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Cardinals Acquire Matt Adams Via Waiver Claim

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1:50pm: The Cardinals have announced the waiver claim. Fowler has been moved to the 60-day DL to open space on the 40-man roster, while corner infielder Patrick Wisdom has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis.

1:36pm: Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports (on Twitter) that Adams is headed to St. Louis via waiver claim, meaning there’s no trade at play here. Rather, the Nationals will simply offload the remainder of his salary on the Cardinals in the deal. Adams is still owed about $877K of his $4MM salary through season’s end.

1:24pm: The Cardinals have agreed to a deal with the Nationals that will bring first baseman/outfielder Matt Adams back to St. Louis, reports Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (on Twitter). Between this move from the Cards and the reported impending deal sending Daniel Murphy to the division-rival Cubs, it appears that the Nationals have embarked on a late-August sale. General manager Mike Rizzo has called a press conference for 3pm ET in which he will presumably address these and any other deals that have been made with the media.

Matt Adams | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

With this trade, the 29-year-old Adams returns to the organization with which he cut his teeth as a pro player. The Cards selected Adams in the 23rd round of the 2009 draft and watched him eventually blossom into a solid Major League hitter across parts of six seasons in the organization. However, St. Louis flipped Adams to the Braves early in the 2017 season in order to loosen an infield logjam. Though Adams produced at a solid clip in Atlanta, he was non-tendered in the offseason and eventually signed a one-year, $4MM deal in Washington.

Thus far in the 2018 season, Adams has produced numbers that are roughly in line with his career marks. Through 277 trips to the plate — nearly all of which have come against right-handed pitching, given Adams’ deficiencies against left-handers — he’s logged a quality .257/.332/.510 slash with 18 home runs and nine doubles.

It’s not clear just yet how the Cardinals will utilize Adams. He’s limited to first base or the occasional dalliance into left field, and the Cards already have options at both of those positions in the form of Matt Carpenter and Marcell Ozuna, respectively. But Carpenter is capable of bouncing all over the infield and could see time at second base or third base in the event that the Nationals wish to get Adams some time at first base against right-handed opponents.

That’s perhaps the key element of the Cardinals’ acquisition of Adams. Prior to this deal, the only lefty bats on the roster were Carpenter, light-hitting second baseman Kolten Wong and backup infielder Greg Garcia. Switch-hitting Dexter Fowler gives the Cards another lefty bat when healthy, but he’s currently on the DL and is mired in the worst season of his professional career. Adding Adams will give the Cards a notable lefty bat both off the bench and against righty starters, helping to balance out the lineup and further fueling their recent surge under interim skipper Mike Shildt.

While Adams will surely receive a warm welcome in his return to St. Louis, the reunion could prove to be short-lived. He was non-tendered last winter in his final offseason of arbitration eligibility and will finish out the 2018 campaign with more than six years of big league service time. As such, he’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and free to sign with any team he chooses. It’s possible that the Cards will have interest in retaining a slugger they know well and clearly like as a player, but Adams will be able to field interest from 29 other teams as well.

Quick Hits: Contender Schedules, Pazos, Weaver, Mets, Giants

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With several divisions throughout Major League Baseball still up for grabs and numerous contenders still in the hunt for the Wild Card, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports runs through the strength of the rest-of-season schedule for each of the 14 teams with realistic hopes of securing a postseason bid. The Diamondbacks draw the unwelcome distinction of facing the toughest schedule of any team in baseball between now and season’s end, Passan notes, pointing out that from Sept. 6-26 they’ll play 20 games in 20 days against a grouping of teams with a combined .560 winning percentage. The Indians, meanwhile, land on the other end of the spectrum. Despite the fact that they have seven games against the Red Sox remaining, the rest of their schedule is more or less a romp through the hapless AL Central, with 10 games against the Royals and six against the White Sox highlighting what should be an easy path to the AL Central crown.

