The Dodgers outrighted Baker to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.
He's no longer on the 40-man roster but will remain in the organization. Baker has slashed .206/.317/.338 over parts of three seasons at the big-league level.
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Dodgers' Luken Baker: Bumped from 40-man roster
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The Dodgers designated Baker for assignment Friday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Baker was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals on Monday, but his stint on the Dodgers' 40-man roster will come to an end after mere days. The 28-year-old Baker has struggled to find his footing in the majors, but he has multiple 30-homer seasons in the minors, and that power could attract another suitor.
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Dodgers' Luken Baker: Goes to Dodgers via waivers
Rotowire
The Dodgers claimed Baker off waivers from the Cardinals on Monday.
Baker slugged 35 home runs between Triple-A and the majors in 2023 and another 34 long balls between the two levels in 2024. He's hit just .196/.309/.397 with 10 home runs with Memphis in 2025, however, and has slashed only .206/.317/.338 during his time in the majors. Baker will report to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Cardinals optioned Baker to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.
Baker has played sparingly as the short side of a platoon at designated hitter, slashing .235/.366/.324 over 41 plate appearances. The Cardinals have not announced a corresponding move, but it will likely involve activating Ivan Herrera (knee) from the 10-day injured list prior to Friday's game against the Nationals.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Hitting third versus lefty
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Baker will start at designated hitter and bat third in Monday's game versus the Angels.
Baker didn't play in any of the Cardinals' three games during their opening series against the Twins, but he's in the lineup Monday versus lefty Tyler Anderson and is occupying a prime spot in the batting order. The 28-year-old is expected to play regularly against southpaws.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Showing increased bat speed
Rotowire
Baker has shown increased bat speed this spring and has hit a team-leading three home runs in 11 Grapefruit League games, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Baker made it a point over the offseason to increase his bat speed, and it sits at 79 mph this spring, up 5.1 mph over his 73.9 mph average from 2024. The 79 mph average would have ranked second in all of baseball last season, behind only Giancarlo Stanton (81.2 mph). Baker should open the season as a starter versus left-handed pitching, being used both at designated hitter and first base. If he can carry over the increased bat speed into the season, it's possible he works his way into some playing time against righties.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Team rejected overseas overtures
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The Cardinals declined overtures from teams overseas this offseason that wanted to acquire Baker's rights, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Goold says the Cardinals see Baker as being able to contribute as a right-handed batter off the bench and decided to keep him in that role instead. Baker will turn 28 soon and has topped 30 home runs each of the last two seasons at Triple-A Memphis, so there's nothing left for him to prove in the minors. However, it would probably take an injury or two for him to see regular at-bats with the Cardinals this season.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Returns from paternity leave
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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
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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
Rotowire
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
Rotowire
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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