Slimmer Matt Adams tells Cape Cards Caravan he wants a bigger year

Matt Adams never has been and never will be a small human being. That will never change, even if the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman trimmed down during the offseason.

It was never more evident than when he spent part of Monday evening seated next to his new, pint-sized bodyguard for much of a question-and-answer session during the Cardinals Caravan event at the Osage Centre.

Al Hrabosky autographs a baseball for Izaac Pursley, with his parents, Greg and Sheree Pursley, at the Cardinals Caravan on Monday, Jan. 18, 2016 at the Osage Centre.(Fred Lynch)

As part of the St. Louis Cardinals' preseason tour, a handful of Cardinal personalities made the trip to Cape Girardeau -- the final city of the four-day, 21-stop Caravan -- but it was clear none of the visitors was more in-demand than Adams.

The traveling troupe included Greg Garcia, minor-league prospects Charlie Tilson and Dean Kiekhefer and former players Danny Cox and Al Hrabosky, who also is a member of the team's television broadcast team.

But it was Adams who found himself front and center -- making small talk with 7-year-old Izaac Pursley of Jackson, who ended up sitting on stage with Adams for the second half of the Q&A -- and received the biggest ovation upon his introduction. And with good reason.

Adams has more big-league face time than any of the other team representatives at the event, but he also is the target of attention from a lot of fans who hope the big first baseman can come back from a 2015 season in which he missed 102 games because of an injury and rediscover the bat that hit for average and pop during his previous two full seasons in the major leagues.

"Last year was tough with the injuries and things, but I've had a great offseason and I'm back 100 percent healthy and ready to go this thing," Adams said. "I'm really, really anticipating getting down to Jupiter and getting things started for this year."

Adams was hitting over .300 a month into the season a year ago, but his numbers began to plummet before a quad injury sidelined him after May 26. He didn't return until Sept. 10 and was not a part of the playoff roster because he was not 100 percent.

He says he now is. The injury rehab was part of the reason for changing his normal workout plan, and the new regimen has left Adams slimmed down and, he hopes, in a better position to not only stay healthy all season but increase his production.

"I had a lot of good people surrounding me and a lot of great teammates who have been through some injuries, and that took some time to come back," Adams said. "The training staff was great with me. Knowing I was getting what I needed to going through the rehab process really helped me at ease with everything.

"I talked with our strength coach and made the switch with the guy I'm working with back home in the offseason now, and it's been night-and-day better this offseason, so I think it's something I'm going to keep long-term, even when I'm done playing ball. It's been a good switch."

The change largely is about the style of lifting.

"A lot of it now is tempo-based, where your muscles are under stress the entire time instead of just grabbing a bar and repping the weight out," Adams said. "It's being very, very smart with that kind of stuff."

Adams has plenty of pressure to perform -- not just in terms of leaving his injury behind him. St. Louis is in a position to continue to platoon at first base, with Brandon Moss also recently re-signed at the position, and the club showed it wasn't satisfied at that corner of the infield when it was linked to free agents such as slugging first baseman Chris Davis this offseason. Davis ultimately re-signed with the Baltimore Orioles, and the Cards ultimately appear to be sticking with its tandem. But there also have been trade whispers surrounding Adams.

He said he can't let any of that bother him.

"It's just something that's out of my control, so I just let that go," Adams said. "I heard it and, you know, do with it what I please, but I don't really sit down and try to worry about that too much, because it's something I can't control. I can control what I do on a daily basis in the offseason making myself better and getting ready for the next year."

He believes he is ready for this season -- saying his No. 1 goal is to be healthy all year -- and refuses to call 2015 a lost year. In fact, he believes he used his time and recovery wisely and can walk into 2016 better than he was in the past.

"I was able to really, really focus on some things working in the cage and in [batting practice] during the last part of the season when I was cleared to get back out on the field and do baseball stuff," he said. "So, I don't think I lost anything. The games played -- that's the only thing I lost. Everything else, I think I gained for the most part."

Adams continues to refine his approach at the plate, where he has historically been a good contact hitter but hasn't always been the most patient. He said his walk ratio is a point of emphasis every season, and this one will be no exception.

Fans had questions for Adams as well, and he responded to queries about his competition with Moss by saying he thought it was a scenario that "kind of gets both of us going and gets the most out of us."

As for his opinion on the signing snub by former Cardinal Jason Heyward and recent comments about his reasons for moving on to the Chicago Cubs, Adams' response may not garner the same attention Heyward's initial words have.

"I think that's a spot where you've just got to bite your tongue," Adams said of Heyward's remarks about an aging St. Louis roster. "Honestly, Jason was one of the guys I got along with most, so I was sad to see him go. But that's how baseball goes. Next time we see him, we'll just have to give him a good whooping."

The night -- emceed by Fox Sports broadcaster Dan McLaughlin -- wasn't reserved solely for Adams, and the entire Cardinals contingent fielded questions from fans regarding pregame routines, what teams the players wanted to be drafted by and what they do during their spare time. Cox responded with, "Eat nachos and drink beer," for the first and last of those queries.

One enthusiastic fan veered into an angry rant about leadoff hitters as he shared his hope that Tilson, who will enter spring training with the big-league club for the first time after hitting .295 with 46 stolen bases at Class AA Springfield last season, might be the savior in that role, while a mother debated with Cox the value of travel baseball for young players.

In the end, the generally positive night was the sign of one thing -- baseball is almost here.

"Coming on these Caravans kind of kicks off the season," Adams said. "But I'm excited for it to end so we can get to playing some baseball."