ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. • As the Cardinals near the end of their trip through American League ballparks and thus draw closer to the end of obvious, open playing time for Oscar Taveras, manager Mike Matheny does not need to see the rookie in center field before determining if that’s a place to find him playing time.

“I think as we look at what he’s done, his natural position is one of those corner spots,” Matheny said. “We’ve got plenty of coverage in center field right now the way Peter (Bourjos) is going about it and the way Jon (Jay) has when he gets the opportunity. I know that it’s always been the question – if we could make Oscar fit there? If we had to, we could make it work. But right now it doesn’t seem to be a have-to.”

Taveras, 21, has started all nine games since he joined the major-league roster May 31, and he’s appeared only in right field.