Fansided

3 players from the 2021 Cardinals who are failing miserably elsewhere

By Tim Boyle

DENVER, CO - JULY 04: Carlos Martinez #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals takes a moment and wipes his brow as he pitches against the Colorado Rockies during a game at Coors Field on July 4, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JULY 04: Carlos Martinez #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals takes a moment and wipes his brow as he pitches against the Colorado Rockies during a game at Coors Field on July 4, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
St. Louis Cardinals
CINCINNATI, OHIO – JUNE 03: Lane Thomas #28 of the Washington Nationals hits a home run in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 03, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

2) Former Cardinals failing miserably in 2022: Lane Thomas

As stated earlier, there really aren’t a whole lot of Cardinals from the 2021 roster on other teams. Lane Thomas is one of the few who has a job and isn’t making the most of it.

You may recall Thomas ended up with the Washington Nationals last year following his inclusion in the trade for Jon Lester. Following a promising start to his MLB career in 2019, Thomas struggled mightily for the Cardinals in 2020 and again in 2021. With the Nationals last year, he went from the .104/.259/.125 slash line he had with the Cardinals to batting .270/.364/.489. Maybe Washington just added a gem.

This year, now with more plate appearances than ever, he isn’t exactly making a strong enough case to have a starting job. While better than his St. Louis days, he seems to have “fifth outfielder” written all over his performance.

Through 235 plate appearances, Thomas has slashed .231/.294/.406 for the 2022 Nationals. He has added 8 home runs and 30 RBI which is promising but limited. The .699 OPS is marginal for a guy getting regular starts. The ex-Cardinals outfielder has been unable to capitalize on all of his playing time.

Maybe worst of all, Thomas plays for one of the league’s weakest clubs. It will take a few years for the Nationals to be good again if they even are.

Home/St. Louis Cardinals