The Cardinals placed third baseman Matt Carpenter on the injured list Tuesday because of lower back spasms, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. They recalled reliever John Brebbia from Triple-A Memphis to take Carpenter’s roster spot. Expectations are Carpenter will return July 12, the first game of the season’s second half, as Mark Saxon of The Athletic tweets. Injury aside, the normally excellent Carpenter is one of several Cardinals to come up short of expectations so far in 2019. The 33-year-old’s off to a .216/.325/.381 start (90 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 326 plate appearances, putting him on pace to fall way shy of last season’s 36-HR outburst. Carpenter hasn’t started since last Tuesday, which has left third base to Tommy Edman and Yairo Munoz over the past week.
Here’s more on a few other notable injury situations…
- The Cubs seem to have dodged a worst-case scenario with injured southpaw Cole Hamels, who suffered a strained left oblique last Friday. Manager Joe Maddon revealed Tuesday that Hamels is “feeling a lot better quicker than we anticipated,” adding the 35-year-old’s MRI delivered positive results (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times). However, there’s still no timetable for the return of Hamels, who has joined the just-returned Kyle Hendricks as one of the Cubs’ top two starters this season.
- A right knee sprain forced Athletics right fielder Stephen Piscotty to the IL last Sunday. While an MRI didn’t show a tear, Piscotty could still miss a month of action, according to manager Bob Melvin (via Martin Gallegos of MLB.com). Meanwhile, the Athletics finally activated catcher Chris Herrmann from the IL on Tuesday. Herrmann hasn’t gotten to play for the A’s yet since signing a one-year, $1MM deal with the team in the offseason, having undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in early March. Oakland optioned fellow backstop Beau Taylor to Triple-A Las Vegas to clear a 25-man spot for Herrmann and moved injured catcher Nick Hundley to the 60-day IL to open up 40-man space.
- Rangers All-Star designated hitter/outfielder Hunter Pence suffered a setback during his minor league rehab game Monday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. There’s no new injury for Pence, who has been out since June 17 with a right groin strain, though it’s now possible he won’t be healthy enough to participate in the All-Star Game. Manager Chris Woodward said Tuesday that Pence is unlikely to return until after the break, but he could still get an at-bat in the Midsummer Classic.
Giants have a 3B they could trade. He’s hitting .269/.362/.496, .858 OPS away from SF and hit another HR tonight in San Diego. In SF? He couldn’t hit water if he fell of the Golden Gate Bridge.
No one is touching Longoria. I feel bad for Giants fans, but that’s a contract that isn’t ever moving.
No timetable for Hamels. Might still be out 8-10 weeks considering his age and slow to recover last year, although current injury not as bad.
Cubs lose again tonight. Game over in first inning. By the time Hamels comes back, season might be over for Cubs.
In what way? The whole Central has underachieving players. Goldy, Archer, Wood, etc. It’s why they play a 162 games.
I still won’t be surprised if the Reds are in this hunt at the end.
And will lose 80% of the 81 road games!
Make that 85%!
I didn’t realize a 17-25 road record rated out to be an 85% losing rate over 81 games? Nice math.
Sox fans are like “ trump ( childish Ideology , GROW UP baby ( talk about ur 2005 ozzie team , leave ours to REAL FANS WIN OR LOSE ! GO CUBS GO lose sox lose
You forgot to close two brackets. Or the eyes on a sad face. Either way….
I don’t want to get political on here, but I find it amusing when Liberal Democrats make fun of President Trump. You all, collectively, might be the dumbest group on planet Earth. All you had to do was watch the 20 idiots “debate” who knew less about the economy and Constitution to figure that out. That was like being at a comedy show. Now, back to baseball.
I propose a Cubs-Sox bashing truce… until end of season.
Well, gee, what purpose would you have on this site then?
All I can add is Go Bears, Go Blackhawks!! The Bulls…Well, not so much. Just not a basketball fan. Sorry.
And yet you all fondle each other’s balls during football season
Dude, you voted for a reality TV star to lead your country smh
And how’s that reality star doing? 100% better than some Jr. Senator from the 2nd most effed up state in the Union. There’s 20 dolts lined up ready to be taken down 1 by 1 by that “reality star.” It’s so much fun to watch. Hey Machumizer…YOU’RE FIRED!
