It's getting late early for the 2024 St. Louis Cardinals.
After spending most of the summer squarely in the National League Wild Card hunt, the Cardinals find themselves five games out of playoff position entering play on Tuesday. Something needs to change quickly, or St. Louis will be on the couch when October arrives.
Offensively, the Cardinals have been in a free fall, scoring two runs or fewer in five of their last six games. It's obvious that the formula needs to change for the lineup to start producing, and on Tuesday, the Cardinals shook up the roster to facilitate that change.
The Cardinals announced on X that shortstop Brandon Crawford had been granted an unconditional release, while outfielder Jordan Walker was optioned to Triple-A. St. Louis recalled first baseman Luken Baker and reinstated infielder Matt Carpenter from the injured list.
Crawford, 37, had seen minimal action in St. Louis all season after signing a deal late in the spring. The 14th-year veteran, formerly a two-time World Series champion with the San Francisco Giants, batted .169 in just 71 at-bats in 2024.
Walker, meanwhile, has been one of the disappointments of the Cardinals' season. The 21-year-old former top prospect, who was just called up again on August 12, has been totally ineffective at the big-league level, hitting .145 with a .460 OPS.
Walker only played in four games with St. Louis in this most recent stint, going 1-for-11 with three strikeouts.
The Cardinals will hope they can get more production from the returning pair of hitters, who have very different levels of big-league experience. Carpenter is a 12-year Cardinal veteran with a solid .712 OPS this season, while Baker, 27, has just 33 big-league games under his belt.
Opening a crucial home series against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night, the Cardinals will need to start stringing wins together to have any shot at the playoffs. Perhaps the roster changes can breathe some life into this stagnant offense.
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