The Cardinals look to be on their way to an NL Central title, but their 2019 success has come in spite of an uncharacteristically pedestrian year from third baseman Matt Carpenter. With the Cardinals trying to hold on in their division, Carpenter has taken a backseat to rookie Tommy Edman at the hot corner. While Carpenter did start there Wednesday in the Cardinals’ win over the Nationals, Edman has made twice as many starts this month (12 to six). Carpenter discussed his decrease in playing time with Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, acknowledging that Edman’s “got to play every day.” Although Carpenter went on to admit that dropping in the pecking order has been difficult, he added: “I understand part of what’s happening. Guys have played well and deserve to be in there. We’re winning and, at the end of the day, that’s ultimately what’s most important.” There’s still time for Carpenter to reemerge this year, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Cardinals handle him in the offseason if they’re convinced Edman’s the answer at third. A trade would be tough to put together, as Carpenter has two guaranteed years and $39MM coming his way after signing an extension in April. The three-time All-Star’s deal also includes a no-trade clause.
More from the NL…
- Outfielder Nick Williams’ time with the Phillies seems likely to end when the Phillies’ season concludes, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. It’s clear Williams, once a touted prospect, has fallen out of favor with the organization. Even though the Phillies have been facing multiple injuries in their outfield, Williams still hasn’t been able to crack their lineup, as his most recent at-bat came Sept. 2. While Williams did thrive at the Triple-A level this year, he has stumbled to a dreadful.157/.204/.255 line in 108 major league plate appearances in 2019. Williams will still have a minor league option remaining after this season, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Phillies remove him from their 40-man roster then. It would be an unceremonious ending to a once-promising Philly tenure for Williams, who joined the club in 2015 as part of the package it received from Texas for Cole Hamels.
- Injured Pirates Josh Bell and Starling Marte are hoping to return this season, though it’s unlikely either will be ready until next week, Adam Berry of MLB.com writes. Bell has been out since Sept. 13 with a left groin strain, while Marte hasn’t appeared since the 10th on account of a sprained left wrist. In what has turned into a nightmare of a season for the Pirates both on and off the field, Bell and Marte have been among their few bright lights. If the 27-year-old Bell does come back in the season’s final days, he’ll try to make a last-second run at the 40-home run mark. Bell’s sitting at 37 dingers and a .277/.367/.569 line over 613 trips to the plate. Marte, 30, has posted his sixth season with at least 3.0 fWAR, thanks in part to a .295/.342/.503 line through 586 PA. This is also the second 20-20 campaign in a row for Marte, who has swatted 23 HRs and racked up 25 steals.
- Cubs reliever Brandon Kintzler has dealt with a mild oblique strain for a month and hasn’t pitched since Sept. 10. However, Kintzler said he had a “great day” throwing from a mound Wednesday, and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy indicated the right-hander could return as early as Sunday (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times). If true, Kintzler (as well as the returning Craig Kimbrel) could help bolster the Cubs’ bullpen as the team tries to earn a playoff spot. Chicago’s relief corps took the loss against Cincinnati on Wednesday, leaving the Cubs in a tie with the Brewers for the NL’s second wild-card position.
Should the Phil’s drop Williams the orioles ought to be on him. Still has options next year and Dwight Smith does not. Highly likely Williams isn’t a major league caliber starter but neither is Dwight Smith.
I love that you guys link to the old trade pages. I love going back and reading the comments just to see how wrong some people were. Like the guy that said Jorge Alfaro was a much better get for the Phillies in a Hamels deal than Javier Baez would have been. Obviously we are all just guessing when it comes to prospects, but to go back and see the absolute certainty with which arguments are made is just funny.
Always amusing
with carpenter stinking up the lineup for months, shildt finally got out the lysol
I’ve been wondering if his staying in the lineup was front office mandated and the finally let Shildt decide.
Carp started yesterday and it was pretty clear that was a mistake. Couldn’t get to a ball that Edman most likely would have and committed an error with a ball going right between his legs. Funnily enough, the runner that got on due to the error was thrown out at home by Edman who started in RF instead of 3B.
It’s not like the guy is playing stellar defense and is just having a down year at the plate. His defense was always mediocre with a noodle arm. He played because he could hit. Now he can’t do that and his defense has seemed to get worse.
No doubt Carp had a tough day at third yesterday, but his defense the rest of the year has been far above average. I love me some Tommie Edman, who is rapidly becoming a star, defensively too but that doesn’t mean Carp should be vilified.
Carpenter’s defense is defenseless. He has no range, no arm and bad footwork. Just because he has a relatively low error total is deceiving.