Oh, good. Let’s hear about the Cubs from a Sox ankle biter.
Carpenter. Big, long swing is slowing down. Can’t run or play defense very well. Why not give a 33 year old an extension at 20M? Made sense to me. NOT
Cards had to pick one of these two things: extend Carpenter or trade for Goldschmidt. Not both.
Or they could have Machado, Hosmer, Moose and/or Voit playing those positions. Opportunities were out there the past 2 seasons. Could you imagine this team with Moose at 2B, Machado at 3B and Hosmer at 1B? Or Scherzer pitching here the last 3 years. Never even made an offer for him. Instead, Carpenter got $20M, and we have the light hitting Wong at 2B. News flash for those that tell me Wong is great defensively. 2B is easier to play now. Shifts. No worries to pivot on double plays since slide rule went into effect. Besides, they don’t care about defense in RF or 3B, so why 2B. Oh well, they got their. 700 OPS guy they want. Hot dogging, arrogant Wong.
LOL I didn’t realize there were still people lamenting “missing out” on Hosmer. Jeebus. Carp is signed through 2022 and Hosmer 2025. Carp has rated above average at 3B defensively since last year. He’s also been a solid baserunner. Those have actually kept his WAR positive since his slump this year. He’s projected to finish out strongly and be around 2.5 WAR, which will likely still exceed Hosmer’s total since signing that ridiculous contract. He was worth .1 WAR vs Carp’s 5+ in 2018. Hosmer legit sucks.
Nick, imagine if the Blue Jays and Cards worked out the rumored deal involving Josh Donaldson? The players involved could have put the Cards back a little, and they’d be sellers this year. No question.
Also, good points on Wong. And the double play. The rule has paved the way for lazy 2B not to be as exposed (Odor).
Holliday Fever, There’s so many falsehoods and logical omissions in this take that it doesn’t warrant a response.
C, CF, SS, 1B and 3B all more important defensive positions. Teams now put guys at 2B just to get their bat in the lineup. The slide rule and shifts really made that position not as important defensively.
Kolten Wong is the best 2nd baseman so far in all of baseball in 2019. Baseball reference is a great tool to show actual statistics for actual performance even for players that people love to hate on.
What baseball reference doesn’t include is how much magically easier it is to play 2nd base all of a sudden, what shifts have to do with still catching a baseball, or what the different rules that prevent a 2nd baseman from getting injured because of dirty play have anything to do with comparing statistics. Baseball reference doesn’t list these statistics because they are part of a made up narrative that doesn’t make any sense.
News flash should actually read Kolten Wong is a hot dog at 2nd base because he can back every bit of it up and there is a plethora of data to prove it.
Wong is the best second baseman in all of baseball? How do you figure? Do you just dream this crap up? Besides, many teams use multiple guys there because it’s simply, like I said, not an important position any longer.
Second baseman, overall, who are better than Wong. Marte,Lamahieu, Albies, Merrifield, Moustakas, Lastella, Lowe. I just named 7 and would probably take Alberto and Hernandez over Wong too. He’s a hot dog who thinks he’s Babe Ruth at the plate. Get a new approach and he might do better.
Best defensive 2nd baseman in all of baseball. Not one thing mentioned about offense in the entire response. No, I didn’t dream up the multitude of defensive categories Wong is #1 in this year. Check it out for yourself.
To also say Wong is not clutch with the bat I’ll take his 344 ba , 400 babip, 975 ops and 475 obp with 2 outs and risp every time. It’s like the only time he ever does get a hit?
Quote, “Wong is the best second baseman so far in all of baseball in 2019.” Defense at that position is just not that important any longer. WAKE UP to what’s going on. Or don’t, and keep watching that 8th place hitter shine. When does Wong catch that flight to Cleveland for the all star game?
Yep. Made that error in my initial response but I thought I cleared that up in the last post? The all star game is and has been a joke since the extra inning game that ended in a tie. Defense at any position is important as they wouldn’t include it in someone’s overall value of a player.
I would say have a great 4th of July but I’m sure you would find something miserable to pull out of that as well.
Your first comment on this thread was miserable. Sorry to be blunt. I’d rather take my chances on building a SS in my farm system with the idea of moving him to 2B than explore the possibility of taking on a perennial underachiever in Wong.
