The St. Louis Cardinals have not yet demoted starting pitcher Carlos Martinez to the bullpen or minor leagues despite his atrocious ERA.
Martinez went from former ace to borderline bullpen threat in a rather stunning fall from grace, but he’s not alone. The entire St. Louis rotation minus an injured Jack Flaherty has been subpar to say the least, and it’s part of the reason the Cardinals find themselves just one Pittsburgh Pirates bottom-feeder removed from last place in the NL Central.
The Cardinals have been in the trade market for a starting pitcher before said market ever developed. When Flaherty went down, all eyes turned to a potential Max Scherzer deal. The Nationals ace is a St. Louis native. It all makes sense.
Yet, as FanSided’s Robert Murray reports, the Nationals aren’t necessarily as keen on selling as the rest of baseball’s pundits make them out to be. A recent run has them just four games out in the NL East behind the New York Mets.
St. Louis Cardinals fans upset that Carlos Martinez remains in the rotation
With Martinez starting again on Tuesday, Cardinals supporters are rightfully upset with manager Mike Shildt.
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Tuesday’s start could very well be make or break for Martinez, who sports a 6.78 ERA on the season. Martinez has struggled primarily with control, and is spiraling out of control at the moment. He’s given up 13 runs in his last two starts, including five against the lowly Pirates and eight against the Braves. In that span, his ERA has ballooned a full run.
Shildt giving Martinez another shot, and demoting Wade LeBlanc instead, is a bold move based primarily on Martinez’s track record. There will not be a third opportunity should he blow it against Arizona.