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Carlos Martinez

Cardinals Sign Luis Garcia

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The Cardinals announced Friday that they’ve signed free-agent righty Luis Garcia to a Major League contract. He’ll take the 26-man roster spot of Johan Oviedo, who was optioned to Triple-A Memphis yesterday. Carlos Martinez has been moved to the 60-day injured list in order to create a roster spot.

Garcia, 34, spent the first part of the season in the Yankees organization and pitched well for their Triple-A affiliate before being granted his release a couple days ago. In 17 1/3 frames with Scranton, he pitched to a 3.63 ERA with a 27.5 percent strikeout rate and a 4.3 percent walk rate.

While Garcia didn’t make it to the big leagues with the Yankees, he’s racked up 315 innings across parts of eight Major League seasons — mostly coming with the Phillies. From 2013-18, Garcia was an oft-used member of the Philadelphia bullpen, pitching to a 4.15 ERA over the life of 244 2/3 innings. His age-30 season, in particular, was an excellent campaign that saw the righty post a career-best 2.65 ERA in a career-high 71 1/3 innings.

Garcia has struggled in the three seasons since that outstanding effort, however, posting a combined 5.26 ERA and 4.94 FIP with the Phillies, Angels and Rangers in that time. He’ll look to right the ship with his fourth big league organization and also give the Cards some depth at a time when their pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries.

Martinez’s move to the 60-day injured list comes just two days after he was placed on the 10-day IL, so he’ll spend the remainder of the 2021 season on the shelf. A lengthy absence was expected to be in store for the right-hander, however, given that he tore a ligament in his right thumb. Martinez has had a roller coaster of a season, pitching to a 6.23 ERA overall, but the overwhelming bulk of the damage against him has been confined to a pair of starts: a 10-run drubbing by the Dodgers on June 2 and an eight-run meltdown in Atlanta just two starts later.

Outside of those two starts, Martinez has been a serviceable member of an increasingly injury-marred Cardinals rotation. He has a combined 4.46 ERA in his other 14 outings and has at the very least kept the Cards in the game more often than not. He’ll now join Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas on the injured list, however, leaving the Cardinals with just three starters on the roster at the moment: Adam Wainwright, Kwang Hyun Kim and Wade LeBlanc.

Rotation upgrades figure to be the main focus for the Cards as the July 30 trade deadline approaches — at least if they don’t pivot the other direction and sell off some veteran pieces.

Cardinals Place Carlos Martinez On Injured List

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The Cardinals have placed right-hander Carlos Martínez on the 10-day injured list with a right thumb injury. Outfielder Lars Nootbaar has been recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take his spot on the active roster.

It seems Martínez could be looking at a rather significant absence, as manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that imaging revealed a ligament tear in his thumb. While Martínez had been with the team in San Francisco, he’s now being sent back to St. Louis for further evaluation.

This continues what has been a disappointing season for Martínez. While he’d previously stayed healthy enough to make 16 starts and tally 82 1/3 innings, he’s simply not been particularly effective. Martínez has only managed a 6.23 ERA/5.14 SIERA, striking out just 15.7% of opponents while walking 9.9%. It’s the second straight poor year from Martínez, who had previously looked like a rotation cornerstone after posting high-end numbers from 2015-18 and performing well out of the bullpen in 2019.

Martínez becomes the latest Cardinals starter to go down with injury. St. Louis is already without Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas, and they entered the season knowing they’d go the entire year without Dakota Hudson. The Cards front office had already been known to be prioritizing starting pitching, and Martínez’s injury only adds to that urgency.

At 43-44, the Cardinals sit eight games back of the Brewers in the National League Central. They’re almost equally far back of the Padres in the Wild Card race, with the 45-41 Reds also ahead of them in the pecking order. Given that outlook, it’s arguable the Cardinals should instead turn their attention to 2022 and consider moving some players off the big league roster for young talent rather than adding.

Nevertheless, it seems the current plan for St. Louis is still to try to make a run in 2021. Robert Murray of FanSided wrote this morning — even before news of Martínez’s IL stint — that the Cardinals were expected to look to add a starting pitcher or two and perhaps another position player before the July 30 trade deadline. Given the Cardinals’ place in the standings, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has spoken about not wanting to mortgage the farm system to win at all costs this year. That could suggest St. Louis will be more in the mix for veteran stabilizers to plug into the back of the rotation rather than targeting a controllable, mid-rotation type.

