It’s Time to Send Carlos To Memphis

Good afternoon, Cardinal Nation. Let’s talk shop real quick.

Here’s the deal. Carlos Martinez isn’t progressing as a late inning reliever. On Sunday, he threw over 45 pitches and only allowed a run in 2 innings, but since being placed in a setup role, the young pitcher has struggled to put a firm grasp on the position. It is best for this team to get Carlos Martinez right, and that happens by sending him to Memphis to get stretched out as a starter.

Martinez can go to Memphis and work on his changeup while beginning the process of starting baseball games. With Joe Kelly not progressing and the shaky everyday status of Jaime Garcia, this works best for the present and the future of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Martinez can’t work on a changeup in high leverage situations as a member of the big league club. If he doesn’t pitch in high leverage spots, then ultimately he is being wasted up here. It is best to get him the work he needs and turn him into that rotation firecracker that his scouting diagnosis initially pegged him as before the 2013 season.  His long term prognosis is starting games in the major leagues so getting that process going is important for this team.

The lineup can’t generate power or big hits for their life, so it’s important to keep the pitching corps stocked with fresh arms. While Seth Maness hasn’t been the same all season long, the man to go down right now is Carlos and you bring up offseason non-roster signee David Aardsma. The veteran righthander is slicing up bats down at Memphis and has experience as a closer in the big league, most recently with Seattle. Aardsma is pitching very well and could slide right into the spot Martinez is holding.

Aardsma has pitched 23 innings for Memphis this season, sports a 1.13 ERA, 9 saves and 22 strikeouts to 11 walks. He has experience pitching in late inning games in the majors and could make an instant impact. It has been said that the Pacific Coast League is a hitter friendly league so that makes Aardsma’s numbers that much better. This is why you switch Martinez for Aardsma. The role Aardsma is best suited for is a late inning setup man/big inning pitcher.

Figuring out the ailing lineup will take more drastic measures. The recent callup’s of Randal Grichuk and Oscar Taveras will hopefully give the lineup a boost over the next 2 weeks. If not, John Mozeliak will have to think of other ways to plug power into his offense. For now, fix a bullpen issue and give the team a fresh arm in the process.

Get Martinez going as a starter while plugging a proven hard throwing arm into the bullpen mix. That’s the next move for this team.

IMAGE CREDIT-www.zimbio.com