The Cardinals have signed utilityman Taylor Motter to a major league deal, the club announced. In a corresponding active roster move, they optioned highly-touted rookie Jordan Walker to Triple-A Memphis.
Walker, one of the consensus top young talents in the sport, broke camp with the MLB club. He’s been passable if unexceptional through his first 78 plate appearances. He’d drawn plenty of attention for a season-opening 12-game hit streak that matched an MLB record for a player his age. Walker has collected hits in 16 of his 19 starts overall, though his game logs mostly consist of one-hit performances. He’s gotten to two hits on just four occasions and has yet to put up a three-hit game. Overall, the former first round draftee is hitting .274/.321/.397 with a pair of home runs in 20 contests. That offensive output is almost exactly league average, as measured by wRC+.
That’s certainly a respectable showing for a player who has yet to reach his 21st birthday. Many hitters Walker’s age are still in the low minors or in college. League average offense through his first three weeks in the majors is no small feat. That said, the organization clearly wasn’t enamored with some of the underlying indicators. He’s punched out 20 times while walking on just three occasions, with both marks checking in worse than league average. To his credit, Walker is hitting the ball with authority when he’s making contact, but he’s swung and missed at 16.4% of the pitches he’s seen. Only eight qualified hitters are whiffing more often.
St. Louis evidently feels he’s better served honing his pitch selection in Triple-A despite his solid overall results. Walker has never played a Triple-A game. He skipped right to the big leagues after a .306/.388/.510 showing in 119 Double-A contests. He’ll presumably continue to get everyday corner outfield reps in Memphis. Drafted as a third baseman, Walker has begun seeing more outfield time in deference to Nolan Arenado. Public defensive metrics have given him below-average marks in his limited body of MLB work (170 innings).
The Cardinals have given Walker the bulk of the right field time. Evidently, they’ll now turn the outfield over to some combination of Alec Burleson, Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill and Lars Nootbaar. Nootbaar is mashing but the rest of the group has been off to middling starts. Burleson and O’Neill have also posted roughly average numbers, while Carlson has limped to a .234/.294/.298 line.
While there are some legitimate concerns about Walker’s early statistical profile, the lack of overwhelming production from those competing for outfield reps makes this an eyebrow-raising decision from the Cards’ front office. St. Louis can point to performance concerns as justification for the move, but it’s at least likely to spur some questions from fans. It’s possible the demotion will wind up extending the Cardinals’ window of club control.
Had Walker played the entire season in the majors, he’d have picked up a full year of MLB service. That’d have put him on track to reach arbitration after the 2025 season and first hit free agency following the 2028 campaign. An optional stint lasting more than 20 days would delay the free agent trajectory unless Walker earns “bonus” service time by returning and securing a top two finish in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. Barring a surprisingly long stay in the minors, he’d likely still get to arbitration over the 2025-26 offseason as a Super Two player. The Cardinals were clearly comfortable enough with potentially burning a pre-arbitration season to carry Walker on the Opening Day roster; they’ve surprisingly started just 9-15 and currently sit at the bottom of the NL Central in spite of that move.
While the Walker demotion is the higher-profile transaction, it’s also surprising to see the Cardinals move so quickly to bring Motter back into the fold. St. Louis had designated the veteran utilityman for assignment over the weekend once Paul DeJong returned from the injured list. Motter cleared waivers but had the right to decline an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency. Reports this morning suggested he was prepared to stick in the organization, though perhaps that was with an understanding with club officials that he’d be brought back to the majors imminently.
In any event, Motter will rejoin the MLB roster. He joins DeJong as middle infield insurance behind Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman and primary designated hitter Nolan Gorman. The 33-year-old Motter has appeared in seven games this year, collecting four hits and two walks through 20 trips to the dish. He’s a career .192/.264/.310 hitter at the highest level.
Probably a good idea to give Walker time to work on things at Triple-A.