Injury Notes: Bellinger, McKinstry, Martinez, Velasquez, Wacha

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Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry will each begin Triple-A rehab stints today, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Juan Toribio and other reporters.  Bellinger played in just four games this season before suffering what was originally thought to be a left calf contusion, but later diagnosed as a hairline fracture in his left leg.  Considering the long layoff, Bellinger’s rehab stint figures to be more than just a game or two, but the team didn’t put any sort of timeline on a potential return.

McKinstry went on the 10-day injured list on April 23 due to a right oblique strain, which interrupted a very impressive start to the season for the rookie utilityman.  McKinstry had a .296/.328/.556 slash line and three home runs over his first 58 plate appearances, and saw time at four different positions (second base, third base, both corner outfield spots).  Getting both Bellinger and McKinstry back soon will be an enormous help to a Dodgers team that has already had even its considerable depth tested by a long list of injuries.

More on some other injury situations around baseball…

  • The Cardinals announced that Carlos Martinez has been activated from the 10-day injured list, and the righty will start tonight’s game against the Cubs.  Martinez was (retroactively) placed on the IL with a right ankle injury on May 9, so he’ll end up missing only slightly more than the minimum 10 days.  Martinez has managed a 4.35 ERA over 41 1/3 innings this season despite one of the game’s lowest strikeout rates (12.6%) and a very unflattering set of Statcast numbers.
  • Vince Velasquez was scratched shortly before his scheduled start last night against the Marlins, as Velasquez felt numbness in his index finger.  “It was very hard for me to even grip the ball,” Velasquez told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury and other reporters, though he is “not worried at all” and expects to make his next start.  Phillies manager Joe Girardi was rather less certain, calling the issue “something that we’re concerned about.”  Velasquez previously underwent surgery in 2017 to correct a numbness problem in his right middle finger, and that same finger had a brief bout of numbness this past weekend, he said.  Since moving back into the Phils’ rotation on April 23, Velasquez had posted a 2.84 ERA and 26.4% strikeout rate over 25 1/3 innings, helping add some stability to the back end of the Philadelphia staff.
  • Rays right-hander Michael Wacha is expected to return soon from the 10-day injured list, likely during the club’s four-game series with the Blue Jays that begins tonight.  Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com’s Adam Berry and other reporters that Wacha looked good during a simulated game on Wednesday.  Right hamstring tightness sent Wacha to the IL on May 4, after he’d posted a 4.76 ERA in his first 28 1/3 innings of the season.  Despite a 4.06 SIERA, advanced metrics aren’t friendly overall to Wacha, who is allowing a ton of hard contact and has a .400 xwOBA that soars above his .317 wOBA.

NL Central Notes: Moran, Brewers, Baez, CarMar

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Colin Moran left in the first inning of today’s 3-2 Pirates loss to the Cubs, as Moran experienced some left groin discomfort while making a play at first base.  Moran snagged a line drive and then dove at the bag in an attempt to double Willson Contreras off of first base.  Moran is officially day-to-day, and an injured-list placement would cost the Pirates their top offensive performer of the last two seasons.

Moran is hitting .297/.352/.468 with four home runs thus far in 2021.  Given the forgettable state of his hard-hit ball numbers, it’s safe to say Moran has benefited greatly from his .392 BABIP, though he has been an above-average hitter (103 wRC+, 104 OPS+) since coming to Pittsburgh prior to the 2018 season.  Moran has seen almost all of the action at first base this season, and Todd Frazier is probably the likeliest candidate to fill in should Moran indeed require an IL stint.

More from the NL Central…

  • The Brewers have been hit hard by injuries this season but they’re finally starting to get some better health news.  Catcher Manny Pina (left toe fracture) returned to the lineup today after being sidelined since April 27, while southpaw Brett Anderson (right hamstring strain) is expected to start on Sunday for his first action since April 23.  Manager Craig Counsell also told MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince and other reporters that Corbin Burnes will throw a bullpen session on Monday and in all likelihood return to the rotation during the Brewers’ upcoming homestand against the Cardinals and Braves.  Burnes was placed on the IL for unspecified reasons on April 29 but the ace looks to make a fairly quick resumption of a possible Cy Young Award-caliber season.  Over 29 1/3 innings, Burnes has a 1.53 ERA and 49 strikeouts, and he has yet to issue a walk.
  • Javier Baez also left today’s Pirates/Cubs game in the seventh inning due to lower back tightness, though it was a “precautionary” removal, as Cubs manager David Ross told NBC Sports Chicago’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters.  “I saw him moving a little bit stiff out there…He just wasn’t moving well, and it doesn’t make sense to push him there,” Ross said.  Baez reported some improvement with his back even after the game ended, though since the Cubs aren’t playing on Monday, it wouldn’t be surprising if Baez is rested on Sunday to give him some extra recovery time.
  • The Cardinals recorded a 9-8 victory over the Rockies today, despite a very shaky outing from Carlos Martinez that saw the starter allow five runs on six hits and five walks over five innings pitched.  After the game, Martinez told Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat (all Twitter links) and other reporters that he was pitching on a twisted ankle.  Manager Mike Shildt said trainers tested Martinez prior to the game and gave him the green light to make the start, and Martinez believes he’ll be ready for his next scheduled start.  The injury occurred during Friday’s game, Martinez said, as he hurt his ankle while standing on the dugout steps to high-five Jack Flaherty after Flaherty hit a home run.

