The Cardinals announced that infielder today Matt Carpenter he was put back on the injured list when another midfielder Luke Baker recalled from Triple-A Memphis. In a related move, the club opted for an outside player Jordan Walker and given to the midfielder Brandon Crawford his unconditional release.
Crawford, 37, signed with the Cardinals in the offseason, a one-year contract with a minimum salary of $2MM. It seemed like he was insurance for a veteran rookie Masyn Winnthe group was planning to have it as their daily stop. That was a smart move at the time, as Winn had just 37 games of big league experience coming into the year and hit just .172/.230/.238 in those.
But here in 2024, Winn presented his idea of hype. He has 11 home runs and a slash of .274/.324/.419, which translates to a wRC+ of 108. His glove work has resulted in 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 3 Outs Above Average at shortstop, and he has also stolen 10 bases. . His all-around contributions have led FanGraphs to credit him with 2.8 wins over a replacement, which is third among National League pitchers, just behind. Jackson Merrill again Tyler Fitzgerald.
Since Winn was doing all that, Crawford was never used. Despite being on the active roster all season, he has only played in 29 games and been sent to the plate just 80 times. In that occasional playing time, he struck out at an extraordinary 32.5% rate and slashed .169/.263/.282 with a wRC+ of 58. Perhaps it was difficult for Crawford to step into a position with so little time in the lineup, but that performance actually isn’t too far off from last year. , when he hit .194/.273/.314 for the Giants and produced a 62 wRC+.
Regardless of the cause, that performance by Crawford and the emergence of Winn kept him off the list. That will probably leave the player in use Brendan Donovan as the Cardinals’ backup to Winn at shortstop. Perhaps Baker could provide a jolt to the lineup, as he hit 32 home runs in Triple-A this year and walked at a 14.8% clip.
For Crawford, instead of compromising him and forcing him to go wherever he’s wanted, the Cards gave him little agency in his next steps by releasing him instead. His short time at St. Louis we will seem to be destined for the esoteric gossip of the legend of the Giants.
Any team can now sign Crawford for the league’s minimum cap, with that amount subtracted from what the Cardinals are paying. The level of interest may have been reduced by a series of recent negative results, but it also has a long history. Since his debut with the Giants back in 2011, he has under 1700 games of experience with nearly the league’s average offense and strongest defensive marks. Not long ago, he appeared to at least consider retirement before getting a deal with the Cards, which could be on the table again if he doesn’t find an enticing opportunity in the coming weeks.
As for Walker, this is just the latest in his ups and downs from the Cards. He was recalled about a week ago when Carpenter stayed in IL and is now back in Memphis after hitting once in 12 games while Carpenter was out.
Last year, he rode the wave of excitement for the 2023 Opening Day roster but his performance was consistent throughout the year. Although he was elected for a spell last summer, he was called up and hit .277/.346/.455 from the beginning of June through the end of the year, resulting in a 119 wRC+.
But here in 2024, he struggled out of the gate and was elected before the end of April. His .257/.321/.426 batting line in Triple-A this year leads to a subpar 92 wRC+ but he’s still been called upon to fill in for Carpenter at short.
It is strange that this is not the case as he is still looking to break through to put himself at the big league level but the clock is ticking. Because he entered the draft last year but was selected in two consecutive seasons, he will only have one option after this one even though he is only 22 years old. If he were to exercise his final option next year, he could potentially opt out in 2026, which would be his only age-24 season.
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