I’m still waiting for them to option John Mozeliak to AAA in lue of Jeff Luhnow
They want Walker to work on creating more lift? Where have I seen this before? So that instead of getting a hit on a groundball he will have popped out to shortstop instead
This makes no sense either
mlbtraderumors.com/2023/04/cardinals-outright-tayl…
They just outrighted Motter… the wheels on the bus go round and round
Does he still get a full year of service time regardless
Only if he wins ROY or only stays in minors for a few weeks this season. I would make sure he spends enough time there to avoid receiving a full year.
Nope. Under new rules, you either need 172 days of roster time OR to win one of the major awards(ROY).
Nope, unless he comes back up in the next couple weeks or so. This is exactly why I never understood teams trying service time manipulation at the beginning of the year when it was so obvious. There is almost always a time during a season when a rookie is struggling and can be sent down without setting off red flags. Even one that started out as well as Walker.
Ok all technically wrong if you read the article if he Sarah’s less than 20 days down there or if he finishes in too 2 NL ROY
What happened to walker, don’t follow the cards but saw he had a good hot streak to start the year.
Hitting hasn’t been the issue. The issue is he’s basically unplayable in right field
He needs to work on his defense but hitting most certainly was an issue…hit some singles but that’s about it and even now not to much of those…needs to work on defense and get some loft in his swing
Seriously! I just looked up his defensive stats and have to wonder how in the world can someone have -5 DRS in so few innings? Can he even see the ball when it’s hit his way or is Kris Bryant his mentor?
He’s in LAST place in the entire league in UZR. So yeah… defense is definitely a major issue.
Walker was hitting decently–nothing amazing, but given he hasn’t even played above AA and is 20 years old–pretty dang impressive.
Issue is he is last in the league in UZR and has like the 5th or 6th worst DSR. The glove is just NOT working out there right now. Let him get some reps in the OF plus everyday ABs, which he wasn’t getting in St. Louis.
At some point one of those outfielders is going to be moved with some other assets for an SP I imagine.
He’s drawing flies but ain’t snatchin’ ’em.
I thought Walker was the best thing since sliced bread? Seems like that was a quick hook. With all the OF’s they’re supposed to have I don’t get why they brought him up in the first place.
He may still be great. The same thing happened to Nolan Gorman last year after a hot start. Walker is still only 20 years old. He’ll be back and be an all-star level player.
I don’t expect my opinion to be popular, but Walker seems too “soft” to me. His frame makes people think he should smash (I know he had a high average exit velo) but his mindset seems more fit to blow bubbles and fly kites. Maybe that will change as he matures, only time will tell, but he doesn’t seem to have the “hunger” I expected.
Yeah, most people should have that by age 20 . . .
That is the reason he was sent back to AAA. He has an average of a 2% launch angle for balls in play. They want to utilize his power more and teach him to swing up more. According to Marmol and commentator Al Hrabosky.
I understand sending Walker back to Memphis. WTF on signing Taylor Motter? He’s not needed. Now bring up one of the AAA catchers and offload Kizner.
Quick hook I guess!!
What’s wrong with singles coming off the bat at 108 mph? Also, what’s wrong with a 475ft. Home Run? How many regulars have had a 12 game hitting streak this season? How many regulars currently have a .274 season batting average right now??? Who had the 2nd most RBI’s on the team when he was Demoted??
Every other week this season— Marmol does something to disrupt this cohesiveness. Seemingly with that purpose in mind.
No top starting pitching anywhere in the system??? Too many similar type, mediocre outfielders who could have been traded for a #1 or #2 starting pitcher in a package deal.
Mozeliak’s non-activity is Totally accountable for the lack of top Starting pitchers.
I seems the DeWitts are in over their head.
The annual National League contenders evidently have the money to spend toward filling their team’s obvious holes.
Dear Lord—- please hear the Cardinals Fans’ Prayer!!
Somewhere there is a Billionaire who loves the Cardinals, loves St. Louis and wants to buy the Team as a Write Off!!
Do you actually think ———-
Marmol, his current coaching staff (outside of Willie), or John Mozeliak would even be associated with the Cardinals after our Multi Billionaire finalizes purchasing the Cards and Banishing the DeWitts.
Meanwhile, the rest of the league licks their chops waiting for some Cardinals pitching.
