The St. Louis Cardinals traded Jose Martinez. Why are we mad he’s a Chicago Cub now?
Alright, St. Louis Cardinals fans, let’s not lose our mind because Jose Martinez was traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to our National League Central Division Rivals, the Chicago Cubs.
Cardinals fandom lit up with outrage Sunday, the eve of the trade deadline, with word that the Busch Stadium fan favorite is now one of THEM.
Sure, on paper, it looks like a punch in the nose. The Cardinals definitely needed a big bat for the middle of the lineup and didn’t go out and get one on the trade market. So, one plus one equals two and we’re all going to flip out because we COULD have had Martinez and all our problems would be solved, right?
Not really. Martinez is hitting a not-so-hot .239 with two home runs so far this season. Yeah, that’s better than half the St. Louis starting lineup. But it’s not all that great overall. Plus, it’s not that the Cardinals GAVE Martinez away. They traded the guy for Matthew Liberatore, probably the most promising pitching prospect in the St. Louis farm system. Cardinals fans shouldn’t be incensed by the ultimate result of this trade. Rays fans should be losing their minds. They gave a way a fantastic young lefty hurler for 76 plate appearances of a guy who didn’t really even do anything with them. The Rays will get two players to be named later. But I sincerely doubt they’re anything close to the quality of Liberatore. And, if they were, it’s a risky game to trade for minor leaguers who, by the next time they take the field, will have lost at least a year of development.
As I have said repeatedly, this St. Louis team has too many flaws to address and too few games to enjoy the benefits of potential trade targets to make it worth while to heat up the phone lines with other general managers at the trade deadline. I would be much more upset to see this team deal away top prospects than to stand pat now and shoot for winning in 2021 by making big moves this winter. The Cardinals are a fringe playoff team, even if they went out and got a desperately needed middle of the order bat. Two of the three outfield spots and two of the four infield spots have been offensive black holes so far this season. The Cardinals count on home runs to score these days, and long balls have been few and far between. One hitter just isn’t going to make up for the fact that this team can’t put the ball in play with runners in scoring position. He’ll help some. But he’s not going to take an offense that is bad and turn into an offense that is great. He might help it up to the mediocre range.
By looking ahead, it helps me get closer in my mind to the days when $30 plus million and two spots in the starting lineup aren’t reserved for Dexter Fowler and Matt Carpenter. Fowler has never been better than so-so at the plate since he arrived from Chicago on an excruciatingly long contract. And the so-so years are outweighed by the terrible ones. Wearing a Cardinals uniform, Fowler is a .234 hitter who strikes out twice as often as he walks. Expected to be a lead-off candidate and supply some much-needed speed, Fowler has managed to steal an average of five bases a season and get caught a little more than half of the time. Oh, and the idea that he’d bring some joy and enthusiasm to the clubhouse? That’s been a bust, too. He’s feuded publicly with the manager and fans, griped about the position he’s asked to play, where he bats in the order and when he sits because of a lack of production. If the Cardinals could have had Fowler in his prime, things might have been different. But he’s not the player they need now — although he’s paid like it. It’s just been a bad marriage and I’m more than ready for it to end.
As far as Carpenter goes, he had a bad season and — inexplicably — the team rewarded him with a two-year contract extension. He’s never been his old self since he inked that deal and it’s cost the Cardinals dearly ever since. He doesn’t play any defensive position well. It’s just a mess.
The Cardinals can’t really move on until they can turn the page on these two players who are past the days when they are big contributors. They take up too much payroll and the Cardinals have always been loathe to pay big money for guys who sit on the bench. Fortunately, what the ownership has authorized in the past is sending players home if they’re not producing in the last season of their contract like they did with Brett Cecil and Luke Gregerson. The question is: Will the Cardinals ownership authorize spending money to replace players who have one foot out the door before the second foot crosses the threshold?
The only way the team is going to get rid of the remaining year on Fowler or Carpenter’s contract is by trading a highly-coveted piece like a high-end pitching prospect and then requiring the salary help as part of the deal. I’m not sure in the odd circumstances that are the 2020 season if that’s going to happen.
So, with the Cardinals in a tail spin, don’t look forward to 2011 style changes to revive this team in 2020. It wouldn’t surprise me, because the National League Central is so terrible, to see the Cardinals somehow squeak into the playoffs. But I don’t see this team beating a club like the Los Angeles Dodgers that can hit AND pitch, too.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat is this blog?
Scott Wuerz is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. The Cheap Seats blog is written from his perspective as a fan and is designed to spark discussion among fans of the Cardinals and other MLB teams. Sources supporting his views and opinions are linked. If you’re looking for Cardinals news and features, check out the BND’s Cardinals section.
