Shawn Armstrong (Photo courtesy of Major League Baseball)
ST. LOUIS — Needing to clear a roster spot and playing time for newly acquired veteran Tommy Pham, the Cardinals dealt struggling outfielder Dylan Carlson to the Rays just before the Trade Deadline for veteran right-handed reliever Shawn Armstrong.
The Armstrong acquisition comes a day after the Cardinals traded for right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde and Pham in a three-team deal with the White Sox and Rays. Pham reported to the Cardinals on Tuesday, but he was not in the starting lineup.
Armstrong, 33, was 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA in 38 games (seven starts) this season for the Rays. He struck out 50 hitters in 46 2/3 innings.
Armstrong has a 29.8% chase rate this season, which ranks him in the 64th percentile of the league. He also has a 23.4% strikeout rate, which is in MLB’s 57th percentile.
Armstrong has pitched for the Guardians, Mariners, Orioles, Marlins and Rays. He put together a spectacular season in 2023, posting a 1.38 ERA over 39 appearances (six starts). Mozeliak hopes that Armstrong will be able to shoulder some of the innings manned by right-handers Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Fernandez in recent weeks.
Carlson, once the top-rated player in the Cardinals’ Minor League system, saw his career turned upside down in recent years because of a series of injuries and struggles from the left side of the plate. He’s hit .189 from the left side of the plate this season.
Carlson hit 18 homers and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021. In 2022, the Cardinals traded away Harrison Bader to create a lane for Carlson to be their starting center fielder on a playoff team. However, wrist and thumb injuries late in that season sapped his power and cost him time in center field.
By 2023, the Cardinals’ glut of outfielders pushed Carlson out of the regular rotation. An ankle injury, one that ultimately ended up requiring season-ending surgery, also marred his season.
This season, Carlson was the Cardinals most productive player during Spring Training, and he was set to be the team’s starting center fielder following injuries to Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbaar. However, an outfield collision left Carlson with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder just two days before the start of the season.
Injuries and spotty playing time in recent years seemed to sap the pop in Carlson’s bat. He failed to homer in his first 59 games of this season and his homerless streak stretched to 93 games and dated to June 20, 2023, a night when he hit two homers against the Nationals in Washington. Carlson recently wondered if a change of scenery might help him revive his career, but he was uncertain about how such a jolt might work considering he has been with the Cardinals for the past eight years.
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