St. Louis Cardinals: Paul DeJong, Jack Flaherty and Waino’s Dead Arm

Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals runs the bases after hitting a solo home run in the third inning in game two of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 24, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals runs the bases after hitting a solo home run in the third inning in game two of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 24, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
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What will be the postseason roles for Paul DeJong, Jack Flaherty, and Adam Wainwright?

This week, the St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol and his coaching staff will be making tough decisions on the postseason roster for the 2022 NL Central Champs. Questions will need to answered across the board for the best of three Wildcard round.

Some of the questions will be: What will be the rotation for the three games? Will Tyler O’Neill and Jordan Hicks be ready in time for the Wild Card round? Will Steven Matz be in the bullpen? Who will make up the bench?

But three of the most difficult decisions for Oliver Marmol  will be the postseason roles for Paul DeJong. Jack Flaherty, and Adam Wainwright. Needless to say, a miscue of judgement with any of these three, could be fatal for the Cardinals in the short Wild Card Series.

Paul DeJong

Quite frankly, Paul DeJong has become this year’s Matt Carpenter. With DeJong’s year long struggles at the plate, media and fans have both questioned his continued presence on the active roster.

Bernie Mikolas calls DeJong’s continued presence on the active roster, “payroll politics. That’s as good and accurate description I’ve heard.

DeJong will earn $6 million this year and still owed a guaranteed salary of $9 million next year. The Cardinal front office has shown it’s reluctance to release or move players they owe substantial money. We all remember Matt Carpenter.

A case could be made that DeJong’s defense is enough reason to keep him on the postseason roster. To be fair, he is a solid defensive shortstop. Currently his Outs Above Average(OAA) at shortstop is at 5. Certainly decent.

The argument of having DeJong on the roster is the ability to use him for late innings defense. Tommy Edman usually is then moved to second, where his OAA is 8, fifth in all of baseball. Without Edman at second, the main defensive choice left to Marmol would be Brendon Donovan, who has an OAA of -3 at second.

But what is the trade off? DeJong currently is hitting a slash line of .153/.241/.287. In 21 games since the first of September, it’ gotten worse and fallen to .125/.186/.150.

With the Cardinals currently struggling to put up runs, keeping DeJong on the postseason roster for his defense, seems a luxury at this point they can’t afford.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 22: Jack Flaherty #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches during the second inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on September 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 22: Jack Flaherty #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches during the second inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on September 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Jack Flaherty

The Cardinals will need only three starters in the Wild Card round. To me there are two obvious choices, Miles Mikolas and Jose Quintana. They have been the most consistent coming down the stretch in September.

In their last seven starts, Mikolas has an 3.05 ERA and Quintana has a 1.18 ERA. Jordan Montgomery, on the other hand, has a 4.97 ERA, and Adam Wainwright has a  6.97 ERA.(more on Waino later)

Even though Jack Flaherty currently holds a 4.37 ERA, his seven starts in September, he has an ERA of 3.94. He had quality starts in this last two outings, which included striking out nine against a potent Padres lineup. In other words, he seems to be getting stronger with each appearance and getting his mojo back.

We know Flaherty’s stuff is the best on the staff. He has the best swing and miss potential with his fastball-slider, and an compelling curve ball. With his pitch arsenal, Flaherty is the only one among the starters who could be considered a true ace.

Should Flaherty be given a start in the Wild Card round? Since it’s looking like the Cardinals will be facing the Padres in this round, in my opinion, he should be the third option behind Mikolas and Quintana.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 20: Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on after allowing a solo homerun to Ha-Seong Kim #7 of the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning of a game at PETCO Park on September 20, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 20: Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on after allowing a solo homerun to Ha-Seong Kim #7 of the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning of a game at PETCO Park on September 20, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Adam Wainwright

The Cardinals have been telling us that Adam Wainwright is experiencing a ‘”dead arm”. What is a dead arm?  After a google search, the general consensus is when there is no structural damage in the arm or shoulder, but instead a feeling of fatigue. A period of rest is usually recommended.

Whatever, the exact definition is, the impact on Wainwright has been significant. In August. Wainwright had an 2.50 ERA for the month and a WHIP of 1.059 in 6 starts. Since then, he has a 7.22 ERA and a WHIP of 1.919 in 6 starts.

It could be the 41-year old just needs a rest with a missed start or two. Still, the problem has occurred at an inopportune time for the Cardinals. It’s too late for rest. Consequently,  with the Wild Card round starting on Friday, it’s hard to justify putting Wainwright in the rotation, or even in the bullpen.

For whatever reason, when the problem arose, the Cardinals and Wainwright seemed to think rest wasn’t the answer. They just kept throwing him out there to pitch every five days.

Now Oli Marmol is faced with maybe his most difficult roster decision. Do you keep one of the most beloved player in recent Cardinal history off the postseason roster? Or, since it’s a short series, do you keep him as part of the roster and have him available in the bullpen?

I would be willing to give Wainwright a pass on Sunday’s performance. After all, he had a big role in the pre-game ceremony honoring Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. It would be understood if that threw him off on his pre-game preparations.

But the problem is his entire month of September. With the Cardinals struggling offensively in the last couple of weeks, putting your best performing starters is the only way to go.

Still, it’s almost unthinkable keeping Waino off the postseason roster. His presence on the bench is invaluable to this Cardinal team.

My call? Keep him on the roster.

Next. Cardinals rumored to pursue top shortstops. dark

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