The Cardinals have selected the contract of first baseman Luken Baker, per a team announcement. The club also formally announced that catcher Tres Barrera has been designated for assignment. The moves are hardly surprising after Barrera himself told reporters that he had been placed on waivers last night, leading to speculation that Baker, who wasn’t in the Triple-A lineup last night, could be his replacement.
A second round pick by the Cardinals in the 2018 draft, the 26-year-old slugger tore up the lower minors at every level from 2018-2021 before spending the full 2022 season at the Triple-A level. Baker faced his first pronounced struggles as a professional at the level, slashing just .228/.288/.394 with a 78 wRC+ in 124 games.
Baker appears to have put those struggles behind him, however, as the slugger has torn up Triple-A in his return to the level this season. In 244 plate appearances at the level this season, Baker has slashed a phenomenal .313/.434/.641 with a wRC+ of 165. In addition to the vastly improved slash line, Baker has cut his strikeout rate to just 21.7%, his lowest figure since his professional debut in 2018, while his walk rate has skyrocketed to a whopping 17.6%.
That performance has paved the way for Baker to make his MLB debut later today, batting seventh against the Pirates. Going forward, Baker figures to compete with the likes of Juan Yepez and Alec Burleson for DH at-bats with the big league club, while potentially also spelling Paul Goldschmidt at first base on occasion.
As for Barrera, the 28-year-old catcher managed to get into just six games for St. Louis, drawing only two plate appearances. Should he go unclaimed on waivers, he’ll have he option to elect free agency, as he’s received an outright assignment previously in his career. Barrera figures to be an attractive catching depth option on a minor league deal should he hit the open market.
Good for him, I think even at a older age he has a chance to be a solid mlb player
He is 26
Yes. An age 25 season is usually the last where someone is considered a “prospect.” He’s also twice been denied a 40-man roster spot – making him available through Rule 5.
Luckily, he wasn’t selected. It looks like he has finally flipped a switch and started hitting like the Cardinals hoped. Now, he has a bit of value to be used or traded.
Let’s go to Luken Baker Texas
With Waylon and Willie and the Boys.
Another underwhelming DH type player is just what they need. Gone are the days where pitching mattered. The new trend is to have as many bats who may see the field once a week on your roster. When they don’t work out, you can always promote some more.
What a ridiculous front office and coaching staff. Their season was over after the first month.
John Mozeliak had so much pitching talent he hemmoraged two aces for two years of 2 WAR (league average) play from Marcell Ozuna… gone are the days where Jeff Luhnow drafted aces, and John Mozeliak trades them away….
That’s a nice roster swap. Definitely a better bat off the bench.
What does this mean for Gorman’s playing time? He’s DH’d quite often.
Means nothing to Gorman’s playing time. He will remain starting at 2nd while Donovan and Edman are rotating in the depleted outfield. Baker isn’t going to get every start, and Gorman can DH those. Now when Carlson comes back it will begin to get a little more crowded. Guessing either Yepez or Baker goes down then, depending on Baker’s results
I doubt that Nolan Gorman will lose any playing time. Maybe there is a possibility of a trade in the near future to bring some life into this pitiful team. Something is clearly wrong with the Cardinals. They need to make some changes and soon.
Which team is the biggest disappointment this year, St. Louis, NY Mets or San Diego? My vote is St. Louis given the division they play in.
Cardinals.
Sad and surprising.
Need a new manager.
That would be a good start.
Looking forward to the day when an experienced manager replaces Marmol. Let the other puppets go with the puppet master MO.
Tony Larussa is on his way! Driving his car 80 mph in reverse down the highway towards the park.
On his way back from the bar.
Need some trades! Other teams are making them, why do we have to wait till the dead line, that’s what Mo is saying or is our players not good enough to make trades!!!
The biggest difference in the 3 teams you mentioned, is that two of the three teams owners, Mets and Padres, will spend money to fill their needs. Tightwad and Billionaire, Bill Dewallet, won’t.
Cardinals are the biggest disappointment regardless of division. They have the 4th worst record in baseball.
It’s okay, 57, all we really need is to be reminded it’s still super early, and the team is actually much better than its record shows. Forget Ws, all that really matters is the players are doing everything they can to help the team win. As Trump would say, it’s time to drain the swamp.. no more Marmol, no more Mozeliak, no more bandaids!
Anyone who really needs an example, look no further than the Cards this season to learn why the games are played on the field, not on paper. It’s like the Cards FO thought other teams would see their lineup, lay down, and allow themselves to be walked on.
Make that the third worst record in all of MLB for the Cardinals. Also the worst record in the NL.
Hope he does well. At this point all we have is hope and cope.
I just can’t believe so many other teams are doing much better without $60mil worth of Arenado and Goldschmidt.
Technically, the Cards are “only” on the hook for $13 million of Arenado’s salary this year. So paying $39 million for those 2 and STILL not adding any starting pitching during the off-season is even more frustrating.
On the brightside they have to add pitching next year seeing as they only have 2 starters signed, (mikolas and libby) I will not count hudson or matz as starters lol.
Cardinals have a lot of third baseman’s o. The team. Also a few first basemen on the team as well. So you can’t play them at third or first so you play them at second the outfield and DH. The team is at best inconsistent, and in last place in the worst did vision in the national league. They should let the kids play that have bright futures and trade away player that can give you big return that can help the team in areas of need. I would trade Arenado and Goldschimdt for players and prospect while you can get a good return. I know it’s radical.
A lot of Cardinals fans would revolt, but I wouldn’t mind.