Cardinals front office should all be fired. They knew their starting rotation was very weak and did nothing to address it.
Wainwright is like 60
Jack F is inconsistent and never healthy
Mikolas is no ace. A solid number 3
I’d be livid if I was a cardinals fan
Sure they did, their signed pitcher whisper Willson Contreras to replace Molina!
Flaherty is looking good actually…had a couple of rough starts but he is looking legit again…plus the cardinals problems aren’t just pitching…pitching is actually smoothing out…the offense just can’t hit with runners in scoring position…Goldy and Arenado aren’t hitting…that’s the problem…every one wants to blame pitching but they need to score runs
Cards are going to hit. That lineup is beyond deep. Goldy and Arenado are going to be fine. Maybe the deepest team in baseball offensively.
I think they have the least amount of quality starts out of any team. Some crazy stat like that.
Their rotation has the same amount of quality starts as Justin Steele… oh wait, Steele has more
Beyond deep? They’ve been shut out 3 times already.
The Cardinals rotation is absolutely horrible. Most of us knew it would be, “they” (FO) knew it would be, but all that really matters to them is for the turnstiles to keep spinning. In a boring state like Missouri, that’s pretty much inevitable. People keep talking about the “depth” our lineup has, but few people seem to realize they are not prime time performers. None of them, anywhere on the team. Maybe Gorman will be eventually, we’ll have to wait to see.
There were some doubts about the rotation, but it being horrible was completely unexpected, especially with Mikolas.
Goldschmidt, Arenado, and Contreras are absolutely “prime time performers,” O’Neill was as well just 2 years ago before he was hit with injuries last year, and Edman has also proven to be a very good player when you combine his offensive and defensive values. If Gorman keeps hitting like he has, his name also joins the list despite his poor defense.
If you say so, but my opinion differs. Just because O’Neill had one (1) red-hot September does not make him a “prime time performer”. I won’t forget about Goldschmidt falling apart for at least a month at the end of last season, once the pressure became real. I’m not the only person who thinks Arenado hasn’t done anything to prove he is a “ptp”. It takes more than one good season to prove a player’s real worth, and if they cave in under pressure, what good are they when it really matters? Eh, I’m wrong, you’re right, whatever.
As a Cubs fan, I can assure you Contreras is not a prime time performer. The guy typically only hits in the first inning and in blow outs and his handling of the pitching staff is horrendous. It’s not the least bit surprising to me that the Cubs, now have one of the best rotations in baseball since Wilco found himself a new home and equally unsurprising that the Cardinals rotation fell on hard times.
I find what Contreras did, going from a third baseman to a catcher in the minors, very impressive but the way Gomes handles a staff and how they react to him is night and day.
Arenado is an absolute stud, I don’t know why your opinion is sour in him.
I’m not really “sour” about Arenado, I think I’m realistic. I know he’s a good player most of the regular season, primarily defensively, and he’s rewarded with big bucks because of his accomplishments. But recently, there was an article on the official site about Arenado, and even the writer there (on the official site) acknowledged Arenado has his share of people who do not see him as “great” because of his late-season struggles. I thought the same well before I read that article, but it was nice to know there are plenty of people out there who know the game much better than I ever will, and they see the same things I do. I knew I’d get backlash for sharing my opinions here amongst the diehards, but I don’t mean to offend or upset anyone by stating them.
Goldschmidt looked so bad for about a month straight, he looked almost as bad as me up there trying to hit MLB pitching, missing balls by a foot or more one after the other. He won the MVP because of his achievements prior to last September, and I know I was one of the guys who worried he might have lost his first MVP because he struggled so bad for so long.
O’Neill had an entire red hot seaspn in 2021, not just a hot month! He even got MVP votes that year as well as his 2nd Gold Glove!
So Goldschmidt had one bad month in the last, what, 10 years? He’s a future Hall of Famer, and the other 5 months were so spectacular that he still won MVP. Oh, and he’s off to another hot start this year.
Arenado has had at least a very good season every year of his career to date except his rookie year and the shortened 2020! He then had his best year yet last year and has never caved under pressure. He’s likely to also join the Hall of Fame someday.