Some other miscellaneous items for your afternoon perusal…

  • Lefty James Pazos has been among the Mariners’ best relievers over the past two seasons, but Seattle optioned him to Triple-A on Sunday. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times examines the move, citing manager Scott Servais in writing that the organization feels that Pazos is in need of some mechanical corrections to get back into top form. Specifically, Servais indicated that Pazos “hasn’t been as consistent with his fastball” over the past six weeks or so, which has gotten him into trouble at times. The Mariners don’t expect Pazos to spend much more, if any, than the 10-day minimum in the minors as he works out the kinks, but Servais notes that he’s been falling behind hitters of late due to that fastball inconsistency. The organization, per Divish, has a “very detailed” plan for Pazos to follow in what sounds to be a brief trip to Tacoma.
  • Cardinals manager Mike Shildt tells Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the decision to move right-hander Luke Weaver from the rotation to the bullpen was “not an easy one.” Weaver looked to be among the game’s more promising young starters in 2017, and he’s shown flashes of brilliance in 2018, too, but has generally been inconsistent. Weaver cites his own lack of fastball control as the root of his struggles in a harsh self-evaluation but sounds to be taking the move in stride. “This move is not a slap in the face,” says the soon-to-be 25-year-old. “It’s about … finding a way where I can help the team, wherever it is. … It’s not going to shake me.”
  • The upcoming Mets/Giants series will provide fans with a contrast between a club that has excelled in terms of building minor league depth (the Giants) and one that has failed at doing so in recent seasons (the Mets), writes Tim Britton of The Athletic (subscription required). Britton notes that in Ryan Vogelsong, Santiago Casilla, Andres Torres and several others, San Francisco has consistently found value in minor league free agency. This season alone, he observes, the Giants have three minor league signees — Derek Holland, Dereck Rodriguez, Alen Hanson — who’ve provided the team with more than a win above replacement (per Fangraphs); conversely, the Mets have had only two players over the past four seasons combined that have reached even half a win by that same measure: Rene Rivera and Jose Reyes. Britton explores the Giants’ method of aggressively approaching minor league free agency, headed by assistant GM Jeremy Shelley, in an interesting look at the stark difference between the two clubs.

NL Notes: Dodgers, Cards, Weaver, Bucs, Newman

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The latest on a few National League teams…

  • The Dodgers are “setting a high bar” on potential reliever acquisitions this month, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says (video link). In the end, though, Rosenthal doesn’t expect the Dodgers to make any trades for outside bullpen aid, noting that closer Kenley Jansen (on the DL since Aug. 9 with an irregular heartbeat) is among their soon-to-return reinforcements. Further, August deals are generally difficult to make, with Rosenthal reporting that “most relievers are getting claimed on revocable trade waivers, then pulled back” by their teams.
  • The Cardinals have decided to shift right-hander Luke Weaver from the rotation to the bullpen, manager Mike Shildt told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com and other reporters on Sunday. It’s not clear whether Weaver will return to the team’s starting staff in 2018, but for now, his vacated spot will go to fellow righty Daniel Poncedeleon. The 24-year-old Weaver has been subpar at preventing runs over 125 1/3 innings, as his 4.67 ERA shows, though FIP (4.14), xFIP (4.26) and SIERA (4.37) indicate he has deserved somewhat better results to this point. Poncedeleon, meanwhile, has held his own as a starter in the minors since the Cardinals drafted him in 2014. The 26-year-old made his first and only big league start July 23, when he stunningly held the Reds without a hit in a seven-inning, 116-pitch performance, and has appeared in five other games as a reliever this season. While Poncedeleon has managed to log an appealing 2.04 ERA through his first 17 2/3 major league innings, his K/9 (5.09), BB/9 (4.58), strand rate (91.6 percent), batting average on balls in play against (.133) and groundball percentage (31.9) suggest negative regression is around the corner.
  • Pirates shortstop prospect Kevin Newman earned a promotion to the majors earlier this week, but they’ve been reluctant to use him thus far in the midst of a playoff race, and he’s not a lock to start in 2019. Even though fellow Pirates shortstops Adeiny Hechavarria and Jordy Mercer are set to become free agents in the offseason, that doesn’t mean the team won’t re-sign one of them or bring in another veteran at the position. The club would like to have a vet mentor the 25-year-old Newman for “at least some of next season,” according to Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (subscription required), who wonders if Pittsburgh will wind up signing a pending free agent such as Asdrubal Cabrera, Freddy Galvis, Jose Iglesias or Jose Reyes over the winter. While general manager Neal Huntington admitted the Pirates are indeed “open to” the idea of a veteran-Newman tandem at short next year, he added that finding a more experienced option is “not necessarily” a must.