Carpenter needs to quit trying to call balls and strikes and try swinging the bat to the opposite field. The shift has completely changed how he can hit.Until he figures out a new approach they need to keep him out of the lineup
Carpenter is through!!! Because of lingering injuries, that will get worse the rest of his life. Can’t hit, can’t throw, can’t bend over to grab the hot shot grounders anymore. I guess the Cardinals are still looking at him as an All-Star. But there has been 10 years of deterioration on his body since then.
Brebbia was never sent to triple a. He was on the paternity list.
A guy coming off a 144+ ops year is not all of a sudden done for good people. His longer than normal digression is tough to watch this year as was his slow starts, not as lengthy, the two years prior. I hope his time on IL can fix whatever is not happening with his bat. If he could somehow learn to hard bunt against the shift regularly he would be able to swing away again when teams revert back to their normal positions. Even though it is a very small sample size, Carpenter has a 381 OBP batting fifth.
You must not watch a lot baseball if you don’t think 33 year old players can suddenly fall off a cliff offensively. Happens frequently.
Yep, I watched the greatest hitter of our modern era in Pujols do that, but he was (cough) 31. What a fantastic move Mozeliak did there to save the franchise of that eventual mistake.
No, I did give up watching baseball every game, every day a few years back because i was wasting a lot of time in something in something that didn’t make much of a difference to me if the Cardinals won or lost.
Plus. Sitting in the stands in 2011 for game 7 of the World Series, wished it was six as well, is kind of a tough act to follow?
Carpenter shouldn’t have been moved off 1B which should be the main point of it all. Not to mention receiving an extension to play 3B. Pick one or the other. Especially given his age and defensive play in the past. No question he can still be a threat at the plate.
Carpenter can still be a threat at the plate, but not at 20M per year. I think the BEST he can be now is 240/335/450. Throw in the fact that his defense and baserunning are mediocre and he’s 33, and you have a classic overpay.
Let me clarify something for you on Mozeliak and Pujols. Mozeliak didn’t do anything “fantastic”. He offered $200M to him. He just got out dumbed by the Angels. It really is funny how fans seem to forget this and claim Mo as some genius in all this.
You know absolutely nothing about that deal. You have no clue on how that front office all took a collective sigh when Pujols did not accept a low ball offer from the Cardinals.
The only thing you do know is what fits into your opinion of Mo.
Miserable, Horrible, poor excuse for a human being, animal abusing, home wrecking Mo.
I certainly hope Matt Carpenter can remain on the injured list!!! Tommy Edmon….. in the Cardinals lead off spot …… is a breath of fresh air!!! Edmond steps in the box to hit!! Carpenter steps in the box to walk!!!! Worst thing….Schildt will be commanded to start Carpenter by John Mozeliak when Carp says he’s ready. Then here will come dullness and losses. Carp couldn’t start…at this age… on any other team but the Cardinals!! Carps All-Star days are gone forever!! Edmon has a bright future!!!!!
Carpenter stands in the box to look at strikes, then turn around to look at the umpire to question the strikes. Long, slow swing. Ain’t getting better, folks. Edmon should play half his games at 2B and the other half at 3B. He’s a switch hitter. Wong or Carpenter can take alternate days to sit.
Nick Stevens….you are absolutely correct. This is very hard to say!!! Inspite of Wong’s glove skills. Inspite of Matt Carpenter being a former 3 x All Star years back and a Cardinal icon, Carpenter and Wong, unfortunately, ought to be bench players because they can’t make contact consistently. Also, unfortunately, Bader is an above average glove in center field. But can’t hit the slider. The whole team has hit pitifully with runners in scoring position. There aren’t even any rumors that John Mozeliak will pick up an Ace Pitcher or an impact bat. An even worse fact is that the Springfield Redbirds just aren’t any good this season. Showing the Cardinal are weak in the minors. It’s obvious the Cardinals have to discard their aging players who aren’t or can’t regularly produce. I can see in the future… a total rebuild!!! I just hope Mozeliak isn’t the one rebuilding the Cardinals. He’s the one who consistently torn down the club through poor trading poor, poor free agency signing and a deteriorating farm system.