You are really blowing this one bad month thing completely out of proportion. Every great hitter has stretches when they’re off. The total numbers are what truly matter, which is why Goldy and Arenado were both fully deserving MVP finalists last year despite their poor September and likely future Hall of Famers. It also has no bearing on how good they are this year.
You are kinda misunderstanding me. I know Goldschmidt and Arenado are really good players most of the season, and they have been their entire careers. I also know O’Neill had a very solid season in 2021. I think the difference in our viewpoints is, I think prime time performers rise to the occasion when stakes are highest, under the most intense pressure, which does not happen most of the regular season. Of course, they can’t succeed every AB, but can be relatively consistent under the brightest lights. I don’t think any of the players we’ve talked about have done enough to prove they have that ability, but I admit, I don’t know know a lot about their years previous to being a Cardinal. And I also admit I could be wrong, I don’t know most of the numbers. I was just stating what I think based on what I see with my own eyes. The only team I care about is the Cardinals. I’ve always been that way. I don’t know or care about what happens around the rest of the league.
Cards problems have moved from the rotation to the bullpen. Then arenado and Goldy go dry on the west coast run. Nothing is clicking at the same time.
Exactly Del Griffith…was about to say the same thing…rotation isn’t looking that bad besides they do need to go deeper into games…Monty doing well and Flaherty is looking good…Matz usually has one bad inning but good besides that…but now the bullpen has fallen off so…if they can get everything clicking together then they will be fine…but that is seeming like an impossible task right now
As a cards fan this front office is a joke.
The starting pitching shouldn’t have been anywhere near this weak!
Mikolas should be a legitimate #1 starter or a #2 at worst with an ERA below 3.50 instead of becoming absolutely terrible out of nowhere.
Although their track records aren’t as strong, Matz and Woodford have also completely collapsed for no reason.
Montgomery has been much better than those 3, but he’s still significantly under-performing what should be expected of him.
Wainwright is still a decent pitcher at 41. He’s just been injured so far.
Meanwhile, Flaherty is finally healthy and the one starter who’s actually pitching well.
Hey let’s start his service clock despite already having too many OF. Brilliant!
Hey you know a demotion stops the clock right? Brilliant!
A MAJOR LEAGUE DEAL; Good for Taylor Motter, a good story of effort, endurance and persistence.
Foolish. Should have dumped Burleson another overrated Cardinal OF.. Great to see them fail again at player development.
It’s a good move. Cardinals had too many outfielders and he wasn’t performing. Get Tyler O’Neill in there full-time!
Cardinals ALWAYS have a lot of OF(Grichuk, Piscotty, Bader, etc) but the problem is most of them aren’t that good and very averagish.
Producing surplus averagish major leaguers is a good thing isn’t it? You can consolidate that into a piece you really need.
Cards get best of both worlds here. Send Walker down to AAA to avoid the service time and also get him work on his fielding.
Makes sense to do and I’m even a fan of StL.
Geez, I’m surprised nobody said “wow.”
Wow
We sign a utility player that we don’t need. And walker should have been hitting everyday to establish himself. I love my cardinals but Jose oquendo as manager would have brought whitey ball back to St Louis. However upper management always wants a manager they can control like a puppet
Whitey ball won’t work in small parks having grass fields. That team was tailored for the old larger Bush with artificial turf.
Once Nootbaar came back, it was impossible for Walker to hit everyday unless he’s in AAA as he is now.
Classic Cards
Manipulating service time?
Most teams play that game. I don’t know why the players don’t negotiate that out in the CBA. Seems like THAT might be something worth holding out for.
They did negotiate it into the CBA with the service time bonus for award winners. You just can’t address it directly, as teams will manipulate the deadline no matter when they put it.
Not really…Walker definitely needed to be sent down
They’ve ruined that singles hitting giraffe already.
