The fact that Stephen Piscotty returned to the Cardinals' active roster was not a surprise Saturday. The fact that first baseman Matt Adams was traded to Atlanta, freeing up that roster spot, was a surprise.
Adams, formerly a regular with the Cardinals but reduced to pinch-hitting assignments after an early-season, unsuccessful fling as an outfielder, was dealt for 19-year-old minor league infielder Juan Yepez, who was hitting .375 at the Braves' Class A Rome farm club. Yepez will report to the Cardinals' Class A Peoria team.
One of the top pinch hitters in the majors for the last four years, the left-handed-batting Adams was hitting .292 with one homer overall and .316 as a pinch hitter this season. His best season with the Cardinals was in 2014 when he batted 288 with 15 homers and 68 runs batted in. Adams figures to play first base for the Braves, with All-Star Freddie Freeman sidelined for 10 weeks with a broken wrist.
General manager John Mozeliak, who announced the deal an hour before the game with San Francisco, said there was a cash consideration also going to the Braves in the deal. Mozeliak said, "When you think about them losing Freddie Freeman, obviously they had a need. And when you look at how our roster was constructed, it was really hard for us to get (Adams) plate appearances.
"And so we really felt it was sort of a 'win-win' for everybody to try to do this. It also frees up some opportunities for what we might do. If we want to give Carp (first baseman Matt Carpenter) a day off, now you could think about either a (Jedd) Gyorko or a (Jhonny) Peralta over there."
St. Louis product Luke Voit has been hitting over .300 with power as the Memphis first baseman and outfielders Harrison Bader and Todd Cunningham also have done well lately.
Adams, speaking to reporters just before the game, said,
"It's tough to go, tough to say goodbye to all my friends here."
But Adams added, "It's the best thing for my career. I'll be able to join another great organization and be able to play every day.
"I can't say enough and thank the Cardinals enough for the opportunities that they gave me and the trust they had in me. It was a great run. I'm just happy to be able to get out there every day and play."
