After more than three months in the minor leagues, Jordan Walker returned to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.
Walker, who caught fire with Triple-A Memphis over the past two weeks, was recalled because Matt Carpenter went on the 10-day injured list with lower back tightness. The Carpenter move was retroactive to Aug. 9, when he first felt back pain. He was unavailable during the team’s two-game series against the Kansas City Royals. When the pain did not subside after Sunday’s off day, St. Louis decided to bring up Walker, thanks in part to his torrid stretch.
JORDAN WALKER GOOD BYE!
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES WITH A @HueysRestaurant HOME RUN pic.twitter.com/GjeIXaFtxG
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) August 11, 2024
Since Aug. 1, Walker was 15-for-43 with three doubles and three home runs, including two homers in his last two games. His promotion was designed to spark life into a Cardinals lineup ahead of a big series. St. Louis had just come off a stretch of 16 consecutive games and entered Monday’s three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds with ace Sonny Gray on the mound.
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Instead, the Cardinals fell remarkably flat. Gray served up three homers and was tagged for six earned runs over five innings in a 6-1 loss that dropped the Cardinals to one game over .500. Walker went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
If the Cardinals want to remain in playoff contention, their offense must find some consistency. That’s where Walker’s bat comes into play. Here’s how the Cardinals will utilize Walker and what that means for the rest of the lineup.
What will Walker’s playing time look like?
The Cardinals plan to platoon Walker. He’ll start in right field against left-handed starters and come off the bench in games started by righties. That decision might come as a surprise, as St. Louis has been adamant about prioritizing Walker’s development. But with six weeks remaining in the regular season, maximizing lineup production takes priority over player development, leading the Cardinals to temporarily deviate from the course.
With the platoon, the Cardinals hope Walker can help boost the offense against left-handed pitching. St. Louis has the second-worst production against left-handed pitchers in baseball. It is something the Cardinals have struggled with since April. Deploying a roster with seven left-handed hitters didn’t help matters either.
Recalling Walker allows for a more balanced roster. In games he does not start, he will join Tommy Pham as two power bats off the bench from the right side. The Cardinals have not had a true weapon for this scenario for most of the season. Now Marmol will have two late-inning options to combat opposing bullpens.
How will this impact playing time for left-handed bats?
With the Cardinals set to platoon their corner outfielders, expect Brendan Donovan to move to second base against lefties and Alec Burleson to be the power bat off the bench. Burleson has had a remarkable season but registers dramatic splits, posting a .307/.343/.533 line with 17 home runs against righties, compared to a .205/.230/.291 line with three home runs against lefties. Donovan’s splits aren’t as glaring (he owns a .766 OPS against righties and a .638 OPS against lefties) and his defensive versatility allows for more roster flexibility, so his playing time isn’t likely to see too dramatic of a cut.
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Victor Scott II will continue getting most of the playing time in center field. The Cardinals have prioritized defense over offense in center field all season. They will not change their strategy there, regardless of whether it’s Scott or Michael Siani (oblique strain) when he returns from the IL.
The players most likely to be impacted here are Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman. Nootbaar has struggled since coming off of his second IL stint. He’s hitting just .227 with a .689 OPS, which is perplexing given his overall profile. Nootbaar is still hitting the ball hard (his 48 percent hard-hit rate is up 11 percent from last year) and both his chase rate (17.4 percent) and walk rate (11.7 percent) rank among the top in the league. However, with so many left-handed hitters rostered and with both Pham and Walker being outfielders, Nootbaar looks to be on the outside looking in until he can rack up more consistent production.
The same can be said for Gorman, who has hovered over the Mendoza line throughout the season and has 146 strikeouts over 104 games. Swing-and-miss has always been part of Gorman’s game (strikeouts will almost always be the tradeoff for power) but Gorman’s numbers have reached a concerning high. Only three players in the majors (Will Benson, Luis Robert Jr. and Jose Siri) have a higher strikeout rate than Gorman’s 37.3 percent. The threat of Gorman’s power can be used as a strategy in late innings, but until he can trim down his strikeouts, it will be difficult for Marmol to justify starting him in the everyday lineup.
What will the lineup look like?
With how things stand, it appears Marmol has five players he views as everyday starters: Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Masyn Winn and Scott. That leaves four spots to rotate in Pham, Walker, Burleson and Donovan, with Nootbaar, Gorman, Brandon Crawford and Pedro Pagés as the reserves.
Marmol likes to load up on right-handers when his team faces lefties, which usually ensures a start behind the plate for Pagés while Contreras slots in as the designated hitter. Monday’s lineup showed what will likely be the most common lineup against left-handers, with Pagés indeed catching while Pham (left field) and Walker (right field) make up the corners of the outfield. Donovan started the game at second and Contreras was the designated hitter.
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There is enough flexibility to rotate in different players, especially against right-handers. In those cases, Burleson will start (most likely as the designated hitter) and the outfield will be made up by some combination of Scott, Donovan, Nootbaar and potentially Pham if the match-up is in his favor. On days Donovan plays left field, Gorman could start at second base. Nootbaar and Gorman could rotate in as starters depending on how they profile against their opponent.
The Cardinals should more or less have a set lineup against lefties, but they can mix and match against righties. The question is whether or not they can generate enough production, regardless of the day’s lineup.
(Photo of Jordan Walker from Feb. 26: Rich Storry / Getty Images)
Katie Woo is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball. Prior to joining The Athletic, Katie spent two years covering the minor leagues as an editorial producer for MiLB.com and spent the 2018 MLB season covering the San Diego Padres as an associate reporter for MLB.com. She is a graduate of Arizona State University and originates from Northern California. Follow Katie on Twitter @katiejwoo