There is something else here that you might be missing. Cards OPTIONED Motter so DeJong could be activated and he passed waivers. This happened 3 days ago. Why option a guy just to get dejong back and let him pass through waivers just to option walker and then sign matter after you already have him back on memphis…
Because they just now decided it was time to send walker down? What are you even saying
They “just now decided”? He hasn’t played much lately. They already knew…. the motter move makes zero sense unless they are packaging some things and making sure motter gets paid. Other than that it’s wasted steps
Eben past that, leave walker out of the equation…. why dfa a guy then sign him? He obviously wanst good enough over others to keep….
Nootbaar mashing? Have you seen any games. Walker hits a ton of singles and gets sent down. Nootbar hits has 3 extra base hits and, 5 singles and 11 walks. How is that mashing? You have to swing the bat to mash!
Nootbar has a .442 OBP and an .911 OPS lol he is doing just fine
His on base % is all from walks. Is histaric how all of baseball is up in arms with Juan Soto for having a high OBP from walking too much. He is literally costing himself 100’s of millions right, but Nootbaar doing the same exact thing is “mashing”. I will never understand why the fans fall in love with the players personality and ignore their actual talent.
I’m not saying I agree with the wording of “mashing” but I’m just pointing out he is doing well and the leadoff hitter…so he is doing his job of getting on base and is a great defender…he is a good player
He just became the lead off hitter. It’s been Edman, it’s been Donovan. Throw a dart it will be someone knew tomorrow. There is 19% chance of scoring from first with no outs. 13% with 1 out and 7% with 2 outs. There is a 15% chance of hitting a home run with no outs. Getting on 1st base isn’t all that valuable. Especially when the team hits the ball on the ground all the time.
You’re clearly a cardinals fan with insight to their team but there no such thing as “walking too much”.
I remember there were complaints about Joey Votto “walking too much” and Ichiro being “selfish” because he wasn’t hitting home runs and during BP he showed a lot of power. It’s ignorant. Players primary job is to get on base, not hit home runs.
I never understood the “walking too much” crowd and I really don’t understand a guy saying “walking too much” and “hits the ball in the ground too often” in the same comment. A hitter always says they go up to bat looking for something they can drive, barrel up, hit it on a line. If Nootbar, starts expanding his zone, is he going to barrel it up? No. He will have a higher likelihood of hitting the ball on the ground or having weak contact that will more often than not lead to outs.
It’s all about predictive run probably. A Player like Nootbaar has about the same chance of scoring from 1st as driving himself with a HR.
All I’m saying is Nootbaar isn’t mashing. He had never mashed. He walks at a 20% clip. And if your going to do that, you have to supplement it with a much higher BA so you can actually drive in runs and increase the chances of scoring more yourself. Walking too much means your not doing damage with the bat. While you might have a slightly higher chance of scoring from a walk, you have almost zero chances of driving in runs.
For example his walk in the 9th was statistically irrelevant last night. He would have helped himself more though by swinging the bat and trying to pick up some RBI. They har a zero win probability at that point because there were already two outs and Goldschmidts was the tying run. However Goldschmidt was already 4-4 and 5-5 is extremely rare. Best chance for win there was for a Nootbaar double and the Giants then walking Goldschmidt.
Point being, Nootbaar is a league average player +/- 1 standard deviation. He is not the impactful players fans claim him to be. He is certainly no where near Ichiro.
baseballwithr.wordpress.com/2020/12/21/summarizing…
Actually, a player on first with two outs has a .24 run expectancy. Nootbar averages one home run in every twenty five at bats, so no. He does not in fact have the same run probability of hitting a home run and scoring from first base regardless of outs per inning.
But furthermore, how likely is it for a guy to hit a pitch not in the strike zone out for a home run? Which goes back to my point, don’t make contract, swing at bad pitches for the sake of making contact.
Lastly, the Dumbest thing you can do, period, is take the bat out of the hand of the reigning MVP. That is just a terrible terrible take. 4/4? You mean he is seeing the ball extremely well and confidence is sky high and again, reigning MVP and in your mind the best chance to win was for him not to hit?
However, getting the leadoff man on increases the odds of scoring *multiple* runs instead of just one. That’s especially valuable when you’re losing by multiple runs in the 9th inning.
