“Big City” has left the Gateway City.
On Saturday, the St. Louis Cardinals traded first-baseman/outfielder/pinch-hitter Matt Adams (as well to the Atlanta Braves for minor-league INF Juan Yepez. Yepez is an 18-year-old who signed for $1 million out of Venezuela.
As for Adams, who is in the middle of his sixth-season with the Cardinals, he is currently making $2.8 million. In 2017, he has a batting average of .292, with one home run and seven RBI’s. General manager John Mozeliak tried to experiment putting Adams in left field early on in the season, but it didn’t pan out, and Adams became regulated to being the primary pinch-hitter.
That isn’t a negative, however.
Adams is one of the best pinch-hitters in all of baseball. Entering the 2017 season, Adams is a career .330/.352/.600 hitter with 7 home runs in 105 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter. He’s also knocked in a total of 28 RBI when pinch-hitting.
He went through a notable weight-loss period over the course of the 2016 off-season, and impressed critics during Spring Training. But with the rise of many young stars within the organization, there’s been less of a need to have “Big City” in the starting line-up.
Meanwhile in Atlanta, the Braves are undergoing a complete overhaul, after finishing last in the National League last season. With the addition of Adams, Atlanta will look to add more power to the team. In six seasons in baseball, Adams has hit 56 home runs as well as 217 RBI’s. He’s a career .271 hitter with 387 total hits, notching 83 doubles. Thus far, the trade has received mixed opinions from fans and analysts alike. Adams has had some big moments in St. Louis, especially in the postseason, including the 2014 NLDS when he hit a game-winning three-run home run off of Clayton Kershaw.
“Big City” will always be a part of Cardinal Nation.
