Make it make sense!

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker (18) / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Desperation is certainly the name of the game with the St. Louis Cardinals at this point in the season. Now sitting at .500 (60-60) after two losses to the Reds coming into Wednesday’s series finale, the club has fallen 3.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot. So naturally, they’ve brought in some reinforcements amid injuries, namely former top prospect Jordan Walker.

Walker was called up on Monday and Cardinals manager Oli Marmol made it clear at the time that he would essentially be used as a platoon bat, with the right-handed hitting youngster being in the lineup against lefties.

Now, that alone warrants criticism given that Walker has an OPS about .140 points higher against righties than against lefties in the big leagues (and less dramatic but still present reverse splits in the minors). However, the more we unpack it and the Cardinals plan with Walker, the more confusing it all is.

Marmol noted on Wednesday that Walker, who was in the lineup on Monday but was not on Tuesday or Wednesday, that the opportunities just haven’t been there with a slew of righties on deck for St. Louis to face.

And the more he kept talking, the less satisfied Cards fans had to be with their manager and the logic the club is using at such a crucial juncture.

Cardinals fans have every right to be mad at Oli Marmol’s usage of Jordan Walker

Per MLB.com Cardinals beat writer John Denton, here’s Marmol’s explanation for Walker’s lack of usage and, more concerning, why it’s likely to continue in the near future:

The big-league team has a need, and it’s a right-handed bat. So, that’s the simplest way to look at it. It’s not May; it’s the end of the year. You have limited amount of games left, and our biggest struggle has been against left-handed pitchers. Yes, we know it’s only (Clayton) Kershaw and Milwaukee has all right-handed starters for the most part, so we were aware of that going into how we made this decision. But there’s also left-handed relievers (where Walker) can take an at-bat against. We have a need (versus lefties), and it has to be someone that could play an outfield position.”

Okay, great. The Cardinals needed a right-handed bat, which Walker checks the boxes of. However, you’d prefer to have someone with better splits against lefties if that’s the intention of this role. Furthermore, what’s the point of calling up Walker if he’s only going to face left-handed pitching when there is basically nothing but righties ahead for St. Louis in terms of matchups? There isn’t one.

If there’s one silver lining about Marmol’s comments, it’s that he clearly opens the door to pinch-hit or substitution opportunities for Walker moving forward. They might be misguided opportunities but they’re opportunities nonetheless.

However, this explanation and the handling of Walker in this latest call-up feels like it’s undoing quite a bit that was already unraveling. With the Cardinals climbing from the cellar of the NL Central and into the playoff race, Marmol gained quite a bit of goodwill. Now that the team is faltering and we’re seeing comments like these, that’s starting to wane and quickly.

Maybe Marmol and the Cards will wise up soon when it comes to Walker and give a guy who was red-hot in Triple-A more chances. But if he doesn’t wise up with the current trajectory of this club, it feels impossible for St. Louis to have even a sniff of the postseason.