Cardinals' playoff hero joins former manager's minor league coaching staff

Former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Matt Adams finds himself reunited with his old manager as the slugger was added to the Padres Triple-A coaching staff on Saturday. After retiring a Cardinal, the big first baseman mentioned he wanted to pursue a coaching career.

Matt "Big City" Adams joins Mike Shildt's minor league coaching staff in San Diego

Adams, the lefty first baseman from Slippery Rock University, was drafted in the 23rd round by the Cardinals in 2009 and made his big league debut with the team in a short 21-game sample size in 2012. His minor league career to that point fed Cardinals' fans with excitement, hitting over .300 in at every level of the minors. His 2011 season saw a .300/.357/.566 slash line with 31 homers and 101 RBIs in Double-A Springfield. Prior to his call-up in 2021, Adams continued mashing minor league pitching at Triple-A Memphis with a .986 OPS and 18 homers while limiting his strikeouts.

As the Cardinals looked to fill the void at first base left by the departure of Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, the team looked to a combination of Adams and Allen Craig to pick up the offense. The tandem created a dangerous platoon in 2013, combining for 30 homers and 148 RBIs, leaving Cardinals fans to think they got the better of the deal as Pujols struggled in Anaheim.

Adams' defensive limitations forced Craig to the outfield in 2014 and while Craig's production hit a steep decline during that time, Adams held steady. As the everyday first baseman, he put up a quality .288 batting average but his power and run production left some to be desired with only 15 homers and 68 RBIs coming from the big lefty. Fans will remember, however, Adams' great postseason moments including this 7th-inning homer off of Hall of Fame-bound Clayton Kershaw that gave the Cardinals the lead in Game 4 of the NLDS.

2015 was a struggle for Adams as a torn quad and the presence of veteran Mark Reynolds limited him to 60 games of limited production, putting up a 78 OPS+. Going into 2016, he was once again given the everyday role. His power numbers reached back to 2014 levels, but his batting average stayed below .250 for an 86-76 Cardinal team.

Seemingly still hampered from the quad injury, Adams started 2017 as a bench bat as Matt Carpenter took over at first base. His limited playing time hurt his overall production and despite a .292 batting average, he only tallied three extra-base hits before being shipped to Atlanta for Juan Yepez. He found success in Atlanta and reached a new career-high in homers and notched his highest batting average since 2014.

Adams was a free agent after the season and took his talent to Washington to become their everyday first baseman. The results were typical for Adams at this point in his career and the Nationals but a pair of injuries and the presence of Mr. National Ryan Zimmerman caused the team to put him on waivers where the Cardinals swiftly scooped him up for a reunion. Unfortunately for Adams and the Cardinals, there was no Devil Magic left in the tank and he limped to a 43 OPS+ with the club.

Adams then returned to the Nationals in 2019 before reuniting with the Braves for the shortened 2020 season. He then finished his Major League playing career with the Colorado Rockies in 2021 after 22 games. In 2022, Adams signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the independent American Association where he played with former Cardinal teammate Pete Kozma. He put up 27 homers and turned that into a minor league deal with the Nationals in 2023 but never cracked the big league roster. He then spent the 2024 season in Tijuana in the Mexican League before signing his one-day contract to retire a Cardinal at the end of the year.

While Adams never turned into the power-hitting first base replacement the Cardinals hoped, he still had plenty of fond memories for Cardinals' fans. His role with Triple-A El Paso has yet to be announced, but it is assumed he will fill a role on the offensive side of things.