Cardinals' Luken Baker: Returns from paternity leave
Rotowire
The Cardinals reinstated Baker from the paternity list Friday.
After spending the three-game maximum away from the team, Baker will now return to the active roster, replacing Victor Scott, who was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Goes on paternity leave
Rotowire
The Cardinals placed Baker on the paternity list Tuesday.
Baker will likely miss the entirety of the three-game series in Colorado before rejoining the club this weekend in San Francisco. Victor Scott is taking Baker's spot on the Cardinals' roster.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Clubs second homer
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Baker went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Sunday's 14-7 win over the Yankees.
Baker has just three hits over nine major-league contests, batting .167 since his Aug. 20 call-up, but all three knocks have gone for extra bases (two homers, one double). It doesn't look to be enough to secure steady playing time, but Baker offers the Cardinals some pop off the bench. He may occasionally start versus left-handers when Alec Burleson is covering for someone in the outfield or is out of the lineup himself.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Appears set to lose work vs. RHPs
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Baker will serve as the Cardinals' designated hitter and No. 2 batter in Sunday's game against the Yankees.
Though he's back in the lineup for the series finale, Baker looks poised to lose out on a regular starting role against right-handed pitching with the Cardinals seemingly planning to deploy the recently recalled Jordan Walker in an everyday role. With Walker settling in as the Cardinals' primary right fielder, Alec Burleson should serve as St. Louis' designated hitter in most games, though the lefty-hitting Burleson will get a rare day off Sunday against Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: On bench Friday
Rotowire
Baker is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Yankees.
Baker will take a seat Friday against Marcus Stroman and the Yankees. In Baker's place, Alec Burleson will DH and bat second.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Picks up steal in win
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Baker went 0-for-2 with two walks, one RBI and a stolen base in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Padres.
Baker is hitting just .133 over eight contests since he was recalled from Triple-A Memphis, but he has drawn six walks in that span. That gives him a .364 on-base percentage. Baker has added a home run, five RBI, two runs scored and a double across 22 plate appearances. He's taken over for Matt Carpenter as the Cardinals' preferred designated hitter versus right-handed pitchers, and as a right-handed batter, Baker has a good chance of sticking in the lineup versus southpaws as well.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Third straight start at DH
Rotowire
Baker will start at designated hitter and bat cleanup in Thursday's game versus the Padres.
Baker will make his third straight start at DH, which is especially notable given that all three have come against right-handers. He's also batted either third or fourth in each contest. The 27-year-old has produced back-to-back 30-homer seasons at Triple-A Memphis and could be worth a look in deeper leagues if the playing time sticks.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Homers off bench in win
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Baker hit a two-run home run in his lone at-bat in Wednesday's 10-6 extra-inning win over the Brewers.
Baker provided a game-tying blast in the seventh inning to knot the score at 4-4 in his first major-league at-bat of the season. The slugger slashed .209/.313/.314 with two homers and 10 RBI over 33 games in the majors last season, and he was slashing .231/.345/.535 with 32 homers and 79 RBI across 108 contests with Triple-A Memphis prior to his call-up Tuesday. Baker figures to be a short-side platoon option at designated hitter as well as a top bench bat whenever a southpaw reliever enters for an opponent. He may not get many starts, however, as starting catcher Willson Contreras is typically the DH when the Cardinals face lefty starters.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Summoned from minors
Rotowire
The Cardinals recalled Baker from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday.
Baker has slashed .231/.345/.535 with 32 home runs in 108 games this season at Memphis, which includes a 1.096 OPS versus left-handed pitching. The 27-year-old is blocked by Paul Goldschmidt at first base but figures to see some looks at designated hitter against southpaws.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Cardinals optioned Baker to Triple-A Memphis on Saturday.
Baker was never able to get his bat going this spring, tallying nine hits in 44 at-bats while striking out 13 times. Baker slashed .334/.439/.720 with 33 homers and 98 RBI in Triple-A last season, and if he's able to find his swing again in the minors, he may return to the Cardinals' bench at some point this summer.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Too many strikeouts in spring
Rotowire
Baker has gone 7-for-32 with four RBI, 11 strikeouts and three walks over 16 Grapefruit League games.
