St. Louis Cardinals Boost Outfield Depth, Acquire Former PCL Batting Champ Jose Martinez
With the Kansas City Royals having DFA’d last year’s PCL batting title winner last week, the Cardinals swooped in and acquired him on Wednesday.
The Kansas City Royals created a situation that’s quite rare in Major League Baseball last week, exposing a prospect with legitimate upside to waivers as they designated outfielder Jose Martinez (ranked as the organization’s number 24 prospect by Baseball America) for assignment.
More from Arch Authority
- St. Louis Cardinals: Randal Grichuk to begin Double-A rehab stint
- John Brebbia deserves a shot as the St. Louis Cardinals’ closer
- St. Louis Cardinals place Randal Grichuk on DL, recall José Martínez
- St. Louis Cardinals release RHP Corey Baker from organization
- St. Louis Cardinals activate Kolten Wong and Kevin Siegrist from DL, option Luke Weaver and Alex Mejia to Triple-A
The St. Louis Cardinals were apparently interested enough in the 6-foot-6, 215-pound 27-year-old that they were willing to negate the waiver process by acquiring him for cash considerations on Wednesday.
Martinez won the Pacific Coast League (Triple-A) batting title by posting video game numbers at the plate during 2015, hitting .384/.461/.563 with 10 homers and 60 RBI in 341 at-bats. Martinez, who had been in the Chicago White Sox system since 2008 before signing a minor-league deal with Kansas City prior to 2015, had consistently posted solid numbers at the plate throughout his minor-league career, but last season was a major step forward in terms of his production. Following his tremendous success with Omaha in 2015, Martinez had been added to the Royals’ 40-man roster this offseason.
There wasn’t an obvious reason as to why Martinez was designated for assignment; perhaps the best explanation is that his baserunning and defensive skills don’t match those of the Royals’ current outfielders, such as Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Jarrod Dyson, and Paulo Orlando. He was actually having a strong season with Omaha, hitting .298/.356/.433 with three homers and 18 RBI. Over 64 at-bats in May, he had accumulated a .344/.391/.516 slash line.
For the moment, Martinez figures to take off some of the load that’s existed since Carlos Peguero went on the DL at Triple-A Memphis on May 5. It should be interesting to see how the playing time is distributed in the Redbirds’ outfield, as the three members of the 40-man roster playing there–Tommy Pham (.194 average, .515 OPS), Charlie Tilson (.229 average, .647 OPS), and Anthony Garcia (.188 average, .592 OPS)–are struggling, while two players who aren’t on the 40-man and aren’t really considered prospects–Nick Martini (.293 average, .784 OPS) and David Washington (.311 average, .991 OPS)–are experiencing significant success.
Next: How Will the Cardinals' Lineup Look After Jhonny Peralta Returns?
Interestingly, this Martinez (Jose Alberto) is the second Jose Martinez that the Cardinals have acquired from the Royals within the past six months. They received shortstop Jose Alexander Martinez from the defending World Champs in December when they traded backup catcher Tony Cruz.