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March 11, 2013

Rumor Roundup

The Battle for the Keystone

by Daniel Rathman

Spring training is a time for preparation and position battles, but it is also a prime opportunity for players to showcase new skills. Today’s Roundup features a trio—two position players and one pitcher—that has been doing just that.

Cardinals, Padres impressed with second-base candidates’ defensive progress
Not many teams enjoy significant offensive contributions from their second basemen, and the Cardinals and Padres were not among the fortunate few in 2012, as their keystone men amassed OPSs of 670 and 684, respectively. St. Louis overcame that weakness to reach the National League Championship Series, and San Diego, whose players’ numbers are depressed by Petco Park, cared relatively little about individual performances during a rebuilding year, but both clubs entered this offseason seeking ways to improve on those mediocre outputs going forward.

Since then, general managers John Mozeliak and Josh Byrnes have crafted similar plans in their efforts to address the position: Instead of finding a natural second baseman that does not hit like a typical second baseman, the Cardinals and Padres decided to throw quality hitters into keystone waters and see if they can swim. Now, after a brief period of nail biting, they might be ready to take away their kickboards.   

Matt Carpenter, who played five different positions for first-year manager Mike Matheny in 2012, made just five of his 116 appearances and only two of his 73 starts at second base. But, the 26-year-old amassed a .294/.365/.463 triple-slash line in 340 plate appearances, and even with Allen Craig and David Freese entrenched at the infield corners, the Cardinals struggled to justify keeping him out of the everyday lineup going forward. From there came the plan to work Carpenter out at second base, a position at which his 828 OPS would have ranked third only to Robinson Cano and Aaron Hill, had he played it full-time last year.

MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch spoke with Matheny over the weekend about the Carpenter-at-second experiment, and learned that the skipper’s confidence in the former utility man is growing. Matheny specifically mentioned Carpenter’s improvement on double-play turns, which was on display in Sunday’s game, per a tweet from St. Louis-area radio host B.J. Rains. And, earlier in the weekend, Matheny’s comments prompted our own Jason Martinez to move Carpenter into his projected starting lineup for the Cardinals, even though the manager insisted that no plans have yet been finalized.

Carpenter’s primary competitor for the job is Daniel Descalso, who also hits left-handed, but whose greatest asset is the glove, as evidenced by his .240 TAv and +5.2 FRAA last year. The Cardinals could employ a timeshare at the position—thereby taking advantage of Carpenter’s versatility similar to the way that the Rays utilize Ben Zobrist—but if they choose to go with a one-man show, then the decision will come down to a tradeoff between seldom-seen offense and coveted defense.