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We have a problem right now with our roster in that 3 positions are being held by guys who we are just hoping they find a way to regain some promise. That’s Hence, Gorman, and Scott. They’ve all lost nearly all of their once previous trade value so now it’s just down to hoping something suddenly clicks but the results have been very rough at AAA.
With Scott, he’s young enough still. Plus, the team doesn’t have another real CF option to backup Church so I think you just hope you can fix his swing.
With Gorman and Hence, I have no idea what to do. It’s a problem and not one with a good solution.
JNevel-I had the feeling Hence had been done for awhile. But I never saw how far off a cliff Gorman and Scott fell coming. It doesn’t look good for any of those players coming back. We will see-but it may give them pause before they trade Noot. Joshua Baez may not be as ready as they think. Fortunately, Jordan’s defense plays well enough to get by while we wait for his power to show up. Lots of roster work to be done for 27.
KCB – I’ve been the low man on Hence for 3 seasons now. I actually wanted him traded away when he was at peak value in ‘23. I have thought and still think he could end up as a solid bullpen option but it’s getting a bit more dicey on that happening. I’m ok with keeping him with that sole focus in mind.
If we didn’t have a hole at 3B, I’d probably try to trade Gorman for anything we can get just to clear a roster spot. So to do that, we need to trade for some kind of third base option.
We could also use a true CF option because again, no one is coming up soon unless they can fix Victor Scott. Maybe we can get a decent AAA guy with some promise in a trade?
Nootbaar wasn’t a good CFer in ‘23. My guess is he’s only considered an occasional fill-in option. It’s really just Church or Scott and neither seems to be able to hit.
Do you think they would play Nootbaar every day in CF?
Obviously not. In an emergency. Who do you play if Church gets hurt? Noot obviously isn’t ideal, but the other options are scary. Maybe a better question is who you think they would get for Noot in a deadline trade? Not much imo. Who is available to step up from aaa? I guess you can bring Baez up, but are you really for that? My point being just maybe he’s more valuable here than trading him off at a discount.
If someone said that Noot should be sold at a discount, I disagree also. But if he can fetch full value, I say, “Do it!”. The potential fill in role in CF does not justify keeping him, IMO, if they get a good offer. My view is that his value will likely never be higher as he proved he is healthy and playing close to his career norm. But when all is said and done, he is a 5-10% above MLB average player (OPS+).
He is a year and a half away from free agency and he isn’t going to be here when the Cardinals are truly competitive again. If they don’t get the good offer now, I bet he will certainly be traded in the upcoming offseason.
However, because of a potential lockout stalling all offseason activity, if I was the Cards, that would give me additional incentive to move him now. Either way, Noot walks after the 2027 season. He is not a core player to get a big, multi-year deal – at least not here.
First priority is moving Dustin May. That allows the Cardinals to save $3-4 million.
Noot would have to be a trade comparable to the Donovan trade to move him, and I don’t see the Cardinals pushing for Competitive Balance round picks, as there is talk those will be eliminated.
Yeah I think May, Romero, and Noot have to be almost locks to be traded before August 3. None of them have any future with the organization so get what you can for them now while you still can.
O’Brien, Herrera, or Burly are much more debatable. O’Brien is the likeliest of those three to be moved but it just depends on the offers.
I don’t think Gorman has a future with the organization so it might be prudent to try to move him now for some Low A lottery pick. To bring Gorman back next year you are looking at an Arb 2 salary of around $3.5M. Are they going to pay that to watch him hit .190 or spend half the year in Memphis? I doubt it unless they think the magic elixir that turned Walker around will work on Gorman.
I wouldn’t completely give up on Victor Scott yet. He may never be an everyday player but he could be a serviceable 4th OF or defensive replacement if he can regain a little more offense.
Obviously we are going to have to address LF, CF, and 3B before 2027 if we want to be taken seriously. I’m not optimistic we have internal solutions except maybe with Church.
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