St. Louis Cardinals MLB Notebook – Week of November 19-25

photo: Ozzie Smith and Harrison Bader (St. Louis Cardinals)

Cardinals tweak rosters for Rule 5 draft

Tuesday, November 20 was the deadline for teams to finalize their rosters in preparation for the Rule 5 draft.  This process generally includes removing players from the 40-man roster by trade or by releasing or outrighting a player to make room.  Minor league players to be protected are then added to the roster.

The Cardinals selected the contracts of four players from Memphis to protect from Rule 5 – LHP Genesis Cabrera, RHP Ryan Helsley, OF Lane Thomas, and 2B Ramon Urias.  The roster prior to these additions contained 38 players, so two players were designated for assignment to open up the additional two spots – RHPs Conner Greene and Derian Gonzalez.

Helsley is the Cardinals No. 7 prospect, according to The Cardinal Nation’s August rankings. The 21-year old missed much of his 2018 in Memphis due to shoulder and forearm issues.  Cabrera is the Cardinals No. 14 prospect who came from the Rays in the Tommy Pham trade at the end of July. Urias is the No. 44 prospect who the Cardinals signed from the Mexican League in January.  Urias played in both Springfield and Memphis in 2018.  Finally, Thomas was acquired from the Blue Jays for international pool money and is ranked No. 19 in the Cardinals system.  Thomas hit 27 home runs and drove in 88 runs across both Springfield and Memphis in 2018, both the best in the system.  The center fielder also competed in the Arizona Fall League.

Greene was acquired from the Blue Jays in the Randal Grichuk trade in January.  Greene struggled with control issues and walked 7.1 batters per nine innings in the minors.  The right hander also struggled to get batters out in the Arizona Fall League.  Gonzalez was injured for much of 2018 and after having begun at Memphis, returned to Springfield to try to make up for lost time. The two may be claimed by another organization or could clear waivers and join Memphis.

Players of note who were left unprotected include second baseman Max Schrock, who along with Yairo Muñoz joined the Cardinals in the Stephen Piscotty trade with Oakland.  Schrock is the Cardinals No. 20 prospect.  Also left unprotected were RHP Junior Fernandez (No. 32), catcher Dennis Ortega (No. 41) and outfielder Wadye Ynfante (No. 46).

There is also a minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. Brian Walton explains in detail how it works as well as which Cardinals are affected and why in the following subscriber article.

Setting the Memphis Roster is Crucial to Rule 5 Protection Strategy


Return of the powder blues

Ozzie Smith (Getty Images)

During a Monday, November 19 ceremony at Ballpark Village headlined by Ozzie Smith and Harrison Bader, the Cardinals announced a new alternate uniform design for 2019.

It is a updated version of the light blue uniforms worn in the late 70s and early 80s, known as “powder blue” to fans, but officially referred to as Victory Blue.

These blue uniforms will be worn for 13 games in 2019, all Saturday road games.  The updated version retains all the elements of the current off-white Saturday alternates but in the blue color, including the script “St. Louis” on the breast.  The uniforms will be worn with red hats.

The uniforms will debut on March 30 in Milwaukee.


Matheny joins Royals

Former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny has joined the Kansas City Royals as a special advisor for player development. He was fired as St. Louis’ manager after 6 ½ years on July 14, replaced by Mike Shildt.

For further details, please refer to the article below.

Royals Hire Matheny as Special Advisor for Player Development


Trade and Acquisition Rumors

The Cardinals have talked to the Arizona Diamondbacks about acquiring Paul Goldschmidt, reports Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch.  The 31-year old first baseman has one year remaining on his contract.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and MLB Network tweeted this past week that the Cardinals “maintain interest” in free agent outfielder Michael Brantley.  Goold, however, reported via Twitter that Brantley isn’t a top priority.

Morosi also repeated his report from several weeks ago that the Cardinals have interest in reliever Andrew Miller. Goold again commented that the organization has concerns about the “mileage” on the 33-year old left-hander’s arm and that they are looking into all left-handed options.


