It’s fair to say that the Cardinals had questions about Matt Adams.
Signing Mark Reynolds served a duel purpose:
1) Let Matt Adams know that he’s going to have to earn his playing time in 2015 and that if he doesn’t perform, the team has viable options to replace him on a regular basis.
2) Actually replace Matt Adams if he isn’t able to get the job done. A $2M insurance policy, if you will.
Some players respond well to being challenged. Some players do not. And so far in 2015, Matt Adams has not produced at a level that will let him continue to see the vast majority of starts moving forward.
Through 11 games and 35 at bats, Adams has hit .200 with 1 HR and a SLG% of .286. He’s posted 0 doubles and struck out 9 times.
In 83 innings at 1B, he’s posted a 1 Rtot (total fielding runs above average), which he was -7 in 2014. This improvement, however, was probably negated in most people’s minds by the two botched plays in the field last night.
Matt Adams is having a terrible day at the office.
— stlCupofJoe (@stlCupofJoe) April 22, 2015
Bottom line? Slow start to a year for Adams in which the Cardinals (and the fans) wanted to see him break out and put a stranglehold on the starting 1B job.
Now..
It’s early and he’ll still get the majority of the starts, at least for the next few weeks. The team will afford him every opportunity to get going. He isn’t by any means a lost cause. And beyond Reynolds, they’ve got very few viable options for a team that is expected to contend.
But…
With the Cardinals in 30th place in HR’s (yes, that’s last place) and 17th in SLG%, they’re going to need to find some pop. Having a 1B that’s average on defense AND struggling to get hit for power AND get on base?
Decisions will have to be made.
Tuesday night, the Cardinals wasted a great pitching performance and an 9th inning comeback because they couldn’t push more than 1 run across the plate.
Was that all on Matt Adams? No.
But with 2 errors and a strikeout with a runner on base as a late inning substitution, his play certainly wasn’t helping gain a win.
Here’s to hoping Mr. Adams has a short memory and can make game #13 the start of his breakout season.
Photo: imgkid
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