NL Notes: Panik, Shildt, Holliday

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The latest from the National League…

  • With Giants second baseman Joe Panik losing his grip on an everyday role, he may be in his last season with the club, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle observes. Panik will earn approximately $5MM in arbitration next year (his penultimate season of team control), estimates Schulman, who writes that the team could either trade or non-tender him over the winter. A Giant since they selected him 29th overall in 2011, Panik isn’t worried about his future, but he may need a strong finish this year to continue with the club. “I do understand the business side of it,” Panik said. “At the same time, “I haven’t even thought that far, and you really can’t, honestly. If you’re thinking that far ahead, you’re not going to be able to take care of business today.” Although Panik has been a solid major leaguer since debuting in 2014, the 27-year-old has hit an unappealing .242/.303/.347 (78 wRC+) in 262 plate appearances this season.
  • It’s unknown whether Cardinals interim manager Mike Shildt will return as the team’s full-time skipper in 2019, but he has earned a fan in chairman Bill Dewitt Jr. since taking over the fired Mike Matheny on July 14. “He’s done everything that we could possibly ask for,” DeWitt said (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). “I think he communicates with his staff, communicates well with players, has a good baseball-mind. Strategically — hard to criticize what he’s done. He’s a very good manager. Has been coming up through the ranks. Just a very solid baseball man.” It’s difficult to quantify the performance of a manager, but it’s nonetheless worth noting that the Shildt-led Cardinals have rallied to post a 21-10 mark and now find themselves in possession of the NL’s second wild-card spot.
  • Rockies veteran first baseman/outfielder Matt Holliday, 38, is making a case for a promotion to the majors, Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes. Holliday, who sat on the unemployment line until Colorado signed him to a minor league deal on July 28, has slashed a tremendous .370/.473/.652 in 55 PAs with its top minors affiliate in Albuquerque. Rockies manager Bud Black has taken notice, saying: “He’s checking off some boxes. The thing that we’re happy about is the physical side. Mentally, Matt’s been a longtime player. You get back up to speed real quick. That didn’t take long, I’m sure. But the confidence that when he faces all sorts of pitching — there’s a difference between big league pitching and minor league pitching, but he’s been able to face a lot of different styles of pitching in Triple-A — will continue to get him closer to coming to us.” If the Rockies were to promote Holliday, he’d be in line for his second stint as a member of the club, with which he began his career and thrived from 2004-08.

Health Notes: Martin, Bauer, Devers/Kinsler, Hicks, DeShields, Altuve, Helli/Stras, Wacha/Martinez

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In his latest column, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer calls it “unlikely” that outfielder Leonys Martin will play with the Indians again this season. A trade deadline pickup, Martin has been on the disabled list for more than a week after being diagnosed with a bacterial infection that, at one point, was considered to be life-threatening in nature. While all of baseball breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Indians announced that Martin was in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery, his absence puts Cleveland back in the same spot it was prior to acquiring him in late July. Michael Brantley is performing well again as the team’s regular left fielder, but the rest of the outfield mix is comprised by struggling rookie Greg Allen and poorly performing veterans Rajai Davis and Melky Cabrera. It seems reasonable to expect that the team will be on the hunt for additional outfield help between now and Aug. 31.

Here are some additional health updates from around the game:

  • Indians skipper Terry Francona says the club anticipates that breakout righty Trevor Bauer will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a fibula stress fracture, as T.J. Zuppe of The Athletic was among those to tweet. That’s obviously a huge disappointment for a pitcher who has emerged as one of the best in baseball this year. With the postseason beckoning, it’s also a big concern for the Cleveland ballclub. Of course, the team will not need to worry about the loss down the stretch with the division all but in hand. But it’ll certainly be interesting to see just how Bauer is brought along as the playoffs approach.
  • It was a mixed bag of injury news today for the Red Sox, who will send third baseman Rafael Devers to the 10-day disabled list while activating second bagger Ian Kinsler. No further roster moves will be necessary to accommodate the change. Devers is hitting the shelf for the third time in the last six weeks or so and it’s the second occasion as to which the hamstring is to blame. That said, it’s not clear that the organization really believes there’s cause for concern that Devers won’t be at full strength come October.
  • Tigers backstop John Hicks likely won’t make it back this year after requiring abdominal surgery, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press recently reported. That’s a disappointing turn for a player who has turned in a solid performance in a robust role this year. Hicks, who is nearing his 29th birthday, has hit within range of league average at the MLB level since landing in Detroit. While he has been miscast as a part-time first baseman, his offensive work is more than adequate for a time-sharing catcher.
  • The Rangers have placed center fielder Delino DeShields Jr. on the 10-day DL with a finger fracture. He suffered the break to the tip of his right middle finger. Drew Robinson will be recalled to take the roster spot. It has been a tough year at the plate for DeShields, who turned 26 just yesterday. He has swiped 18 bags on the year, but carries only a .204/.303/.272 slash over 348 plate appearances. As the Rangers look ahead to an offseason of uncertainty, they’d surely like to see DeShields in action as much as possible, so the hope will be that he can bounce back relatively quickly.
  • Elsewhere in Texas, the slumping Astros were glad today to get some promising injury reports. Outfielder George Springer was activated off of the 10-day DL, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter links). Meanwhile, star second bagger Jose Altuve will likely need a rehab stint but seems to be progressing from his knee issues. The ’Stros are trying to hold off a surprisingly strong challenge in the division.
  • Nationals righty Jeremy Hellickson is destined for his own DL stint, as Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com was among those to report. Fortunately, he’s dealing with a sprain rather than a break in his wrist, which was injured in a play at the plate. It seems the Nats are hopeful that Stephen Strasburg could be ready to return by Tuesday, when Hellickson was next scheduled to start. Losing Hellickson would only be the latest blow for an organization that has dealt with problem after problem in 2018. While it’s still not impossible to imagine a late surge, the Nats need all hands on deck to make a comeback plausible.
  • For the Cardinals, it has been all positives of late. But the team could still stand to get a few pieces back. In particular, righties Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez are on the come back trail. As MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets, Wacha is set to begin a rehab assignment in short order and Martinez is now working in a relief capacity in the minors. In the case of Martinez, the plan is for him to shift to the bullpen when he is ready to roll, which perhaps won’t be far off now that he’s pitching competitively.

NL Central Notes: Reds Front Office, Bryant, Cardinals, Kuhl

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The Reds are making some changes to their scouting and player development departments, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Scouting director Chris Buckley, who has been in charge of overseeing all aspects of the amateur draft, and director of player development Jeff Graupe have both been reassigned to new positions. It’s not yet clear how the Reds plan to address the new vacancies, with one Reds source telling Nightengale that the team has not yet determined whether it’ll look outside the organization for replacements or promote from within.

A bit more from the NL Central…

  • Though Kris Bryant’s absence has undoubtedly been longer than the Cubs had hoped, the slugger may not be on the shelf much longer. Manager Joe Maddon tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he expects Bryant back by September, which would give the former NL MVP a month to round into form in advance of a hopeful postseason run. Bryant feels he’ll need only three or four games on a minor league rehab assignment before he’s ready to return. It’s been a “down” season for Bryant, though only by his own lofty standards. Through 358 trips to the plate, he’s hitting .276/.380/.474 with 11 homers, 21 doubles and three triples.
  • Though some Cardinals fans in the past have clamored for third base coach Jose Oquendo to receive managerial consideration, Oquendo tells Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’s previously made it clear to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak that he’s not interested in managing. Going further, Oquendo emphatically threw his full support behind current interim skipper Mike Shildt, telling Frederickson that the Cardinals already have “the right guy” and that the front office should “decide now” and make Shildt the permanent manager. Oquendo raved to Frederickson about the manner in which Shildt prepares the team and works with the players.
  • The Pirates believe they’ll have righty Chad Kuhl back at some point in September, writes Kent Youngblood of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said the plan for Kuhl is to start a throwing program during the next homestand before moving up to a minor league rehab assignment. Kuhl hasn’t pitched since late June due to a forearm strain. It’s not clear just yet if there’ll be rotation work available for Kuhl, as the Buccos have Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Ivan Nova, Trevor Williams and Joe Musgrove in the starting five now, with Nick Kingham also in the wings in Triple-A. Kuhl tossed 85 innings earlier this season and worked to a 4.55 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 36.2 percent ground-ball rate in 16 starts.

