The Looming Departure of Daniel Descalso
By Doug Vollet
Hi, I’m Doug, a new blogger for Redbird Rants. I’m a St.Louis transplant living in Galveston, TX who’s been blogging for four or five months now. For my day job, I’m a high school teacher. You’ll see something from me once or twice a week.
The other day John Mozeliak basically said that Daniel Descalso will not be with the Cardinals next year. Descalso, a utility player, was a divisive figure, as many fans thought he was overused by manager Mike Matheny. That wasn’t necissarily true this year, as he only managed 184 plate appearences this year, an ok amount for a utility player. It was true in the past though, as he had 426 in 2012 and 328 in 2013. What caused the decrease in PA’s and is leading to his departure?
The fact that our infield has settled down plays a big part in it. Kolten Wong has developed nicely and has become a fixture at second, Jhonny Peralta signed weith us as a free agent and exceeded expectations, and Matt Carpenter returned to his natural position at third base. Those three positions were Descalso’s primary positions. He only played a handful of games at first base every year. Here are Descalso’s career stats.
Combine that with his averages of the past three years (.227 in 2012, .238 in 2013, and .242 this year) plus the fact that he had little power, and you can see why the Cards have decided to move on.
Who’ll take his place? Well we still have Pete Kozma and Greg Garcia, and a pair of interesting prospects in Jacob Wilson and Breyvic Valera. Both have hit decently in the minors, and can play multiple positions. Valera, in fact, can play seven. So we have internal options for Descalso’s spot on the bench.
Thanks for reading. I look forward to providing you guys with entertaining and informative articles about the Cards.