Baker struck out a 31.3 percent rate over 99 plate appearances toward the tail end of 2023. The 27-year-old has a strong power profile after slugging 33 home runs over 84 contests with Triple-A Memphis, but there's no clear path to a starting job in the majors with Paul Goldschmidt locked in at first base and Nolan Gorman likely to be the designated hitter. In terms of a competition for a bench role, Alec Burleson's strong spring and his ability to be an option in the outfield put him comfortably ahead of Baker or any number of other options to back up at first base.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Lifts second homer
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Baker went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Sunday's 12-2 loss to the Padres.
Baker produced the Cardinals' lone scoring play with his seventh-inning blast. He's seen steadier playing time over the last week, going 4-for-17 (.235) over his last six games. The 26-year-old is batting .217 with two homers, seven RBI, six runs scored and a double across 76 plate appearances in the majors this year. With the Cardinals in last in the NL Central, he'll likely get some more at-bats over the final week of the campaign as part of the evaluation for next season's roster.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Gets start in DH role
Rotowire
Baker will serve as the designated hitter and bat sixth Wednesday versus the Brewers.
The 26-year-old should see an uptick in playing time over what remains of the 2023 regular season with Alec Burleson (thumb) joining Nolan Gorman (hamstring) on the injured list. Baker has gone 12-for-56 (.214) with 22 strikeouts through his first 22 games at the MLB level, but he was slashing .334/.440/.720 with 33 homers and 98 RBI in 84 games for Triple-A Memphis prior to being recalled in mid-August.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Belts first big-league homer
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Baker went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Saturday in a loss to the Phillies.
Baker produced St. Louis' lone run of the contest with his solo shot off Zack Wheeler in the third inning. It was the 26-year-old's first major-league long ball, and there may be many more to come if his 33 homers over 84 games in the minors this season is any indication. Baker has played sparingly during his two call-ups to the big club, though he could start to see more opportunities down the stretch with the Cardinals sitting 12 games out of an NL wild-card spot.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Sitting versus lefty
Rotowire
Baker is absent from the lineup for Monday's game in Pittsburgh, Bally Sports Midwest reports.
Baker has started just four of nine games since his recall and has now not been in the lineup three times in five contests versus southpaws over that time. The minor league's home run leader this season with 33 dingers, Baker has struggled during his few chances in the majors and the Cardinals don't seem terribly interested in giving him a longer look.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Gets start at DH
Rotowire
Baker is serving as the Cardinals' designated hitter and batting eighth Monday versus the Athletics.
This will be Baker's first major-league game since he was recalled Saturday from Triple-A Memphis. The 26-year-old has struggled in limited action this season at baseball's highest level, but he's posted a tremendous .3334/.440/.720 batting line with 33 homers and 98 RBI across 84 games in the International League. Maybe he can carve out more playing time down the stretch on an out-of-contention St. Louis club, but there are a lot of mouths to feed in the DH role.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Recalled from Memphis
Rotowire
The Cardinals recalled Baker from Triple-A Memphis on Saturday.
With Dylan Carlson (oblique) headed for the 10-day IL, Baker will come up from the minors to give St. Louis an additional bench bat. The 26-year-old first baseman is 5-for-19 in the majors this season and boasts a .334/.439/.720 slash line through 380 plate appearances in the minors.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Sent down Sunday
Rotowire
The Cardinals optioned Baker to Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Baker hasn't appeared in a game since July 5. He will get regular at-bats again at Memphis, where he's crushed to the tune of a .319/.433/.664 slash line and 22 homers in 64 games this season. His path to playing time is complicated by his defensive limitations, though Baker figures to get another opportunity before the end of the season, perhaps shortly after the trade deadline.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Summoned from Triple-A
Rotowire
The Cardinals recalled Baker from Triple-A Memphis on Monday. He'll serve as the Cardinals' designated hitter and No. 6 batter in Monday's series opener in Miami.
Baker was up with the Cardinals for a couple weeks last month but played sparingly, with most of his limited opportunities coming against left-handed pitching. St. Louis is slated to face a few southpaws this week, so he could see a handful of starts before the All-Star break.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Heads back to minors
Rotowire
The Cardinals optioned Baker to Triple-A Memphis on Monday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
He'll move back to the minors to clear a spot on the 26-man active roster for outfielder Lars Nootbaar (back), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. Following his promotion from Memphis on June 4, Baker started at designated hitter in his first two games with the Cardinals, but he cracked the lineup just once in the team's subsequent 11 contests. He'll get the chance to play on a regular basis in his return to Triple-A.
