Cardinals place Matt Adams on the disabled list

By Matt Fisher | May 31, 2014

Apr 22, 2014; New York, NY, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams (32) crosses the plate to score during the fourth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

With some exciting news surrounding the promotion of top prospect Oscar Taveras also comes less than great news for another member of the Cardinals roster.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that St. Louis had to move Matt Adams to the disabled list with left calf tightness. He was, for all intents and purposes, not actively on the bench as the Cardinals dropped the second game of a four-game set against the Giants Friday night. Before the game began, Adams said that his calf, which has been getting progressively worse, was ‘unresponsive.’

More from MLB

The move will likely move Allen Craig back to first base, a position he partially maintained last season and all through the playoffs. To take Craig’s place in the outfield, the Cardinals have called up Randal Grichuk and top prospect Oscar Taveras. General Manager John Mozeliak says that Peter Bourjos, acquired along with Grichuk from the Angels, will be something of the odd-man out, seeing a diminished role due to lack of offensive production.

Offensive production is what Matt Adams provided, and the Cardinals approach is going to have to change without that big bat in the lineup. Over 52 games, Adams has a .325/.337/.474 slash line having contributed 3 homers and 17 RBI. By that token, Taveras has performed better in Triple-A in fewer games, so the Cardinals are hoping to replace or enhance some of the pop lost with Adams’ injury.

The move was made official after the Cardinals loss to the Giants Friday night as Mozeliak made the announcement that Taveras was being called up.