I do not make my opinions of Carpenter’s defense based on error totals, nor do I place a lot of merit on defensive metrics, although they do confirm my opinion. No doubt Carp, lacks a strong arm. However he compensates, by a quick release and accuracy. He moves to his left as well as anyone not named Arrenado. His ability to start double plays on Bal
balls to his left is terrific. He matches almost anyone, on slow rollers where his arm is surprisingly strong. And no one is better on foul pops, well maybe Arrenado again, plus he shows remarkably quick reflexes on balls smoked his way. Granted on some balls to his right, his lack arm strength hurts him, but that is his only deficiency. Your footwork claim is inane. You are maligning an above average defender. Criticism of his approach at the plate is warranted. He is really messed up. But he did smoke a double off Sherzer yesterday. For the Cards’ sake I hope he can produce in the last ten games. This is not to claim he should start over Edman, who is proving to be a 5-tool star.
Far above average? I’ll give him maybe average, at best. He has a 0.2 dWar.. Could be worse but I wouldn’t say that’s far above average. I don’t know if you’ve noticed how much better that Goldschmidt is at 1B and how much better Edman is at 3B than Carpenter. Carpenter has no range and his lazy rainbow throws to 1B are embarrassing.
Yes, Edman is a superior defender, but that is due more to his elite status than Carpenter’s deficiencies. You are just flat wrong on Carp’s range, and while his throws are not a thing of beauty, they get the job done. The least of the Cards’ worries are his defense at third. He should sit because his offense sucks not his defense, that and the sparkling rise of Edman.
Hey @Spud , Who are you watching play? It sure as hell isnt Carpenter.Dude is a great guy who willed his way to the majors and then came the shift.He’s done! And yes he has a noodle arm and is embarrassing himself everyday he plays
Williams was overrated to start with but the Phillies have ruined prospects lately with terrible coaches. Franco will be the next encarncion wants he gets a team who trusts him.
The pirates should be embarrassed at the team they are fielding right now. This is a straight up night mare .. it’s a double a team at the best. Nutting, just cares about profit.
I believe they were 44-44 near the break, and lead the NL in batting. How does a team do that for a first half and then totally collapse. It is incomprehenceable.
What a ridiculous statement. You clearly don’t have the first clue what you’re talking about, why say anything?
Army- you are obsessed with making negative comments about Nutting and the Pirates.We know they stink this year and he is cheap.Give it a rest.
Looks like the Phillies officially got nothing for Cole Hamels
probably wouldn’t have JT without Alfaro.
Technically they got Realamuto with Alfaro but ur pretty much correct.
just outright DFAing Williams would be a hugh mistake. there is no way you cant get something in return. i guarantee there is some pitcher that is in the same boat as him that you can swap him for, or a low level prospect.
Talk about a bad trade. How bout when the cubs traded Soler for one year of Wade Davis. Could be one of the most lopsided trades of all time.
Soler was ALWAYS injured when he was with us, completely useless. So he’s had one good year. He’ll be back in the IL again soon. I was getting sick and tired of hearing about all his aches and pains. Good riddance, we don’t need another low average home run hitter anyway. Got plenty of those already and where have they gotten us.
You forgot game 3 of World Series when he stood in box looking at ball drop fair and only getting a triple . Could have had a inside the Park homer.
If anyone hasn’t figured it out Themed is obviously a troll. To say a guy who is having a career season yet is only up to 3.5 WAR in 6 seasons is the worst trade ever is almost insane.
if there’s an obvious troll, it’s me
Where’s the admin on this guy? Besides how obviously trolling and lack of baseball knowledge he also makes racist comments about Latinos who wear their hat the “wrong” way
The only one I notice who constantly brings race into everything is you chicagofan…….maybe you should try focusing on things other than race, the most racist people are the ones who obsess over it.
latino isn’t a race. it’s an ethnic group
There is no such thing as race.
Not even once but keep trying
Yes worse than Lou Brock trade 🙂
Are we going to discuss baseball here or make personal attacks. You cub fans went from being very cocky to being distraught. Not too many guys have hit 44 home runs. It was an awful trade. Wouldn’t you rather had Soler in right at his salary then Heyward?
You don’t discuss baseball though, you literally only bad mouth the Cubs. And you’re probably not talking about me since I’m a Sox fan.
@themed
Soler is not a right fielder. He is a DH. If he played RF he would be on the IL most of the year like he usually was
When the games on the line come playoff time I’m feeling pretty confident with Carpenter at the plate. Champions have slumps but he’ll rise to the occasion. Go Cards!
Yap agree. Should play tonight with Hendricks on mound.
Yes, Carpenter has looked ugly at the plate all year. And Edman is on fire right now. But look at the numbers and you will see that Carpenter still has the higher on base percentage. Carpenter is always going to strike out a lot, but he will walk a lot too. And both those things drive up a pitch count and let other guys see what the pitcher is throwing. I’m not advocating keeping Carpenter as full time starter but he has a meaningful place on the team.
I’m all for working the count but he just stands up there and takes too many close ones. His meaningful place for the rest of the season/post-season is on the bench. Throw him in to pinch hit occasionally but there’s absolutely no reason he should be starting over Edman.
Right now I would argue that with Edman now at third that the Red Birds’ infield defense is the best in Baseball, and with a pitching staff that pitches to contact, and produces a ton of ground balls, it is essential and a recipe for success.
Phillies ended up with nothing for Hamels