Carlos Martinez Will Move To Bullpen For Rest Of Season

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The Cardinals have decided to utilize righty Carlos Martinez as a reliever down the stretch, as Peter Baugh of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was among those to report. Martinez has been sidelined with a shoulder strain.

Unsurprisingly, the move is expected only to be temporary. The idea seems to be that it would simply take too long to get Martinez back up to speed as a starter. By bumping him into the relief unit, he can perhaps make an impact down the stretch for the Cards before preparing to stretch back out next spring.

Martinez will first need to get back on the hill — and stay there. He has compiled 100 1/3 innings of 3.41 ERA pitching thus far this year, but has also dealt with a series of arm and back injuries that are fairly concerning in the aggregate. His average four-seam fastball is down a full tick from 2017, with his more-frequently utilized sinker falling 2.3 mph.

Surely, the Cardinals will exercise care in handling Martinez. The increasingly worrisome health situation takes place against the backdrop of a significant investment. Martinez remains under team control through 2023 under the extension he signed back in February of 2017, with a guaranteed $34.5MM due over the next three seasons before successive options priced at $17MM and $18MM (each of which come with $500K buyouts).

That’s not to say there isn’t also an interest in getting Martinez back in action as soon as possible. He hasn’t pitched in a relief capacity since he was still establishing himself in the majors, but clearly a pitcher of his abilities could make for a notable addition to the St. Louis bullpen. The Cards are still 2.5 games out of postseason position, but have played quite well of late and entered action today eight games over .500.

Cardinals Select Patrick Wisdom’s Contract

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The Cardinals announced that they’ve selected third baseman Patrick Wisdom’s contract from Triple-A Memphis. He’ll take the place of infielder Yairo Munoz on the Cardinals’ 25-man roster. Munoz landed on the 10-day disabled list with a right wrist sprain. To make room for Wisdom on its 40-man roster, St. Louis transferred reliever Luke Gregerson to the 60-day DL.

The 26-year-old Wisdom, whom the Cardinals chose in the first round (No. 52) of the 2012 draft, is finally in position to make his major league debut. Wisdom had been among the Redbirds’ top prospects in the few seasons after they drafted him, but his production and stock fell as he climbed the minor league ranks. To Wisdom’s credit, though, he mashed 31 home runs at Triple-A last season and returned this year to hit a solid .289/.363/.479 (119 wRC+) with 14 HRs in 405 trips to the plate en route to his first MLB promotion.

Latest On The Mets’ Front Office Plans

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3:01PM: “Several Mets officials” hope that Ben Cherington becomes a general manager, SNY.tv’s Andy Martino writes.  Cherington, the former Red Sox GM and current Blue Jays VP of player development, was recently cited as a potential candidate in reports.  While he recently said that he is happy with his job in Toronto, Cherington also said he’d be open to considering an opportunity to run a front office once more.  Josh Byrnes, however, may not be in the running, as he has told colleagues that he will likely remain in his current role as the Dodgers’ senior VP of baseball operations.

10:49AM: With Sandy Alderson unlikely to return as the Mets’ general manager in 2018, the team is beginning to lay the groundwork for its search for a new baseball operations leader.  Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that Cardinals director of player development Gary LaRocque is one of the early candidates “receiving consideration” from Mets ownership, though the GM hiring process won’t fully begin after the season since the Mets will need permission from rival teams to interview several candidates.

LaRocque is a known figure within the organization, having previously worked for the Mets from 1998-2008 as scouting director, director of player of development, and then as assistant general manager.  The 65-year-old LaRocque has never been a general manager, though he has over 40 years of experience in various front office roles, as a scout, and as a minor league coach and manager in the Dodgers’ farm system.  This track record of overseeing and developing young talent, as well as LaRocque’s familiarity with the Mets, make him a logical candidate for the team as it moves into what could be a mini-rebuild, though New York held off on dealing any of its true roster cornerstones (i.e. Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard) at the trade deadline.

LaRocque also has the sort of old-school front office resume that is reportedly the preference of Mets owner Fred Wilpon, as Puma writes that “the growing belief is Wilpon will look toward a more traditional baseball person” as the next general manager.  While more teams are increasingly turning towards younger executives with analytics backgrounds to run their baseball operations departments, as the 81-year-old Wilpon isn’t likely to hire the type of younger executive “with whom he would perhaps have difficulty connecting.”

