photo: Matt Adams (Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports)
St. Louis Cardinals press release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Tuesday, August 21) they have activated RHP Carlos Martínez from the 10-day disabled list and claimed former Cardinals 1B Matt Adams off waivers from the Washington Nationals. Infielder Patrick Wisdom was optioned to Memphis (AAA) following last night’s game and OF Dexter Fowler was moved from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list.
Martinez, 26, was placed on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain on July 31 and missed 19 games. He made two relief appearances during an injury rehabilitation assignment in Springfield (AA) and will join the Cardinals bullpen in Los Angeles tonight. Martínez has a 6-6 record with a 3.41 ERA in 18 starts this season, striking out 98 batters in 100.1 innings.
Adams, 29, was originally drafted by the Cardinals in the 23rd round of the June 2009 First Year Player Draft and was in the Cardinals organization for nine years including 2012-17 in St. Louis. On May 20, 2017, Adams was traded to the Atlanta Braves for minor league infielder Juan Yepez. Adams is batting .257 with 18 HR and 48 RBI in 94 games with the Nationals this season. As a member of the Cardinals, Adams played in 486 games with career marks of a .271 batting average with 56 home runs and 217 RBI.
Wisdom, 26, was purchased from Memphis on August 11 and played in nine games for the Cardinals batting .333 (4-12) with a home run and three RBI. He had played in 747 career minor league game before his Major League debut.
Fowler, 32, was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left foot fracture after fouling a ball off his foot on August 3 in a game at Pittsburgh.
Adams is in transit and is expected to join up with the Cardinals organization in the upcoming days.
Brian Walton’s take
The Cardinals want an experienced left-handed bat off the bench badly enough to use one of their very tight 40-man roster spots for Adams. It is worth noting that the Cardinals only must pay remaining salary for “Big City,” who can return to free agency this fall. St. Louis commitment should be roughly $1 million of his $4 million annual contract.
One concern is that Adams has struggled offensively since returning on July 4 from a broken finger. Now that regular first baseman Ryan Zimmerman is off the DL himself, Adams role with the Nats had been diminished to a pinch-hitter. Other than a start now and then at first base against a left-handed pitcher, that is not likely to change with St. Louis. His dominance of Clayton Kershaw is legendary – if it gets to that.
Adams’ familiar no. 32 is now worn by starting pitcher Jack Flaherty.
A 25-man move will be needed when Adams arrives and further 40-man moves will be required just ahead for Adam Wainwright and Dominic Leone.
With rookie Jordan Hicks not dominating, it will be interesting to see if Martinez slides into the eighth inning role ahead of closer Bud Norris. Even before that, it will bear watching just to see how Martinez performs out of the pen. As a starter, his first inning was often the most difficult.
This move has ruled out a return this season for Fowler, as the regular season ends on September 30 in Chicago.
Though Memphis is the tail of this dog, manager Stubby Clapp and staff have to be delighted to get Wisdom (and potentially others soon) back on the roster. The Triple-A Redbirds are just 8-10 in August and have not had a losing month since 2016, before Clapp took over.
Memphis will also need to move out one player when Wisdom officially returns to the Triple-A club and a second when the player bumped off St. Louis’ 25-man by Adams is announced, likely on Wednesday.
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
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