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Brandon Crawford Released by Cardinals; Matt Carpenter Activated from Injured List

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIAugust 20, 2024

KANSAS CITY, MO - AUG 10: St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Brandon Crawford (35) as seen during an MLB game  between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals on August 10, 2024, at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO..  (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The St. Louis Cardinals announced a few roster moves Tuesday, including the unconditional release of shortstop Brandon Crawford and the activation of infielder Matt Carpenter from the 10-day injured list (lower back strain).

St. Louis Cardinals @Cardinals

We have made the following roster moves: <a href="https://t.co/orkQ00sGMN">pic.twitter.com/orkQ00sGMN</a>

The 37-year-old Crawford is a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glover and two-time World Series winner with the San Francisco Giants. This year has been a struggle for him at the dish, hitting .169 (.544 OPS) with one home run and four RBI in 80 plate appearances.

Carpenter, 38, is a three-time All-Star in his second go-around with the Cardinals. He's hitting .258 (.712 OPS) with three home runs and 11 RBI in 125 plate appearances.

The 61-63 Cardinals are sputtering at a bad time, losing six of their last seven. St. Louis is now five games back of the Atlanta Braves for the third and final wild-card spot.

A brutal schedule also awaits the team, with the Cardinals scheduled to play each of the next 16 days against two first-place teams (the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees) and two squads currently in the wild-card picture (the San Diego Padres and Minnesota Twins).

Getting Carpenter back can certainly help. He's not in the lineup Tuesday against Milwaukee, but he's still got a good bat and can assist a team that's bottom five in the OPS in the National League.

For now, the Cardinals begin their potentially treacherous stretch starting at home versus the Brewers.