When you’ve spent all nine of your professional baseball seasons with the same storied franchise that drafted you, like Matt Adams had with the St. Louis Cardinals, it’s a jolt to be told abruptly in May that you’ve been traded.
“Big City” — that’s his nickname — got shipped to a bigger city Saturday when St. Louis traded him to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for a minor-league infielder who wasn’t one of the Braves’ top prospects, Juan Yepez.
Unlike the Cardinals, the Braves have a big need for Big City, whom they acquired to replace first baseman Freddie Freeman for an expected 10 weeks after the slugger fractured his left wrist Wednesday. Adams took a flight to Atlanta early Sunday and was in the lineup, batting fifth, for an afternoon series finale against the Nationals at SunTrust Park.
“I’m just ready to get out there,” Adams said after seeing his name in the lineup when he entered the clubhouse around 10 a.m. “I haven’t got a start in a long time in St. Louis, but the opportunity is here, for sure. And it’s going to be fun.”
Most wouldn’t describe facing Stephen Strasburg in a day game after getting almost no sleep “fun.” Adams went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Sunday in a 3-2 loss, whiffing each time against Strasburg before hitting a liner down the first-base line with a runner on in the ninth inning. Ryan Zimmerman snared it and stepped on the base for a double play.
Being traded wasn’t quite as difficult as it might have been if he’d been playing much. With Matt Carpenter moved to first base this season in St. Louis, Adams got scant playing time and hadn’t had more than one at-bat in a game since May 6, the day he got four against the Braves at SunTrust Park and went 2-for-4 and hit a home run off Julio Teheran.
“Yeah, it was for sure tough to say goodbye to some close friends that I’ve built relationships with, but it’s a business and they all understand that and I understand,” Adams said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity with the Braves and looking forward to going out there on a daily basis and getting ready to win some ballgames.
“It’s a change, but it’s a great place to come be a part of. Great organization, great players, just a lot of guys that want to go out there and win. I’m happy to be a part of it, for sure.”
The Braves will make Adams their primary first baseman and probably play him just about every day until Freeman returns. That’s a welcome development for a guy who hit at least 15 homers in all three seasons when he got 300 plate appearances. He made only five starts — all in left field — with the Cardinals this season and hit .292 with a .340 on-base percentage, one home run and seven RBIs in a mere 53 plate appearances, including 6-for-19 as a pinch-hitter.
He had a .271 average with 83 doubles, 56 home runs, 217 RBIs and a .769 OPS in 1,539 PAs over parts of six seasons with the Cardinals, including a .288 average with 54 extra-base hits (15 homers) and 68 RBIs in 142 games in 2014.
“Everybody out there knows I’m not trying to come in here and be Freddie; that’s not who I am,” Adams said. “I’ve just got to be myself and go out there and play. I’m just excited to have the opportunity and try to run with it.”
When Freeman returns, the Braves could keep Adams as a needed power bat on their bench. They could also trade him, though he’s not eligible for free agency until after 2018 and his first base/outfield flexibility and power might make him attractive to keep for at least for the rest of the season, especially if the Braves are still playing around .500 baseball.
They’ll worry about that later. For now, the Braves are just happy they found someone capable of picking up at least some of the huge offensive production lost with the injury to Freeman, who hit .341 and was still leading the National League in home runs (14) and slugging percentage (.748) entering Sunday’s games.
The Cardinals are also picking up an undisclosed portion of the remainder of Adams’ $2.8 million salary this season.
After being told Saturday afternoon that he’d been traded, Adams was booked on a 7 a.m. flight from St. Louis. He spent much of Saturday night trying not to think about all the friends he was leaving behind and instead looking forward, all while packing on short notice for an extended trip.
He left home at 5 a.m. Sunday and was counting on adrenaline to overcome his lack of sleep.
Two of the first people he saw upon entering the clubhouse were a pair of former Cardinals teammates, relievers Sam Freeman and Jason Motte. Not long after that, longtime former opponent Brandon Phillips, the ex-Reds second baseman, walked in the clubhouse and asked if Adams was there, then went to find him so he could go “kick his ass for a while.” Phillips was laughing. He likes Adams a lot, as do seemingly most others who know him.
“It’s a smart move (by the front office),” Braves right fielder Nick Markakis said. “Obviously it’s going to be hard, if not impossible, to fill Freddie’s shoes. But we need a consistent first baseman over there. Jace (Peterson) has been doing a good job but if we use him at first base it kind of takes away from his ability to do what he’s here to do (as a utility player).
“It’s good, an established guy who wasn’t getting much at-bats (at St. Louis). He’s going to come here and get some at-bats. We know what he can do. We’ve seen him.”
Markakis had just arrived and wasn’t aware Adams was already there in another part of the clubhouse.
“Oh, he is? We’re glad to have him,” Markakis said, glancing at the lineup posted nearby. “Oh, there he is in the lineup. It’ll be nice to have him. We know what he brings and hopefully he can contribute.”
Adams is 6 feet 4 and 242 pounds, down considerably from his weight in previous seasons after a winter spent following a revamped workout schedule — including Pilates — and a strict diet. He had weighed more than 260 pounds, and it was the weight along with his power that earned him the nickname “Big City.”
“Yeah, I was the Big City,” he said, laughing. “But I worked hard this offseason, got my body into good shape and got on a routine with my trainer back in St. Louis doing Pilates and getting on a strict meal plan and just getting it right. And I feel like that helped me out, just being able to have the body, staying healthy and strong and be ready for anything.”
He had a career .285 average, .810 OPS and 47 homers in 1,162 at-bats against right-handers, compared to a .210 average, .589 OPS and nine homers in 267 at-bats against lefties. So the Braves might sit him against some difficult lefties.
In that regard, his timing is good: There are few lefty starters in the NL East this season, and through Saturday the Braves had the second-fewest at-bats in the majors against lefties (211), less than one-fifth of their at-bats against right-handers.
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