Meanwhile, you absolutely fail at statistics, as Goldschmidt’s previous performance does not decrease his chances at the plate in his next at bat. If anything, going for 4-4 previously in the game actually inceased his chances of getting on base, as it’s likely he was in a groove, seeing the ball well, etc.
You’re saying “statistically” when you mean “my opinion is”. You have no statistical data to support your opinion and actually the statical data contradicts it.
You say Nootbar is league average, his WAR suggests he is better than league average. He is already a half game better than league average this seasons and a win better than Walker. His OPS+ last season was 26% above league average.
You claim his walk was meaningless then contradict that statement again by admitting it brought up the tying run to the plate. You say he would have been better off hitting a double, duh, but he would actually have to hit that double and considering he walked, that means he would have to chase off the plate which actual statistics show that the odds of him barreling that pitch is significantly decreased.
Also, it’s important to an offense to not just to take walks but to see pitches. Make pitchers, especially in relief, throw a lot of pitches so up coming hitters can see what he is working with.
So statically you are wrong and when it comes to the nuances of baseball, you are wrong again.
You know half of the equation for OPS is OBP right? An OBP 120 points a live your BA is not a good thing when your BA is sub .250. Go back to ‘21, he was only 3% above leave average in OPS+, why? Because he walked at half his ‘22 rate. I have lots of stats, not just opinions. But its a bit more complex than looking at a single data aggregation on baseball-reference. it’s multivariant and I don’t give it away for free. Nootbaar does it score well when pitchers simply put the ball in the strike zone.
The whole team needs to learn a new swing and put the ball in the air. They go up there with a ground ball, station to station approach.
Nootbar has played in 10 games.
Exactly. In that shirt of a sample size a players slugging % is extremely exaggerated on the high side. He’s one 0-4 game from his BA, OBP and Slug all dropping 50 points a la Carlson.
Did you miss the part where Nootbaar missed half the month on the IL? Of course his counting numbers are relatively low!
Do you know who Lars Nootbaar is? He’s Jeremy Hazlebaker. Remember him? Maybe, not really? Same thing for Nootbaar. You won’t remember him either in a few seasons. The CRidbals always have a Nootbaar/Hazelbaker on the team, they all get fans stroking over them and they all end up the same. Overhyped and ultimately forgettable.
I know he is an MLB player and you aren’t…so?
True facts, but we’re not as far apart as you think. Did you notice his OPS dropped 77 points tonight? Average dropped 28, OBP dropped 25. From all that mashing. Don’t forget the blunder in CF as well. But he’s charismatic and that’s all that really matters.
You have to be the most dense person I’ve ever seen on the internet. Good job
Nootbaar has previously hit well for a half season in both 2021 and 2022. That’s still much more of a track record than Hazlebaker ever had.
Saw a Cardinals and Pirates game early in the season and Walker looked outmatched by the Pirates pitchers, might need a good couple months down in Triple A to work on his approach. Still very talented and he’s not even 21 years old.
I think this has less to do with Walker’s performance and more to with the team’s underperformance. The plan for Walker was to bury him at the bottom of the lineup to take the pressure to perform off of him while adjusted to major league pitching. Which was fine so long as the rest of the team was performing. That didn’t happen though. The whole team has struggled. It’s hard to hide a rookie trying to learn on the job in a struggling lineup.
The other factor here I think is Nolen Gorman. He’s turned into an everyday DH. That’s forced Burleson into an already crowded outfield contest. Someone needed to go. And in this case the past of least resistance is the rookie who skipped AAA.
The oddest part this whole thing though is Motter. DFA’d and resigned in a matter of days. Very odd.
I think it has everything to do with his defensive performance.
It’s not just offensive concerns, you know. He’s been terrible defensively to where even Burleson is a decent improvement on the grass, and the other 3 guys are in a different league defensively.
On top of that, it’s better for him to get everyday at bats rather than fight with 4 other guys for playing time at mostly 3 different positions (with Gorman and resting the veterans taking up the bulk of DH duty).
Needed to go down. Too many 1-4, 0-4 games with just a single and 0 bb’s.
Way to high (over 60%) ground ball rate for guy 6’5″ 250.
