Matt Adams Gets First Action in Left Field for St. Louis Cardinals
Matt Adams saw his first-ever action in the outfield on Wednesday, though he didn’t get any defensive chances.
The drama du jour in St. Louis Cardinals country over the past week has been the organization’s decision to give first baseman Matt Adams some work in the outfield during workouts and spring training games. After receiving some instruction from Willie McGee last weekend and taking fly balls during the week, Adams made his first appearance in an official game during the Cardinals’ Wednesday afternoon meeting with the Washington Nationals.
Adams entered the game as a pinch hitter for Carlos Martinez in the bottom of the fifth, then stayed in to play left field for the top of the sixth, with Randal Grichuk moving over to center. Adams played four innings in left but received no chances at the position. It was Adams’ first-ever appearance at a position other than first base in an officially-recorded professional game.
The reason for the Cardinals’ experimentation with Adams in the outfield is unclear at the moment, though it’s an experiment in versatility that was never really possible until Adams got down to 240 pounds–legitimately the best shape of his life–this offseason. The Cardinals will likely already carry José Martínez as a corner outfielder/first baseman, so it’s not as if his versatility is going to enable him to beat anybody out.
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It’s possible that since they’ll likely only carry four true outfielders, the Cardinals want to have as many emergency options as possible if they lose two outfielders in the same game. Adams would join Kolten Wong, Matt Carpenter, Jhonny Peralta, and Eric Fryer as players who have the ability to play the outfield in a pinch, and since he’s the only player among that group who isn’t either a starting outfielder or the only backup catcher on the roster, he’d likely be the first player who would be called upon if that type of emergency played out during a game.