Transactions  

  • 11/20 The Cardinals designated RHP Derian Gonzalez for assignment.
  • 11/20 The Cardinals designated RHP Conner Greene for assignment.
  • 11/20 The Cardinals selected the contract of LHP Genesis Cabrera from the Memphis Redbirds.
  • 11/20 The Cardinals selected the contract of CF Lane Thomas from the Memphis Redbirds.
  • 11/20 The Cardinals selected the contract of RHP Ryan Helsley from the Memphis Redbirds.
  • 11/20 The Cardinals selected the contract of 2B Ramon Urias from the Memphis Redbirds.

Injury Report

There is no new injury news to report.


Looking Ahead

November 30 is the non-tender deadline, when teams must present 2019 contracts to all of their pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players.  Any player not tendered a contract becomes a free agent.  The 40-man roster is now full, so it is possible some players will be non-tendered to make room for any offseason trades or signings.  The Cardinals have four arbitration eligible players this year.  They are Michael Wacha, Marcell Ozuna, Dominic Leone, and Chasen Shreve.  Of those four, Shreve is the most likely to be non-tendered.

The Winter Meetings are scheduled for December 9-13 in Las Vegas.  The Rule 5 draft is scheduled for the morning of December 13.

January 11, 2019 is the deadline for clubs and arbitration-eligible players to exchange salary amounts.

The annual Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up fan festival will be held on January 19-21 at the Hyatt Regency at the Arch in St. Louis. Admission tickets are currently on sale, with autograph ticket sales opening on December 10.


Blast from the Past

This week’s history segment continues the theme of noteworthy trades in Cardinals history.  This week’s deal is one that received mixed reviews from Cardinals fans, both at the time of the trade, and today.

Keith Hernandez and George Hendrick

Keith Hernandez is perhaps better known to younger Cardinals fans as a New York Met, both as a player and now as a broadcaster.  Hernandez, however, was first a Cardinal, having been drafted by St. Louis in the 42nd round of the 1971 draft.  The first baseman, considered one of the best fielders of all time at his position, made his major league debut on August 20, 1974 at the age of 20.

Hernandez played for 9 ½ seasons as a Cardinal, amassing an impressive resume which included an MVP award, two All-Star Game appearances, a batting title, a Silver Slugger and five Gold Gloves.  He was a significant contributor to the Cardinals World Series Championship in 1982.

One might wonder with those credentials why the first baseman was traded away.  The answer is that Hernandez developed a cocaine habit, something that did not set too well with management and with fans.  Cocaine use by baseball players of that era was not uncommon. Hernandez himself once testified that as many as 40 percent of baseball players were using in those days.

In any event, manager Whitey Herzog was determined to get rid of Hernandez because of his drug habit, a move that to some seemed hypocritical in light of the fact that teammate Darrell Porter had also had a cocaine problem, one that eventually ended his life many years later.

Hernandez was traded to the Mets in June of 1983 for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey.  Neither Allen nor Ownbey amounted to much, while Hernandez went on to win five more Gold Gloves and appear in three more All-Star games as a Met.  Hernandez also added another World Series Championship as a Met in 1986.  Hernandez has stated that he did not use drugs after the trade.

Hernandez ended his career with a forgettable season with the Cleveland Indians in 1990, after which he retired from baseball.

Hernandez is currently a broadcaster for the SNY Network that televises Mets games.  He is also a published author with four books to his credit and this past week was named a Gold Glove Hall of Famer.

Hernandez has been on the Modern Era fan ballot for the Cardinals team Hall of Fame in recent years, but has yet to finish among the top two in the voting.

Opinions on this trade vary depending on who you ask, but in the view of this author, the trade of Hernandez was a big mistake.


Bonus for members of The Cardinal Nation

TCN 2019 St. Louis Cardinals Prospect #37 – Alvaro Seijas


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