The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly willing to listen to trade offers for first baseman Matt Adams as the team looks to clear an infield logjam this offseason.
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Cardinals Willing To Discuss Offers For Adams
Thursday, Dec. 15
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported Thursday that Adams is a “change of scenery candidate” with St. Louis likely turning to Matt Carpenter at first.
Adams is coming off an up-and-down season with the Cardinals during which he hit .249 with 16 home runs across 118 games. It marked the third time in the last four years he tallied at least 15 homers, but his career on-base percentage stands at a mundane .314.
Injuries are one thing that have held back the 28-year-old infielder at times. He’s played more than 120 games just once in four full seasons at the big-league level. The most serious issue was a torn quadriceps muscle that limited him to 60 appearances in 2015.
Andy Call of MLB.com passed along comments from Adams about being forced to accept any level of involvement after his latest injury comeback, this time a shoulder issue, back in September.
“Whatever my role is during the last part of the season, I’m willing to accept it,” Adams said. “Whatever will help this team win. If my role is to come off the bench and pinch-hit, I’m all for it. I’ve been good in the past with that.”
The question marks about his ability to make a consistent impact make him an obvious trade candidate as the Cardinals look to upgrade elsewhere.
They currently have seven infielders to fill four starting spots, with Adams, Greg Garcia and Jhonny Peralta ticketed for bench roles based on the current roster. It would make sense to seek a move that could help upgrade the bullpen or bring in a reserve outfielder.
Adams is a worthwhile buy-low target, assuming the Cardinals’ asking price is reasonable, for a team needing an upgrade at either first base or designated hitter. Moving to the American League to fill the latter role would be ideal given his injury history.
The Pennsylvania native possesses enough pop to provide between 20 and 25 home runs if he can stay healthy for 150 or more games. But that would require a starting role, something he’s not likely to hold if he sticks with the Cardinals in 2016.
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