St. Louis Cardinals: No Rush for Matt Carpenter’s Return.

The St. Louis Cardinals have wisely decided to keep Matt Carpenter off the field for at least another week.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter will be sitting for at least another week, according to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This news comes as no surprise after it was revealed last week that Carp was experiencing lower back stiffness, and decided to sit out this year’s World Baseball Classic.

The Cards have already experienced their fair share of injuries headed into the new campaign—obviously highlighted by the loss of Alex Reyes—and they clearly have no intention of rushing Carp back. As Rick pointed out in his dispatch piece, Carp missed a month last year with a strained oblique. They can’t risk that stiffness escalating to another such injury.

Thankfully, it’s still spring training. Carp is not needed at his new position, or his probable new slot in the lineup, just yet. Although one could argue that Carpenter needs reps given the transitions he’s undergoing, this is obviously the time of the year when precautionary measures take precedent over in-game reps when it comes to injuries.

I would have enjoyed watching Carpenter get some work in this spring, but I think the real loss is his withdrawal from the WBC.

Earlier this week, Howard Bryant of ESPN made a compelling argument that if the MLB wants us to buy into it’s star players, and the WBC as an international treasure, then Team USA needs to start sending those stars to the international stage.

More from St Louis Cardinals News

• Cardinals Rumors: 3 pros and cons of signing Carlos Rodon
• Cardinals: Here is Willson Contreras’ first message for St. Louis fans
• How do the St. Louis Cardinals stack up with Willson Contreras?
• Cardinals: The insane asking price the Athletics had for Sean Murphy
• St. Louis Cardinals: Ask me anything with Josh Jacobs – 12/8

It’s a good point. My college buddies and I have made a habit of catching games together, but since graduation it’s been tough to gather in one place. The WBC seemed like the perfect place for us to meet, but the idea never really gained momentum. Why is that? In truth, the WBC just isn’t as fun as we’d like it to be.

As a St. Louis Cardinals fan, I was not only more compelled to watch the event knowing that Matt would be representing both the USA and Cards nation, but I was excited for him to get some national shine in the rosters absence of baseball’s sexiest names.

Next: St. Louis Cardinals: Spring Training Check-in, March 3

It would have been fun to watch Carp show out, but he has more important games to play this year. A wise move on Carp’s end to sit the event out, and a wiser one by St. Louis to sit their slugger for another week.