St. Louis Cardinals: Please do not bring Matt Adams back in 2019

The St. Louis Cardinals added a former first baseman to their midst at the end of the 2018 season for protection. He is a free agent now and the Cards would be wise to leave it that way.

Matt Adams rejoined the St. Louis Cardinals after the Washington Nationals were effectively done with him. Adams was brought so that Matt Carpenter could cover the duties at third while Jedd Gyorko was mending.

Now, Adams is a sitting free agent. And that is just how it should be: the St. Louis Cardinals do NOT need to bring him back in 2019. Not. At. All.

I have nothing against Adams and was actually a fan of the pick up at the end of 2018. Having said that, however, I just don’t see him fitting into plans for the Cardinals’ future. Especially not in 2019.

Yes, there are circumstances that would lend themselves to a successful return of Adams but those only present themselves after the Cardinals- in my mind- exhaust all other expensive options. It is important to note that I said “expensive options;” to me, the first plan should be to spend the surplus of money.

Spending a surplus of money would mean Manny Machado, Paul Goldschmidt, and/or Bryce Harper. Each would present road blocks to Matt Adams.

More from Redbird Rants

• St. Louis Cardinals: Paul Goldschmidt named 2022 NL MVP
• Lars Nootbaar is a prime Cardinals trade candidate
• Cardinals: Teoscar Hernandez trade sets up deal for Blue Jays catcher
• The Cardinals would make a huge mistake signing these starting pitchers
• Cardinals: Former MLB GM calls Jordan Walker a superstar for 2023

Machado would take over at short stop with Paul DeJong likely sliding over to third base. This would offset Gyorko and would firmly install Carpenter at first with Jedd likely filling in as needed at second and first and third in a backup role.

Goldschmidt would reside in the outfield ousting Jose Martinez to backup first, etc. leaving no space for Adams.

Harper would be an almost carbon copy of the above scenario.

At this point, the Cardinals should first try to spend their money and then fall back to Adams if absolutely nothing works… or maybe not at all.

Adams has been an up and down player for the most of his career. He hovered in the mid-to-mid/high .200s batting average. Likewise, his slugging percentage has been stagnant (of sorts) in the .400s with his OPS getting as high as the mid-.800s only twice in his career. He isn’t a bad player but also isn’t one who is setting the world on fire.

A middle-of-the-ground club could use a first baseman like Matt Adams and if the St. Louis Cardinals don’t make a splash financially then they could well be that middle-of-the-ground club. Until then, the Cards should not hold Adams in their future plans.

What do you think? Should Matt Adams come back to the Cardinals?