This stance isn’t likely to be popular with Mets fans, who are already displeased with the team’s lack of recent success and the common perception that the Wilpon family takes too a heavy hand in the Mets’ day-to-day baseball operations.  Puma also notes that some Mets officials feel that the Alderson front office “became too analytics driven in recent seasons.”

Mets assistant GM John Ricco has long been considered to be a candidate to eventually take over the top job, and though he is still in the running, Puma reports that New York is “more likely” to hire its new general manager from outside the organization.  Ricco and special assistants J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya have been acting as a three-person management unit in Alderson’s absence, and it appears as though the trio will have at least some influence in the hiring process.  Minaya in particular “will have a strong voice in the search,” Puma hears from sources.

Central Notes: Martin, Cutch, Bucs, Hamilton, Carpenter

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The Indians announced today that recently acquired center fielder Leonys Martin is headed to the 10-day DL owing to a stomach ailment. It’s unclear at this point how long he’ll be sidelined, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian adds on Twitter. The club will surely hope the issue resolves itself in short order, as Martin is expected to play a significant role in the team’s outfield rotation down the stretch and into the postseason. The 30-year-old had been off to a productive start in his first six games in Cleveland.

Here’s more from the central divisions …

  • Bob Nightengale of USA Today took an interesting angle on the Pirates’ deadline moves recently, discussing them with former star Andrew McCutchen. The veteran outfielder, who was dealt to the Giants in the winter, said he was surprised that the Pittsburgh organization decided that this was the summer to push hard for improvements. It’s an interesting story, particularly for fans of these two clubs, in no small part because McCutchen discusses the feeling within the clubhouse of going through the trade deadline. Referring to his past experiences with the Bucs, he explained: “We felt we had a good team to compete, but then you see other teams making those moves, getting the key pieces to their team to make them stronger, and you feel like, “Dang, we’ve got to do something, too.'”
  • In a recent post with notes on several ballclubs, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic presents one potential explanation for the timing of the Pirates’ moves. (Subscription link.) He writes that an executive with another team posits that the acquisitions of Chris Archer and Keone Kela were driven in some part by the team’s slumping attendance. That’s not the case, per president Frank Coonelly, who says instead the swaps were made out of a “desire to improve the club for this 2018 stretch run and for the next several years.” Coonelly also cited prospect depth as a factor that enabled the maneuvers. That certainly seems to be a fair explanation, but there’s also little doubt that the team has an eye on the bottom line as well. As Rosenthal writes, perhaps there’s some evidence here of “the power of a disgruntled fan base to effect change.”
  • As Rosenthal further reports in that post, the Reds’ decisionmaking on center fielder Billy Hamilton continues to be influenced by the views of owner Bob Castellini, who has gone on record as a proponent of the exceedingly speedy but light-hitting player. Hamilton didn’t feature as a particularly likely August trade candidate regardless, though perhaps there’s some hypothetical plausibility to such a scenario. But the report suggests the organization may still be rather reluctant to part with the 27-year-old, who is set to enter his final season of arbitration eligibility after earning $4.6MM this year. Perhaps there’s still a way the front office can make this all work in a sensible manner. Hamilton, after all, is a useful MLB player — he’s a great defender and baserunner, and has at least been somewhat better historically against right-handed pitching — who is simply miscast in an everyday role. He could still make sense on what’s hoped to be a competitive 2019 roster, at least if the organization makes a supplemental addition in center and commits to leaning less heavily on Hamilton.
  • It seems like it was just yesterday we were preaching patience in response to chat questions from irate Cardinals fans about Matt Carpenter’s struggles. But a turnaround of this magnitude remains a surprise. As things stand, he’s among the most productive hitters in baseball — even including his meager opening performance — with a .281/.393/.598 slash and 31 home runs through 476 plate appearances. It’s a fascinating situation for a variety of reasons, to be sure. Carpenter himself evidently feels that way, too, as MLB.com’s Joe Trezza tweets. “It’s just not who I am,” says the 32-year-old Carpenter of his exploits. “It’s not who I was. It’s not the hitter I’ve ever been. I’m developing into somebody I’ve never dreamt of or tried to be like. I don’t have an explanation for it.”
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