Back in mid-May, Dylan Carlson suffered a sprained ankle that resulted in over three weeks on the injured list. The sprain caused enough damage that it “was something that we realized might need some more [surgical] attention down the road, so we’re taking a look at it again,” Carlson told MLB.com’s John Denton, and both the outfielder and the Cardinals are waiting on the results of some tests before deciding whether or not to go ahead with the arthroscopic surgery in short order.
Such a procedure would officially end Carlson’s 2023 season, though it is already possible he might not play again due to an oblique strain. Carlson was placed on the 10-day IL last week with what he revealed was a Grade 2 strain, detailing how he felt some mild discomfort after a swing during a game against the Rays, and then seemingly aggravated the oblique problem after sneezing a day later.
“It’s been that kind of year,” Carlson summarized, as his fourth Major League season might end with an underwhelming slash line of .219/.318/.333 over 255 plate appearances. It is fair to point to the lingering ankle problem as a reason for this performance, though Carlson also hit only .236/.316/.380 over 488 PA in 2022. This lack of production has dimmed the star of the former top-20 prospect, who finished third in NL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2021 and seemed to be a future cornerstone for St. Louis.
Instead, Carlson is one of many Cardinals players at something of a crossroads as the team tries to figure out its next steps after a thoroughly disappointing 2023 campaign. St. Louis is well on its way to only its second losing season of the 21st century, and with a rotation overhaul looking like the top offseason priority, the Cards might well look to acquire pitching by trading from its outfield depth.
Despite his tough season, Carlson drew plenty of attention prior to the trade deadline, as rival teams might think the 24-year-old could blossom with a change of scenery. Since clubs will obviously want to make sure Carlson is healthy before swinging a deal, whether Carlson undergoes the ankle surgery now or after the season could be a slight factor in his trade candidacy, though an arthroscopic procedure probably shouldn’t impact the outfielder’s readiness for Spring Training.
If I have to hear anyone talk about our depth of outfielders again, I will have an aneurysm.
That is exactly what I was thinking when I read that. It does not read well and seems disingenuous at this point. It’s been over 3/4 of a season of under-performance. When does potential run-out and reality set in?
But analytics says everything is just “bad luck”. Nobody has bad seasons anymore, just “bad luck”.
Analytics is associated with probability which thinks that events are random. Yes, rolling a die or flipping a coin is random. But getting a hit every four at bats is entirely different. You can get every statistical measure out of that data and still not know enough. You can measure every factor involved in the “process” and statistically examine the heck out of them. He bats .280 against fastballs between 92 and 94 miles an hour in the lower right quadrant of the strike zone when the bases are empty during the first five innings of day games on the road when the organist is not playing and more than three of his teammates are yelling encouragement and he got 7-8 hours of sleep the night before and he had eggs for breakfast and he had the hotel room to himself and he got bitten by a mosquito the day before. But the scalding line drive that was miraculously caught by the 6 foot 8 first baseman after a full dive was “bad luck”. So there you have it.
Yes, that’s exactly how analytics work.
That’s the reason teams spend so much on them.
The Cardinals have so much depth in the outfield! They are all terrible, but they have depth!
Dexter Fowler on line 1.
Hang in there, Carlson! The Cards haven’t been eliminated yet. Go out there and fight with every ounce of energy and play through the pain. This team can’t win out without you! Win this for the Gipper!!!
5 Star post! Good humor, outstanding creativity and ultimately accurate. Keep the wit and wisdom coming.
MOtie’s going to win the offseason. He’s got BIG plans. Keep buying those tickets. git-r-done.
None of the Cardinals’ outfielders is good enough to net even a #3 starter. If they were then a deal would have been made at the deadline.
They need to trade Winn before his value falls off a cliff. Hopefully other teams haven’t been paying attention to how awful and overmatched he’s looked and they could get a A ball , lottery type pitcher in return
Chip Caray is their biggest trade piece at this point
Slider you and King of Cards really have a lot of bad takes with no data
The difference is Slider is intentionally trolling.
Well, there goes the season…
Where the beef or where the outstanding depth the st Louis cards really not that great is goner be a another hot long summer in st Louis with a team not really any good can you say 2025 2026 maybe my then then again maybe not
The outfield glut is an illusion, you have 3 outfielders and a slew of misplaced infielders and DH types.
The depth of our outfield is about as deep as a baby wading pool, Walker needs a lot of instruction. The team should require him to play winter ball.