St. Louis Cardinals: Putting Jose Martinez on the block is a huge mistake

The acquisition of Paul Goldschmidt by the St. Louis Cardinals was one of the best moves of the 2019 offseason, but the rest of the decisions they have made seem questionable. One of these odd choices is shopping Jose Martinez, who has been an offensive stud for the Cardinals.

With Paul Goldschmidt‘s arrival comes the loss of Jose Martinez‘s starting job at first base, but that by no means does that mean the St. Louis Cardinals should think about benching Martinez, much less trading him. And yet, that’s exactly what they are trying to do.

The options for right field are pretty clear, and Jose Martinez is the best internal option we have to open the 2019 season. Of course, courting superstar talent Bryce Harper is probably the best overall option, but there seems to be one major obstacle in the way.

The St. Louis Cardinals seem to be fixated on proclaiming Dexter Fowler the starter in right field for 2019.  This tweet tells you everything you need to know:

The Cardinals are essentially putting Dexter Fowler in the “key contributor” and “nucleus” camp for the near future, when he hasn’t done much to deserve it. With a guy like Jose Martinez in tow, who has hit over .300 in both seasons he’s been in the majors and has been a major contributor to the team’s success, I can’t see what is compelling this decision.

Quite frankly, the St. Louis Cardinals are making a mistake in prioritizing Dexter Fowler over Jose Martinez, and they are about to get robbed in a Jose Martinez trade as a result.