Luken

Baker

Baker hit his second homer of the spring when he took Drew Pomeranz deep in the fourth inning. The 28-year-old is battling for one of the final spots on the roster, and his ability to (potentially) mash left-handers gives him a shot. It’s not likely he’ll get enough playing time if he does make the roster for it to matter in fantasy formats.

The Diamondbacks entered the home half of the fifth inning trailing 8-0, but they never gave up. They were trailing 10-9 entering the eighth but tied it up on an RBI single by Kristian Robinson before Baker crushed a 408-foot (109.5 mph EV) three-run shot off of Shane Panzini to put the Diamondbacks ahead for good. Baker also drew a walk in the ballgame, finishing the afternoon 1-for-1 with a pair of runs scored. He’ll need a monster spring to have a shot at cracking the Opening Day roster.

The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Baker has appeared in 73 games for the Cardinals over the last three seasons, hitting .206/.317/.338 with four homers in 189 plate appearances. He’s batting .250/.347/.508 with 104 homers in 414 career games in Triple-A, which is where he’ll probably open up next season. With his power and ample walk rate, it still seems possible that he could contribute on the short side of a platoon in the majors, but he might be running out of chances.

The 28-year-old slugger had been designated for assignment on Friday, but he passed through waivers unclaimed and will continue to function as extra depth for the Dodgers at the Triple-A level.

Baker was just claimed off of waivers from the Giants on Monday, but the Dodgers needed to free up a spot on their 40-man roster on Friday for the promotion of Justin Dean and unfortunately Baker was the odd man out. It’s possible that the 28-year-old slugger could once again attract interest on waivers.

There’s no path to at-bats at the cold corner in Los Angeles with Freddie Freeman firmly entrenched at the position, but Baker provides the club with an interesting lefty-mashing platoon option down the road.

Baker has played sparingly this season, hitting .235 (8-for-34) with two RBI in 19 games off the Cardinals bench. He’s made just two starts since April 20. He’ll head back to the minors where he’ll get more of an opportunity to play regularly.

Burleson has gone 5-for-23 over his last seven games and has yet to connect for a home run through 15 contests. There’s no reason for long-term concern here, but the Cardinals are seemingly going to give Luken Baker some additional opportunities at DH against left-handers, which includes on Monday night against Astros southpaw Framber Valdez.

With the Angels starting left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, the Cardinals will send Burleson to the bench and have Luken Baker start at designated hitter. Early on, it’s clear that Burleson and Baker will be in a platoon at 1B/DH with Willson Contreras getting regular starts at the other spot.

After three seasons spent mostly in Triple-A, Baker finally appears to be in good position to make the Cardinals as a righty DH. A role expanded beyond that probably wouldn’t be a good idea, as he’s just not someone who figures to hit for average at all. The power, on the other hand, is plenty legit.