No doubt you’ve heard it said that the Cardinals have gone through quite a few outfielders in recent years. That puts it mildly. The organization is now awaiting the readiness of top prospect Dylan Carlson, with hopes that he’ll not only blossom into a star but bring some long-term stability.
Churning through players isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Every deal is an opportunity, of course. But it’s quite remarkable how much turnover the Cards have had over the past five seasons. Teams play around 1400 innings a year … over seven thousand frames have been played in that span by the St. Louis team, but no single outfielder has come close to appearing in half of them.
Here’s a log of the players who have come and gone (or who remain on hand). They’re ordered by the number of innings played in the outfield, with all statistical accumulations provided for only the seasons in question (2015-19).
Dexter Fowler (2017-19)
- Originally acquired: Signed five-year, $82.5MM free agent contract
- Output: 2,720 1/3 total OF innings; .233/.335/.410 (97 OPS+)
- Outcome: Still on roster
Stephen Piscotty (2015-17)
- Originally acquired: 2012 1st round draft pick
- Output: 2,588 2/3 total OF innings; .268/.346/.438 (109 OPS+)
- Signed six-year, $33.5MM extension
- Outcome: Traded to Athletics for Yairo Munoz, Max Schrock
Tommy Pham (2015-18)
- Originally acquired: 2006 16th round draft pick
- Output: 2,535 2/3 total OF innings; .271/.365/.463 (121 OPS+)
- Outcome: Traded with international bonus money to Rays for Justin Williams, Genesis Cabrera, Roel Ramirez
Randal Grichuk (2015-17)
- Originally acquired: Acquired with Peter Bourjos from Angels for David Freese, Fernando Salas
- Output: 2,529 total OF innings; .249/.297/.488 (107 OPS+)
- Outcome: Traded to Blue Jays for Dominic Leone, Conner Greene
Marcell Ozuna (2018-19)
- Originally acquired: Acquired from Marlins for Sandy Alcantara, Magneuris Sierra, Zac Gallen, Daniel Castano
- Output: 2,395 1/3 total OF innings; .262/.327/.451 (106 OPS+)
- Outcome: Declined qualifying offer; Signed with Braves as free agent
Harrison Bader (2017-19)
- Originally acquired: 2015 3rd round draft pick
- Output: 2,013 total OF innings; .236/.320/.393 (90 OPS+)
- Outcome: Still on roster
Jason Heyward (2015)
- Originally acquired: Acquired with Jordan Walden from Braves for Shelby Miller, Tyrell Jenkins
- Output: 1,268 1/3 total OF innings; .293/.359/.439 (117 OPS+)
- Outcome: Declined qualifying offer; signed with Cubs as free agent
Jose Martinez (2016-19)
- Originally acquired: Acquired from Royals for cash considerations
- Output: 1,199 1/3 total OF innings; .298/.363/.458 (119 OPS+)
- Outcome: Traded with Randy Arozarena and comp balance pick to Rays for Matthew Liberatore, Edgardo Rodriguez, comp balance pick
Matt Holliday (2015-16)
- Originally acquired: Acquired from Athletics for Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortensen and Shane Peterson; subsequently signed seven-year, $120MM free agent contract
- Output: 1,139 1/3 total OF innings; .259/.350/.442 (113 OPS+)
- Outcome: Signed with Yankees as free agent
Brandon Moss (2015-16)
- Originally acquired: Acquired from Indians for Rob Kaminsky
- Output: 586 2/3 total OF innings; .231/.311/.466 (106 OPS+)
- Outcome: Signed with Royals as free agent
Tyler O’Neill (2018-19)
- Originally acquired: Acquired from Mariners for Marco Gonzales
- Output: 552 1/3 total OF innings; .258/.307/.454 (101 OPS+)
- Outcome: Still on roster
Jon Jay (2015)
- Originally acquired: 2006 2nd round draft pick
- Output: 496 2/3 total OF innings; .210/.306/.257 (56 OPS+)
- Outcome: Traded to Padres for Jedd Gyorko and cash
Peter Bourjos (2015)
- Originally acquired: Acquired with Randal Grichuk from Angels for David Freese, Fernando Salas
- Output: 476 2/3 total OF innings; .200/.290/.333 (70 OPS+)
- Outcome: Claimed by Phillies
Jeremy Hazelbaker (2016) –
- Originally acquired: Signed to minor-league deal as free agent
- Output: 402 1/3 total OF innings; .235/.295/.480 (104 OPS+)
- Outcome: Claimed by Diamondbacks
Yairo Munoz (2018-19)
- 212 total OF innings
- Released
Magneuris Sierra (2017)
- 137 1/3 total OF innings
- Traded to Marlins with Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Daniel Castano for Marcell Ozuna
Kolten Wong (2016)
- 106 total OF innings
- Still on roster (primarily INF)
Tommy Edman (2019)
- 82 2/3 total OF innings
- Still on roster (primarily INF)
Lane Thomas (2019)
- 81 2/3 total OF innings
- Still on roster
Randy Arozarena (2019)
- 43 2/3 total OF innings
- Traded with Jose Martinez and comp balance pick to Rays for Matthew Liberatore, Edgardo Rodriguez, comp balance pick
Mark Reynolds (2015)
- 42 total OF innings
- Departed via free agency
Matt Adams (2017)
- 34 1/3 total OF innings
- Traded to Braves for Juan Yepez
Adolis Garcia (2018)
- 30 1/3 total OF innings
- Traded to Rangers for cash considerations
Others receiving OF playing time:
- Aledmys Diaz (2017) – 9 innings; since traded
- Pete Kozma (2015) – 7 innings; since departed via free agency
- Drew Robinson (2019) – 5 1/3 innings; since released
- Jedd Gyorko (2017) – 2 innings; since traded