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One of the two stated priorities now that the Goldschmidt trade is done is a left-handed hitting reserve. Where do you see the Cards going? Trade or free agency? Who?
Ideally? Trade JMart to Tampa for Joe McCarthy.
But as NJ315 indicated, we have Fowler, and are likely stuck with him.
Goold’s report about Cards talking to Tampa about Jose trade, possibly for lefty utility infielder, has me hoping for Joey Wendle
I hope there was a misunderstanding and it is Posche, the lefty reliever prospect. OMG, his K rate off the charts.
Technically, McCarthy could be a utility player – he plays 1B & OF.
They could always get Kolten’s younger brother, Kean.
Think the Twins might trafe Max Kepler straight up for Jmart? Kepler is already in arb (super two) and has never really broken out. But he is a solid defender with pop and when injuries happen, he won’t ruin you as a starter. In order to make it work, you probably need to find a way to move Fowler though.
I put this on the rumors thread initially, but it probably should have gone here…
This is apparently not a rumor, but a columnist wondering out loud after he heard Goldy mention Descalso (along with about a dozen other former teammates) today.
Man, I hope the Cards aim higher than this. Career .240 hitter who is coming off his only season above MLB average (106 OPS+ vs. his career mark of 85, where 100 is average).
Of course, it got about a jillion likes from those who value nostalgia more than getting the best players.
Here’s a name to ponder as #STLCards look at LH bench options: former Cardinal and former Goldschmidt teammate, free agent Daniel Descalso.
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) December 7, 2018
Here is a switch-hitter who plays IF and OF and is above-average offensively.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gonzama01.shtml
I would think for the Cardinals to entertain a free agent switch hitter, they would had to have traded Gyorko…
He’s better as a rhb. His lh batter numbers are below lg avg yearly, except for his outlier 2017. I do like his road numbers.
Seems to me that Gyorko or Martinez is still going to have to go. Unless they put Munoz back in Triple-A or go with no real reserve OF and send O’Neill down, there isn’t going to be enough 25-man roster room for everyone.
Bench (six guys for at most five spots)
catcher
new LHH guy
Gyorko
Martinez
Munoz
O’NeillIMO, Wisdom is not on the same level as those other names. He does not have much of a chance of cracking the opening day roster unless there are multiple trades or injuries to starters or the names above. A great guy to have ready in Memphis, though.
I do believe Jose Martinez will be traded.
Gyorko, right now, I believe is quality depth. Carpenter will need rest. He can platoon a bit with Wong.
Really what we need to do is cut Fowler & Cecil (the only 2 players on the Cardinals with full NTC’s by the way).
I imagine the Cardinals are trying to get Joe McCarthy from Tampa, and Tampa is saying McCarthy > JMart, so they want the Cardinals to kick in a prospect.
Tampa wants a right-handed power hitter, the Cardinals want a left-handed one.
The only upgrade for them from CJ Cron is Nelson Cruz, unless they are trying to get prospects out of Cleveland/Seattle for taking on the contracts of Encarnacion/Santana.
“Gyorko, right now, I believe is quality depth. Carpenter will need rest. He can platoon a bit with Wong.
Really what we need to do is cut Fowler & Cecil (the only 2 players on the Cardinals with full NTC’s by the way).”I don’t always agree with C-2016, but I very enthusiastically second all of the above thoughts. And I also agree with him re Derek Dietrich for lefty bat off the bench. Dietrich is the same age and same general talent level/career track record as Marwin Gonzalez, but will cost a lot less than Marwin, I’m pretty sure, due to Marwin’s flukey 2017 monster year, and his national publicity arising from the Astros’ success of late.
Moreover, DD might provide substantially more hitting value than it superficially appears, since his home/road split was so crazily skewed while playing for the Marlins. With 1,000 – 1,100 trips to the plate both home and away, here are the nutty numbers.
Home .234/.319/.377
Road .272/.351/.465That’s an .816 road OPS, versus .696 at home. I apologize if this has been mentioned on any other threads. But even if it has, it probably bears repeating anyway.
I am STILL saying that the bullpen should be priority number one, and two, and three. But as long as people think that we need a versatile lefty bench bat, the Cards may as well get one with upside.
Dietrich is a good hitter, but bad defender. Minus-15 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-13 Outs Above Average as a left fielder last season. Second-worst LF in MLB per SABR Defensive Index at -7.7.
Better, but still bad, according to SDI.
In 2017 SABR SDI, Dietrich was fifth-worst 3B in MLB at -6.2.
In 2016 SABR SDI, Dietrich was third-worst 2B in NL at -3.0.The numbers say he is considerably below average everywhere he plays.
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