1. It’s not just the ERA.
It’s easy to be skeptical when you see the 5.40 ERA of righty Shawn Armstrong, the Cardinals new reliever, acquired at the trade deadline for the woebegone Dylan Carlson. But it’s other stats that make it seem like this guy is an on-the-fly reclamation project, not a surefire arm for a playoff-contending bullpen.
After a brilliant 2023 (ERA of 1.39!), Armstrong has regressed in numerous key categories. His velocity is down. His walk rate went from 5.3% to 8.9%. His opponent expected batting average is .284, which is in the bottom fifth percentile of the league. His strikeout rate is still in the 57th percentile, which isn’t terrible, but last season it was 72nd percentile.
And lefty hitters have field days with this dude.
Of course, the Cardinals would not have acquired the guy if they didn’t think they could fix him. But how quick can this fix be? Every game is vital for this team in this playoff race.
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2. It is just gobsmacking that it came to this with Carlson. He entered 2020 as one of the most highly regarded Cards prospects in a while. He finished third in the 2021 voting for National League Rookie of the Year award. And now in 2024, he’s an expendable trade piece that only gets you a reliever with a 5.40 ERA from Tampa Bay.
But ... he’s only 25. And he’s a traded Cardinals outfielder. So he’ll be an All-Star next year, won’t he?
3. Fun having Tommy Pham back. As for the other Las Vegas native on the White Sox traded to the Cardinals, Erick Fedde will start Friday for ºüÀêÊÓƵ at the Cubs. I’m optimistic about Fedde this season, as I broke down in this column Monday. I asked Pham about Fedde (7-4, 3.11 ERA), and here’s what the new ºüÀêÊÓƵ outfielder said:
“He was ballin’ for the White Sox. Sneaky, sneaky guy. He throws a ton of strikes, mixes up his pitches really well. He's that guy who just always seems to give you a quality start. And the consistency, if you bring that, you're a really good player. I was joking with him that I thought he was an All-Star. I voted for him. You know, just a lot of politics regarding the All-Star Game, but yeah, I thought he was an All-Star.â€
4. Pham is one of one. He’s a personality unlike any other in baseball. He’s intimidatingly intense, yet he also has quite a quick sense of humor. He’s unafraid. He yearns to win. He’s a great get as a right-handed bat to hit lefties. And he brings an edge to the clubhouse. He was a key guy on the 2023 Diamondbacks, who fearlessly fought through the postseason, all the way to the World Series.
Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas shared this sentiment from his locker this afternoon: “I was excited when I heard we're getting him. This is one of the guys I've played with that has an incredible desire to win. Tommy wants to win. And I think that's something that every team needs. I mean, he’s never going to give an at-bat away. He's never not going to run hard down the baseline. He's never not going to go all out for a ball. He's a gamer. He plays with the chip on his shoulder — I love it.
“And he's very observant. In my time here, he was not afraid to notice someone. Even a pitcher, he'd come and say, ‘Hey, Miles, you're falling way off (the) first base (side) today. Your stuff looked a little flat.’ I'm like, ‘(Shoot)!’ He sees it from center field. So he's not afraid to help people get better. I think that's another great quality that he has. I'm excited to see him get to work here.â€
And how about this move by Pham — in Game 2 of the World Series, he gave up an at-bat for a teammate. Pham was 4 for 4 and the Diamondbacks were up 7-1 in the ninth. But Pham wanted to make sure his teammate Jace Peterson got an at-bat in a World Series game. So Pham asked the Arizona manager to let Peterson hit. At the time, Pham didn’t know that he could’ve set a World Series record as the first player to go 5 for 5.
"This was a moment where it was a teammate loving a teammate to give him an opportunity," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said to reporters after that World Series game. "He took what mattered most to him personally ... and said it's more about the team and my teammate at this moment. That spoke volumes about what that clubhouse feels every single day."