runs with a pair of doubles to lead the Cardinals to a 6-2 win over the Nationals on Saturday.

With a .288 average, 12 walks and seven extra-base hits in 59 at-bats, Descalso has outshined Tyler Greene all spring. Still, it looks like he'll be a utilityman anyway. We'd still rate him the better option of the two in NL-only leagues.

Daniel Descalso doubled twice Thursday in the Cardinals' 9-6 win over the Red Sox.

Descalso's average dropped to .429 today, but he'll take it. He's 9-for-21 with seven walks this spring as he attempts to win the starting job at second base in St. Louis. He's running circles around Tyler Greene so far.

Daniel Descalso singled, walked three times and scored twice in the Cardinals' 5-4 win over the Braves on Monday.

Descalso is 6-for-13 with a homer and five walks this spring as he attempts to win a starting job at second base. He seems to us to be the better option than Tyler Greene. For what little it's worth, Greene went 0-for-3 in the Cardinals' other split squad, leaving him 2-for-12 so far.

Daniel Descalso went 2-for-4 and homered Wednesday against the Nationals.

While the talk at the end of last season was that Descalso would likely be the Cardinals' second baseman, sentiment has swung towards Tyler Greene's side this spring. Descalso looks like the better option to us, but since both will be on the roster regardless, this is one competition that should continue into the regular season.

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said he's projecting Daniel Descalso as the team's 2012 second baseman.

That likely means that Skip Schumaker will be non-tendered. Descalso is a better defensive infielder and can probably match Schumaker's production offensively. The 25-year-old batted .264/.334/.353 with a homer and 28 RBI in 326 at-bats this season while playing all over the diamond.

Though he wouldn't call the situation a true platoon, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa acknowledged that Daniel Descalso will continue to see more starts at shortstop against righties.

Ryan Theriot is slumping terribly in July, particularly against right-handers. Descalso, meanwhile, has batted over .300 since the beginning of June and played surprisingly good defense at short despite the face he had never played there in his pro career prior to this season. Nick Punto also seems likely to start seeing more starts at short.

Daniel Descalso went 4-for-6 with two runs and two RBI in the Cardinals' 9-8 setback to the Reds on Wednesday.

Descalso earned the rare start over regular third baseman David Freese. It was the second four-hit game of his career (the first coming in his second major league start last September). The big day pushed his average up to .256.

Daniel Descalso went 3-for-5 with a go-ahead infield single in the top of the 11th as the Cardinals edged the Padres 3-2 on Tuesday.

Descalso has seven hits and three RBI in his last three games, and he's up to 17 RBI for the year, even though he's a part-time player with a modest .239/.311/.359 batting line. He'll remain useful in NL-only leagues until David Freese gets back.

Making his second start since being recalled, Daniel Descalso went 4-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a steal Thursday.

He also played Wednesday and had a two-run double in that game. Since the Cards seem willing to use him over Pedro Feliz, he's worth trying in NL-only leagues.

Daniel Descalso is making his first major league start on Wednesday, playing third base against the Pirates.

The 23-year-old Descalso posted a solid .282/.350/.421 batting line in 531 plate appearances this season at Triple-A Memphis and could open 2011 as the Cardinals' starting second baseman if the right pieces fall into place and the Redbirds aren't overly active on the free agent market. He is a guy worth monitoring in NL-only keeper leagues.

Cardinals purchased the contract of 2B Daniel Descalso from Triple-A Memphis.

Descalso missed a month of action this season due to broken collarbone, but he put together a solid .282/.350/.421 line at Triple-A Memphis. It will be interesting to see how much time he gets down the stretch, as he could compete for the second base job in spring training next year.