Cardinals Rumors: St. Louis has inquired about Adam Lind

In a move that can hardly be considered surprising, the St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly checked in on Brewers first baseman Adam Lind.

Per a report from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the team likes Lind for multiple reasons:

"Lind has 16 homers, a .549 slugging percentage against righthanded pitchers, and the lefthanded swing the Cardinals prefer. That’s the profile — pop potential, and from the left side."

Lind, 32, is enjoying a bounce back campaign in his first year with the Brewers, ranking second only to outfielder and former National League MVP Ryan Braun on the team in runs batted in.

To go along with his 58 RBI, he’s also smacked 16 home runs – putting him on-pace to to make a run at at least 25 long-balls for just the third time in his big league career.

After losing regular starting first baseman Matt Adams earlier this season to injury, the team turned to veteran Mark Reynolds, who, at first, stepped in nicely for the Redbirds.

However, as the season has progressed, the strikeout-prone Reynolds has faltered.

He entered play Monday carrying a .229/.312/.391 line this season; and, to be honest, he hasn’t been especially effective against right-or left-handers.

Reynolds has a .701 OPS against righties and an equally unimpressive .709 mark against southpaws in his first season with St. Louis. Lind, meanwhile, has a .935 OPS against right-handers that more than offsets his struggles against same-handed pitching.

Personally, I’d slot Reynolds in as a potent bench bat and platoon Lind with recently-promoted prospect Stephen Piscotty at first base, giving the team a pair of legitimate options that will produce consistently at the dish.

During his time in the minors, Piscotty has shown his abilities at the plate, and alongside Lind with preferential match-ups, he could ease into the big league life that has humbled several promising rookies already this season.

Whether or not the Cardinals want to limit their young slugger’s plate appearances in such a fashion remains to be seen.

That being said, one thing is for sure.

Adding a player like Lind to the roster for the stretch run makes an already dominant Cardinals team that much better.

Next: Cardinals acquire Steve Cishek from Miami in trade