With a playoff bid quickly leaving their sights, should the middling St. Louis Cardinals reexamine their roster with an eye toward the future? That’s what Redbird Rants’ Thomas Gauvain thinks, and he writes that utility player Garrett Hampson’s time in St. Louis should be up.
“He’s logged only 22 plate appearances for the Cardinals, and he has a .143/.182/.190 slash line to go along with 10 strikeouts,” he wrote. “He’s been a non-factor offensively and his defensive abilities aren’t close to making up for his offensive shortcomings.”
In his stead, Gauvain thinks the Cardinals (60-59) could promote outfielder Nathan Church. The 25-year-old has worked his way through the minor leagues this year and is batting .332/398/.497 with six home runs and 27 RBI in 48 games with Triple-A Memphis. Per Gauvin, he has one of the strongest arms in St. Louis’ farm system.
Hampson spent the first five seasons of his career in Colorado but has bounced around over the last three-plus years. He was signed to a minor league contract as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks before this season, making his way to Cincinnati after he was designated for assignment on May 12.
The Reds DFA’d him in just under a month, and he was claimed off waivers by St. Louis on June 24. Gauvain doesn’t think he should be on the roster by the end of August.
The Cardinals have a 9.5% chance to make the postseason, per FanGraphs. With a late-season surge seeming unlikely, St. Louis could soon make the decision to give their younger talent opportunities to develop down the stretch.