The St. Louis Cardinals are keeping Jose Martinez around. He makes the perfect insurance policy for Dexter Fowler.
In theory, Jose Martinez is a player without a position on the St. Louis Cardinals. A limited player defensively, the Cardinals had attempted to hide him at various places on the diamond, as Martinez has spent time at first, left, and right over the past two seasons. While he would ideally be a designated hitter, given his lack of defensive ability, that is a luxury the Cardinals do not have in the National League.
When given the chance to play, Martinez has proven to be a valuable hitter for St. Louis. Last season, he produced an excellent .305/.364/.457 batting line, hitting 17 homers and 30 doubles. His 124 OPS+ was the second best on the team, trailing only Matt Carpenter amongst regulars. Given the lack of offensive firepower, it is understandable that the Cardinals would want to keep Martinez on board, especially as he is still a year away from arbitration.
Yet, he is a player without a position. Ideally, Martinez would play at first, but the Cardinals traded for Paul Goldschmidt. The corner outfield spots are taken by Marcell Ozuna and Dexter Fowler, with Tyler O’Neill serving as the fourth outfielder. There is not a place for Martinez in the lineup.
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However, there well could be. Fowler is hardly a given for the 2019 campaign, especially given his horrific 2018 campaign, where he produced a .180/.278/.298 batting line with eight homers and five steals. He did have a solid 2017 season, but that production seems far behind Fowler.
While it is easy to think that being away from Mike Matheny will allow Fowler to flourish once again, that may not be the case. In his 17 games under current manager Mike Shildt, Fowler produced a meager .202/.314/.352 batting line with four extra base hits in 64 plate appearances before fracturing his foot and missing the rest of the year.
Should Fowler falter again, Martinez is the perfect fallback option. He could slot into right easily, and while he does not have the defensive acumen that Fowler does, he would provide another solid bat in the lineup. And, should Fowler prove to have rediscovered his form and once again be a viable major league outfielder, Martinez would be a strong trade chip at the deadline should the Cardinals be in contention for a playoff berth.
Jose Martinez would seem to be the perfect trade piece for the St. Louis Cardinals. Instead, he is the perfect insurance policy for Dexter Fowler.