St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny has made it official: first baseman Allen Craig will be on the club's roster for World Series, reports Scott Lauber of WEEI. Outfielder Adron Chambers has been left off the roster to make room for Craig.
Cardinals activate 1B Allen Craig for World Series
St. Louis has it’s first baseman back, though not in his full capacity. Craig will likely DH for games at Fenway Park and be available off the bench at home.
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As Craig is still not quite at 100 percent, he will serve as the club’s designated hitter for the matchups in Boston and as a bench option for the games in St. Louis.
Craig, 29, has been out with an injured left foot since the beginning of September. The Cardinals initially hoped to have their starting first baseman back on the field before the end of the regular season, but kept having to postpone his return because of lingering issues with Lisfranc injury.
While losing an All-Star first baseman for the majority of a playoff run would be a death knell for many squads, the Cards have not lost a step thanks to the production of Matt Adams. Where St. Louis has struggled, however, and where the addition of Craig is likely to be a huge boon, is on the bench.
St. Louis didn't have much in the way of bench power on their NLDS and NLCS rosters -- Daniel Descalso had the highest regular-season slugging percentage of the group -- so Craig should give them a big boost in that department. Craig hit .315/.373/.457 with 13 home runs in 134 games for the Cardinals this season.
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