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St. Louis Cardinals Best/Worst Case: Matt Holliday
By Landon Clapp
Worst Case: Quad problems linger, age shows, Cards move on
While the Cardinals don’t anticipate any further complications from Holliday’s right quad strain from a season ago, there’s always the “what ifs.”
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What if something fishy happens with that quad again? Is it smart to have Holliday lugging around in left field, the place where the quad problems originated?
The Cardinals can’t afford to lose Holliday for 80+ games again this year. If Holliday wants to return to St. Louis in 2017 and finish his career here, he can’t afford that either.
Worst case, Holliday falls victim to the quad again, or is limited by it significantly in 2016. He becomes a complete liability in left field, and without strength in his drive leg at the plate, Holliday’s offensive numbers go into free fall mode.
Ahead of September and October, the Cardinals decide that it is in their best interest to go young in the outfield. They plug Tommy Pham in at left field, relegating Holliday to pinch hit duties.
The Cardinals decline Holliday’s option, making him a free agent. He signs on with a bad AL squad as their designated hitter and finishes his career in irrelevancy.
Next: My Prediction for 2016