Cardinals president John Mozeliak stood up to speak for the fans himself, putting their alleged words about Dexter Fowler’s effort into his mouth.
Mozeliak said he “can’t defend” the hustle and work of the outfielder, who’s enduring his worst season since his rookie campaign.
Fowler, who signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract ahead of the 2017 season, is batting just .171 in 84 games thus far, and he has lost his starting job.
“Here’s a guy that wants to go out and play well,” Mozeliak told Dan McLaughlin on Fox Sports’ “Mondays with Mo.” “I think he would tell you that it’s hard to do that when you’re not playing and not playing on a consistent basis.
“But I’ve also had a lot of people come up to me and question his effort and his energy level. And those are things that I can’t defend. What I can defend is trying to create opportunities for him, but not if it’s at the expense of someone who’s hustling and playing hard.”
Harrison Bader, Marcell Ozuna and Tommy Pham make up the St. Louis outfield at the moment. Bader, posting a slash line of .261/.330/.388, appears to have beaten out Fowler, who had a solid first year in St. Louis, batting .264 with 18 home runs.
“And I think really everybody just needs to take a hard look in the mirror and decide what they want that next chapter to look like,” Mozeliak said. “And in Dexter’s case, you know, maybe taking just a brief timeout, trying to reassess himself and give him a chance for a strong second half is probably what’s best for everybody.”
Mozeliak later walked back his comments, stating in an email to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the president of a team ripping its $85 million outfielder for not working hard enough is not a story.
“I would not make too much of this, and really what I was trying to say is: I hear what our fan base is saying,” Mozeliak wrote. “And I just hope our players understand it as well, but there is a time to get this right and to win.”
Fowler is a career .263 hitter, a one-time All-Star and a World Series winner, so he’s clearly not a player who lacks talent. But he’s not getting it done at the moment.
“He’s not playing at the level we had hoped,” Mozeliak said.
