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#25 Mark Ellis
When I met Ellis at the 2014 Winter Warmup, the man was excited to join the Cardinals. This wasn’t because he remembers getting thrown out at home plate by Carlos Beltran in a pivotal 2013 playoff game, but he seemed to end up where he needed to be. Too bad that build up didn’t turn into a solid season. Ellis wasn’t that good.
Ellis isn’t a bad player, but he wasn’t a good Cardinal. He came into the 2014 season with expectations of providing middle infield depth, specifically backing up Kolten Wong. Ellis never did anything close to that in his one season as a Cardinal.
.466 is a good slugging percentage right? Well, that was Ellis’ OPS(on base percentage plus slugging percentage) in 2014. He drove in 12 RBI and collected just six extra base hits in 202 at bats. It isn’t that you’d expect a .700 slash from a backup, but you need more support than a .180 average.
Ellis played his last game in September of 2014, and retired after the season. After a little early adversity, Wong turned into an everyday player by the middle of the season. Maybe Ellis’ presence pushed Wong to a place where he needed to be. Maybe not. Either way, Ellis wasn’t a good Cardinal.
Dan Buffa
Next: Prospect gone bad