A former St. Louis Cardinals slugger is sticking around in the National League.
It has been a roller coaster of a year for former Cardinals second-round pick Luken Baker. He began the 2025 season with the Cardinals organization, like he had done every other year of his professional career to that point. He was selected in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft and worked his way through the minors and made his big league debut back in 2023.
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He showed prolific power down in the minors, including three different seasons with 26 or more homers. But there wasn’t a path forward in the big leagues for him. Paul Goldschmidt was the first baseman in St. Louis for years and then Willson Contreras took over the job in 2025. He appeared in 19 games in the big leagues for St. Louis in 2025 but spent most of the season down in the minors. Eventually, the Cardinals moved on and the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed him off waivers. He appeared in 33 games in the Dodgers’ system and became a free agent. Now, he’s sticking around in the NL West with the Arizona Diamondbacks, per Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton.
The former Cardinals slugger found a new home
Apr 1, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Luken Baker (26) hits a two run double against the Los Angeles Angels during the tenth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
“The Diamondbacks and 1B Luken Baker have agreed to a Minor League deal,” Leighton wrote on X. “Baker, 29 in March, owns a .655 OPS in 72 MLB games, but was one of the most productive bats in the minors in 2023 and 2024, launching a combined 65 homers.”
Overall, Baker has launched 144 homers in seven minor league seasons. Those power numbers are worth looking into for a club.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out in St. Louis. The Cardinals have had log jams all over the place and there was never a clear pathway for him with the organization, despite the massive power numbers down in the minors. Even with Contreras now gone, there wouldn’t have even been a big pathway in 2026 either. Alec Burleson figures to be the team’s starting first baseman now. Baker was great in Triple-A. Hopefully, he gets an opportunity over in Arizona.
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