The Cardinals’ messy season just keeps getting worse

 The St. Louis Cardinals are in relatively uncharted territory for themselves. 

One of many Nationwide League’s elite groups for the higher a part of the previous 20 years, the Cardinals are off to one of many worst begins in baseball this season and issues appear to maintain getting worse at each flip.

Of late, they’ve already needed to transfer highly-touted free agent acquisition Wilson Contreras away from catcher in the intervening time, to primarily play him within the outfield or because the group’s designated hitter. That report comes via the Athletic’s Katie Woo. 

It’s a beautiful transfer only a month into the season, particularly after the Cardinals signed Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million contract in free company this previous winter. 

The transfer comes because the Cardinals — and particularly their pitching workers — have been struggling early within the season. 

Andrew Knizner is anticipated to take over the first catching duties.

St. Louis’ pitching workers enters play on Saturday with a 4.71 ERA, putting them twenty first in all of Main League Baseball.

The Cardinals’ 10-23 document not solely locations them in final place within the Nationwide League Central, but additionally provides them the worst document in all the Nationwide League. The Oakland Athletics and Kansas Metropolis Royals are the one two groups in baseball with a worse document total. 

Contreras remains to be hitting at a strong degree, proudly owning a .781 OPS going into the weekend, however his worth actually takes successful if that offense is coming from a nook outfield spot or because the group’s designated hitter. It additionally drastically reduces the Cardinals’ roster flexibility and isn’t in any respect what they thought they might be paying for.

The season remains to be very younger and there’s nonetheless time for them to show issues round, however this begin might be rather a lot to dig out of. The Cardinals received 93 video games a yr in the past. They would want to go 83-46 the remainder of the best way simply to match that quantity this season.