Cardinals manager Matheny on Taveras playing time: 'Not here in the development business'
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The best fans in baseball may have to wait a while longer to see top prospect Oscar Taveras on an everyday basis.
The talented outfielder is riding the pine once again on Tuesday when the St. Louis Cardinals host the Tampa Bay Rays, with Allen Craig drawing the start in right field and batting sixth. That's a decision being made with victories in mind, not necessarily what's best for Taveras.
Matheny talking Taveras/Craig pregame: "We've got to do what we can to win today, we're not here in the development business."
— Chris Hrabe (@chrabe) July 22, 2014
At 54-45 and just a half-game back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, it's tough to blame the Cardinals for being in win-now mode. It puts them in a tough spot with Taveras, though, as he has little left to prove at Triple-A.
Instead, he's stuck in a five-man outfield, and as such has managed just 44 plate appearances in July so far (a figure set to rank eighth on the team after Tuesday). He hasn't exactly been riding the pine, but he's been anything but an everyday player as some envisioned when he was called up, first on May 31 and again on July 1.
And in defense of Matheny, Taveras hasn't exactly forced the manager to give him more time - the 22-year-old is hitting just .190/.226/.266, and has struggled against lefties and righties alike (though the former is a small sample). Meanwhile, Craig has been servicable if a bit disappointing, Jon Jay has been better than expected, Peter Bourjos is an ideal fourth outfielder, and Matt Holliday is Matt Holliday.
It seems like a difficult situation to navigate, but so far the team seems to be handling it well enough. With just three starts since July 10 for Taveras, though, the idea place for him may be worth re-evaluating.