St. Louis Cardinals: The relief of not having Brandon Moss

The St. Louis Cardinals decided to let Brandon Moss head into the free agent pool this off-season.

Brandon Moss had a pretty good 2016 campaign for the St. Louis Cardinals. He ultimately ended up signing with the Kansas City Royals in free agency.  The change of uniform also changed his luck at the plate, and not for the better.

He put up some of the best numbers of his career as a St. Louis Cardinals. He posted numbers like twenty-eight home runs and a .484 slugging percentage.  He would have been one of the most solid hitters in the St Louis Cardinals lineup if not for his .225 batting average.

Though fifty games this year, he is not quite that good.  Currently, he is boasting a batting average of .184 with nine home runs.  When he starts, he is hitting in the bottom third of the Royals batting order as the designated hitter.

However, that sort of production can also be called a sigh of relief for Cardinal fans.  The team does not need another guy who can’t produce with the bat.  It would only hurt them more.  In fact, it more than likely would have ended with Moss being sent to the minors.  He has struck out fifty-nine times in the fifty games he has played this year.  Can anyone say Randal Grichuk?

By the strikeout numbers, he is way too aggressive at the plate this year.  On average he sees just over four pitches per at bat.  While the 4.1 pitches seen paces his career, it is still not a desirable statistic.

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What is hurting Moss even more is that his swing shows a lot of holes.

At this point, it is just a pure uppercut.  He has taken the all or nothing, mostly nothing, approach.

Part of this is due to the amount of curve-balls being thrown to him.

However, the benders neutralize his contact zone because he keeps his hands abnormally high while swinging.  It is an odd combination with an uppercut swing.

Obviously this is a swing by design, considering Moss holds a career batting average of .238.  He essentially lives and dies by the long ball.  That is why the St. Louis Cardinals should be happy he is no longer wearing the uniform.

A struggling lineup needs anything but the all or nothing type hitter.  That is why Jedd Gyorko became a bigger part of the offense this year.  He changed his approach to be a more complete hitter.  A topic I dive into here.

Even now, the lineup is hitting better. The best Moss could have been is a pinch hitter.  His bat just simply would not play in the St. Louis Cardinals starting nine.  His production is no longer enough anymore.  For the sabermetric fans, Moss has a WAR of -0.9 thus far in 2017.

Next: Likely trade partners

It is safe to say thank you to John Mozeliak for letting Moss go to free agency.  His approach and lack or results would only have increased the frustration levels for the Redbird faithful.