Cardinals Rumors: St. Louis to decline Carlos Martinez’s option

The Cardinals will decline Carlos Martinez’s club option, marking the end of a frustrating career in St. Louis.

The St. Louis Cardinals firing manager Mike Shildt came as a stunner. Few, if any, saw it coming.

But in news that everyone saw coming, the Cardinals will decline Carlos Martinez’s $17 million club option, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic, marking the end of a volatile career in St. Louis for the right-hander.

Martinez, 30, once looked the part of a budding high-end rotation arm. He won 14 and 16 games in 2015 and 2016, posting 3.01 and 3.04 ERAs, and St. Louis got ahead of it by signing a team-friendly contract extension that they believed would look like a bargain if he would have continued on the trajectory his career appeared to be headed.

Instead, injuries and disappointment followed. He was moved to the bullpen in 2018 and later posted a 3.17 ERA in 2019 while recording 24 saves. Then he posted a disastrous 9.90 ERA in five starts in 2020, looking nothing like the pitcher the Cardinals had grown accustomed to seeing in his early seasons.

The 2021 season was Martinez’s make it or break it season — and it didn’t take long for it to become clear his time in St. Louis was quickly coming to an end. He posted a 6.23 ERA in 16 starts, only to go on the injured list and to never be heard from during the season again.

What the future holds for Martinez is unclear. Will another team take a chance on him? Is his career over? There’s a strong likelihood that some team takes a chance on him on a minor-league deal, but their expectations should be tamed as it’s become obvious he’s a fringe major-leaguer at best at this stage of his career.

For what once looked like a promising career, Martinez’s tenure with the Cardinals has finally come to a frustrating end.