Rockies, Cardinals Discussing Nolan Arenado Trade

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7:56pm: St. Louis is “pushing hard” for Arenado and “very determined” to get him, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

10:20am: While Arenado has been oft-connected to the deep-pocketed Mets on a speculative basis, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the two sides are not in talks at this time.

9:15am: Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post also reports that while there have been talks, there’s no trade close at this time. He adds that Arenado’s shoulder “has fully healed” after bothering him throughout much of the 2020 season. Those in need of a refresher on last year’s public tension between Arenado will want to check out Saunders’ piece for various quotes given by Arenado at the time, all of which add context to this new chapter in the saga.

8:10am: The Cardinals have been linked to Nolan Arenado for years now, but they’re once again in talks with the Rockies about a trade that would send the star third baseman from Colorado to St. Louis, Ken Rosenthal and Nick Groke of The Athletic report. The Braves also spoke to the Rockies about Arenado, it seems, but those talks haven’t gone anywhere.

Acquiring Arenado would be a considerable about-face for a Cardinals club that, up until yesterday, hadn’t shown any signs of spending this winter. The Cards declined a $12.5MM club option on Kolten Wong and have been in a months-long staredown with franchise icons Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright despite both having a clear preference to return to St. Louis. The first hint of a change came last night though, when the Cards agreed to bring Wainwright back on a one-year deal worth $8MM. Prior to that, reports had indicated that the Cardinals were offering Wainwright less than the $5MM guarantee he received in 2020.

An Arenado acquisition would represent a considerably more seismic shift in their otherwise reserved approach. Arenado is owed $199MM over the next six seasons and, next winter, would be able to opt out of the remaining five years and $164MM on that contract if he desires.

Among the most sensible contracts for the Cardinals to try to send back to the Rockies to help offset some of that financial hit would be infielder Matt Carpenter ($20.5MM in 2021, including $2MM buyout of next year’s option), Dexter Fowler ($16.5MM in 2021, including deferred signing bonus) or Carlos Martinez ($12MM in 2021, including $500K buyout of 2022 option). St. Louis would clearly need to send prospect value to Colorado as well, and it should be emphasized that trading either Carpenter or Fowler could prove difficult. Both have full no-trade protection.

Arenado has a full no-trade clause of his own, though Rosenthal and Groke suggest he’d “likely” waive it for a move to the Cardinals and might even be willing to push back the opt-out provision in order to facilitate a deal. Arenado has been vocal in the past about the desire to play for a contender and has publicly expressed frustration with Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich, whom he has called “very disrespectful.” Were the Rockies winning, perhaps the rift between player and GM could be overlooked, but the Rox have been one of the least-competitive clubs in the NL West for the past two seasons and have done nothing to add to the club this winter.

Lining up on an Arenado trade is complicated for a number of reasons. Beyond the no-trade clause and the huge amount of money still owed to the eight-time Gold Glover, he’s also coming off the worst showing of his career at the plate. The downturn could potentially be attributable to a shoulder injury he battled in 2020, but the results were still somewhat troubling.

Arenado hit .253/.303/.434 (76 wRC+) this past season — a mark that is miles away from the .295/.351/.546 (120 wRC+) batting line that he carried into the 2020 campaign. If the Cardinals or another club believe that Arenado’s struggles were indeed due to that balky shoulder, perhaps the dip in production can be overlooked. Then again, there has to be some level of concern about the injury troubles persisting. Arenado turns 30 in April.

From a payroll vantage point, the Cardinals owe Paul Goldschmidt $26MM in each of the next four seasons, and they’ll pay Miles Mikolas $17MM in each of the next three. Those are the two main salaries on the books, however, and the rest of the long-term slate is relatively clean. Taking on the full freight of Arenado’s current salary would vault the Cardinals’ 2021 payroll up into the $165MM range, although if they can unload a pricey veteran of their own onto Colorado as part of the deal, that sum could fall more in the $145-155MM range. The Cards were willing to spend at that level each year from 2016-19, so there’s precedent, although owner Bill DeWitt Jr. has also been vocal in dubiously claiming baseball to be a less-profitable industry than most realize. The extent to which he’ll spend on the heels of a season with zero gate revenue is still up for debate.