Needs to learn a different swing that’s not so flat. Gotta get the ball in the air with barrel.
Also needs to learn RF. Never played it before coming to the bigs. -2 DRS in only a month is terrible. As a comparison, Juan Soto (not a great defender) is -9 for his CAREER.
Work on things, get confidence and be back post ASB and see where he’s at.
Not just a defense problem, though that is a major reason why he is being sent down… but if he were hitting, he’d still be here. He has had problems identifying pitches from what I’ve seen. When he’s caught looking you can just tell the confidence isn’t there.
Work on defense, get every day at bats and hopefully the confidence will be back later this season.
And maybe something positive will happen with our pitching then too.
Walker will benefit by going to Memphis for a while because it will get him away from the current losing environment in the Cardinals clubhouse. .
Nootbaar mashing? They guy is one of the most overrated players in the game.
People always freak out about having a rookie make the roster on Opening Day. Maybe Walker will lead to a higher number of deserving rookies breaking camp with the team. The player doesn’t need to be sent down at the beginning of the year. It can happen at any time.
He probably does need to go down and work on some things, but Taylor Motter? Taylor freaking Motter!! Does he have pictures of a man wearing a bowtie with a prostitute? Probably would have been a good time to get Yepez up and get him some at bats to find out where he fits going forward.
This has been the same old story for years, this year is a joke, worst record in May, last place!!! Wake up Oli has lost the clubhouse. Start with firing him, then the front office Dewitts need to sell the team or or get aggressive
Motter looks like my plumber but with grosser hair.
Let’s be honest about what happened. When mom and dad are fighting you try and remove the kids from seeing it and the toxicity. The players look like they are ready to fight, it sure if it’s with themselves or with another team. The manager is lost and taking a ton of heat. So yeah, get the kid out. Memphis is winning, so send the kid to grandmas’s to play with his cousins. Can’t have him start to resent the organization this early in his career.
Huge Cardinal fan here, but man they are all over the place. Trade deadline last year Carlson was CF of future and untouchable, then somehow starts the year as 4th OF.
Handling of O’Neill’s hustle was abhorrent, absolutely abhorrent.
Bringing Motter back is a mistake, now we are heavy with IF. Would rather have seen them bring up Libatore and put some pressure/competition on current SP – plus we need more pitching since SP cant get past 5th inning, bullpen already logging too many innings.
DeWitt is 7th wealthiest owner in MLB worth billions of $$, yet always seems to find a reason why one of the longest and most storied franchise can’t spend like the big boys bc of “market size”.
DeWitt this is your hobby not your revenue stream, spend like you actually want to win instead of continuing to “just get a shot by making the playoffs”.
It’s not DeWitt. Never has been. It’s Mo. he’s the smartest person in baseball and has spend the last 12 years trying to debunk the belief that TLR was really calling the shots on roster and player acquisitions. Except as every year goes by, the belief grows in strength. The money has always been there, but you also have to realize Mozalak gets incentive off over bottom line profitability. Why would he take money out of his own pocket to sign players when it makes no difference in additional revenues to offset the increased expense?
This team is definitely broken at the moment. Not beyond repair certainly, but it’s in rough shape and needs immediate attention.
Walker was way overhyped. People always take these first 4-10 games in a year and if a guy is hitting .077 they don’t really worry, but if a guy is hitting .377 they act like he’s anointed. Walker had that kind of .377 type start to the first week and a half of the season and they thought he was a lock to stay up.
I’ve learned to not read too much into the first month of a season. For the most part, the first month of a season is not indicative of how the entire year will play out.
Words of wisdom.
Probably gonna showcase the current outfield starters for a possible trade while that is happening give Walker some more at bats and experience against pitchers that are above double A
This Makes absolutely No Sense!!
Just another brilliant Morale Buster, for the entire Cardinals team!!!
Marmol, Mozeliak and the entire DeWitt Family seemingly —are deliberately trying to break the backs of this 2023 team!!!
Lordy—— It was Shear stupidity exemplified!!
Mozeliak stated himself the Cardinals needed a top no