Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Slumping to start spring

Carpenter is 0-for-8 with two walks and four strikeouts across his first four Grapefruit League games.

It's certainly early and the sample is therefore small, but Carpenter's struggles are an unfortunate development with respect to his bid for regular playing time to start the season. Manager Mike Shildt has gone on record with his desire to try and keep the 35-year-old's bat in the lineup as much as possible despite the fact Nolan Arenado is now entrenched at the hot corner. Nevertheless, Carpenter has plenty to prove after generating a combined .216/.332/.372 line across 661 plate appearances over the last two seasons, and with the designated hitter currently not in the National League's 2021 plans, he could have a difficult time getting consistent at-bats even if he shows marked improvement over the balance of spring training.