Adding Arenado to the fray would give the Cards about $85MM in commitments in both 2022 and 2023. It’d also bump their 2024 commitments to about $61MM, all going to a pair of what will then be mid-30s corner infielders (Arenado and Goldschmidt). Whether investing that type of coin in a pair of sluggers’ mid-30s is the best use of resources is debatable, but in the short-term, the club would be better off for the move (assuming a healthy Arenado).

That’s particularly true in 2021, where the entire NL Central has been more focused on making their current rosters worse, in order to reduce payroll, than on actually making an effort to win in the upcoming season. The Cubs reportedly agreed to a deal with Joc Pederson this morning, but they’ve also traded away Yu Darvish, non-tendered Kyle Schwarber and explored trades of other key veterans. The Reds dumped Raisel Iglesias’ salary and non-tendered Archie Bradley. The Brewers have yet to add anyone of particular note, and the Pirates are of course in the midst of an aggressive tear-down as their latest rebuild kicks into full gear.

As written here before, the NL Central appears open for the taking to whichever of the Cardinals, Cubs, Reds or Brewers decide they want to be aggressive enough to seize it. An Arenado trade for the Cardinals would certainly fall into that category.

Latest On Cardinals’ Free Agents

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At the outset of the offseason, it seemed plausible to imagine a world in which Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, and Kolten Wong would return to the team without ever really testing free agency. Instead, Wainwright and Molina eschewed quick reunion deals in favor of market exploration and the club declined its option over Wong.

As Spring Training closes in, the fates of all three players remain unknown. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch updates the market situation of these St. Louis stalwarts.

Wainwright is unsurprisingly drawing a good amount of interest, it seems. Goold says that the veteran righty is sitting on multiple offers, including one from the upstart Padres. Details remain unknown — including how the San Diego team would propose to fit him in a loaded rotation mix. Neither is it clear how strongly Wainwright is considering alternative destinations at this point.

The Cards are still pursuing both Wainwright and Molina, per Goold, having extended “updated offers” to each player. There’s no further word as to whether the longtime teammates are coordinating in a bid to land in the same place, as they’ve discussed previously.

It’s quite a different situation with respect to Wong, who enjoyed a quality run with the Cardinals but doesn’t have quite the organizational standing of the aforementioned legends. The second bagger has reportedly had contact with his former employer, but it’s far from clear that they’re headed for a reunion. Goold writes that the club has “not actively pursued” a new deal with Wong.

The Cards remain in a somewhat odd situation on the heels of a good-but-not-great season. The org hasn’t had a losing season since 2007, has quite a bit of talent on hand, and has a tantalizing opportunity to capitalize on an NL Central division that may be the game’s weakest. At the moment, though, the club is taking an outwardly passive approach to the offseason.

The above-linked article contains further exploration of the situations. It also features updates on the winter ball action of Molina and key righty Carlos Martinez.

Cardinals Set Wild Card Roster; Carlos Martinez Shut Down For Season

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The Cardinals announced their first-round postseason roster Wednesday, which does not include right-hander Carlos Martinez. The 29-year-old Martinez sustained an oblique strain late in the season and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters today that Martinez has been shut down for the year and returned home to the Dominican Republic. Martinez struggled mightily this season anyhow, yielding more than a run per inning, so a spot on the postseason roster might not even have been a given. He’ll hope for better health and results in 2020, and in the meantime cheer on the following Cardinals roster as they take on the fourth-seeded Padres:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

It was a trying regular season for the Cardinals, who overcame a two-week layoff during the summer that resulted from coronavirus issues. Despite having to race to catch up to the rest of the league in games played, the Cardinals managed to come in at above .500 yet again, finishing 30-28 en route to the fifth seed in the NL. The Cards will go into their series against San Diego with a “downsized” pitching staff, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes, but they could turn to Oviedo, Ponce de Leon and Gomber for multi-inning appearances out of their bullpen if needed.

Dakota Hudson Could Require Surgery

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It’s already known that Cardinals righty Dakota Hudson won’t pitch again in 2020 after being placed on the 45-day IL due to a forearm strain, but it sounds as though there’s mounting concern regarding the injury. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals have been exploring both treatment and surgical options, and colleague Rick Hummel writes separately that surgery “seems a very probable option.”

Hudson exited his Sept. 17 start after just two innings, and while manager Mike Shildt at the time called his level of concern “very low,” additional testing has forced him to change his tune. “I would like to be able to tell you it’s fantastic news, but I can’t say that’s going to be the case,” Shildt told reporters yesterday (via Goold). Hudson was known to be seeking additional opinions on the injury this week. It’s not yet clear what type of procedure — if any at all — would be required, but the Cards figure to have an update on the right-hander’s status before too long.

The obvious hope is that Hudson will be able to avoid going under the knife. Surgery is always a last resort and typically requires months-long rehabilitation efforts. The Cards’ 2021 rotation is already a bit murky thanks to injuries elsewhere — Miles Mikolas underwent flexor tendon surgery earlier this year — and the fact that Adam Wainwright is a free agent at season’s end.

Also muddying next year’s rotation picture are the enormous struggles that Carlos Martinez has endured in 2020. The former St. Louis ace returned to the rotation after spending the ’19 season in the bullpen but has been hammered for 22 earned runs on 26 hits and 10 walks through just 20 innings of work. Martinez’s season formally came to a close this week when an oblique strain landed him on the injured list, but there have been additional health concerns at play for the righty.

Martinez, who has asthma that hospitalized him for a night late last season, went to the emergency room for IV treatment three or four times while battling the coronavirus, per MLB.com’s Anne Rogers. Shildt suggested that Martinez was “affected by COVID probably more than anybody in this league” and was at one point “concerned about his own personal well-being and livelihood.” It’s admirable that he gutted out a return to the mound but also perhaps not surprising that he struggled to this extent given the apparent severity of his symptoms.

In a best-case scenario, both Martinez and Hudson will be ready to join Jack Flaherty, Mikolas and Kwang Hyun Kim on the Cardinals’ staff early next year — if not on Opening Day. But the health concerns surrounding both hurlers should give the Cards more incentive to explore yet another reunion with Wainwright and/or pursue additional depth options on the free-agent market.

Cardinals Place Carlos Martinez On IL With Oblique Strain

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The Cardinals have placed right-hander Carlos Martinez on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain and recalled righty Johan Oviedo, per a team announcement.

With oblique injuries often leading to weeks-long absences, this figures to end the season for Martinez, who has logged all five of his 2020 appearances out of the Cardinals’ rotation after working from their bullpen a year ago.

While Martinez was a high-end starter earlier in his career, opposing offenses have smashed the 29-year-old for a 9.90 ERA/6.88 FIP in 20 innings this season. Martinez has easily posted career-worst strikeout and walk rates along the way, having logged 7.65 K/9 and 4.65 BB/9, respectively. And Martinez has averaged under 93 mph on his fastball – far below the 95-96 mean he has typically recorded.

The Cardinals, who are 27-26, do have their next five starters lined up, with Kwang Hyun Kim, Jack Flaherty, Daniel Ponce de Leon, Adam Wainwright and Austin Gomber scheduled to take the mound in their upcoming matchups. Regardless of how their season ends, though, the Cardinals will owe Martinez $11.5MM in 2021. That would have looked like a bargain price not long ago, but that’s not the case with the way he has performed this year.

Latest On Carlos Martinez, Dakota Hudson

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When the Cardinals drew up their season plans way back before the start of Spring Training, they surely envisioned Carlos Martinez and Dakota Hudson playing significant roles on the pitching staff. That’s not quite how things turned out, though the club is still quite likely headed for the postseason.

The embattled Martinez was pulled from his start tonight with what the team is describing as a mid-back strain. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was among those to cover the developments on Twitter.

Martinez was ultimately charged with eight earned runs, leaving him with an unsightly 9.90 ERA on the season. The prognosis remains to be seen, but it’s fair to wonder regardless whether he will play a significant role in the postseason (should the Cards qualify).

Martinez, who already missed a big chunk of the campaign owing to coronavirus infection, will earn $11.5MM next year before the club makes a call on the first of two club options. The Cards might conceivably shop him in the offseason, though contractual circumstances may instead dictate an effort at a rebound in St. Louis.

As for Hudson, it was already known that he’d miss the remainder of the year with a forearm injury. As Anne Rogers of MLB.com covers via Twitter, Hudson’s outlook beyond that point remains to be seen.

The outcome of an initial medical review isn’t known. Hudson is due for a second opinion on his wounded wing, with a decision on treatment to ensue.

Before the health issues intervened, Hudson had been humming. Through 39 frames over eight starts, he carried a 2.77 ERA. Despite marginal K/BB numbers, Hudson has throughout his young career induced loads of groundballs and outperformed ERA estimators.

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