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DeWitt has made it rather clear that we will not ever be in a major rebuild. Perhaps Mo and Girsch could talk him into a soft rebuild. Under that scenario we could see what we could get for Norris, JMart, Pham, and maybe Gyroko. CMart and Wacha would have value if they weren’t on the DL. Ozuna might have some value but I don’t think the front office is going to punt on him this quick.
Jim Bowden just said on MLB radio that if we would trade for Moustakas and Merrifield we could be contenders right now. I don’t agree with that unless those guys can learn how to pitch out of the bullpen real quick. Our bullpen is a disaster. I mean you could seriously make the claim that Holland, Cecil, Gregerson, and Lyons should all be immediately released. Bowman can stay in Memphis since he has options.
I like Moustakas but is he really a real upgrade for 3B? I don`t think so.Merrifield is interesting but I expect KC to sell high for him.Gscottar is right..you have to fix the bullpen.I really doubt Cecil,Lyons and Gregerson go anywhere except maybe the DL (Lyons ?)As for Holland I think he is on thin ice right now and just maybe Cards bite the bullet and just DFA him or release him outright before the end of the month.
The Yankees are looking for pitching. I would think Mikolas would bring back some decent prospects from them (they traded Fowler, Mateo and Kaprelein for Sonny Gray last year).
I’ve been thinking about my exchange with CC earlier today on this thread regarding Ozuna and how low his value has sunk. Why is that?
Well, there is a logical place to start. We all know his shoulder is not right. It affects his throwing ability. Everyone can clearly see that. A 2017 Gold Glove Award winner is throwing lollypops in 2018. What are the chances a bum shoulder does NOT affect his hitting in some way?
Maybe instead of selling him for pennies on the dollar, they should finally get to the bottom of what is wrong – and get it fixed – now. Let’s make a big assumption that there is a surgical answer. The sooner it is done, the sooner he can return, with a fresh start – in 2019.
Thoughts?
I don’t think the offense would be any worse than it has been to date if O’Neill is the LF starter while Ozuna recovers. Maybe that’s just what we’ll see if they aren’t back in it by the end of the Cubs series next week.
I was thinking the same thing about Ozuna. Get that shoulder fixed, then see what we’ve got. I don’t think it will happen, though. They wouldn’t take a chance on Rosenthal, and I don’t think they will do it with Ozuna. I think that after they screwed themselves with the Mark Mulder contract back in 2006, they swore off of injured free agents.
Rosenthal was different because they had to invest new money on a contract this year. As we’ve seen, no other team signed him either.
On the other hand, Ozuna’s 2019 salary is sunk cost. They are on the hook to pay him no matter what (unless they release/non-tender him). Take a loss for the remainder of 2018 in hope of getting for 2019 what they thought they had acquired – an All-Star.
So what if this injury Ozuna has requires major surgery? I keep asking this and if they wait until after the season to figure it out then it could lead in to him missing time next season. Why not reevaluate him now and get and procedure done now? I have no issues lining Jose Martinez in LF as a plan b option and getting that bat in the lineup.
Well, we don’t know that major surgery is required or even if it will help. However, the appearance that the team has ignored his major throwing issues all year long makes me wonder why.
I was thinking shoulder surgery would keep him out all of 2019 so that any team that would sign him would be signing a player who could be permanently damaged. If he could get surgery now and be ready to play next spring, I’d be all in on it. I never did understand that rationale behind forcing a guy to play when he is injured. Of course, there’s also the possibility that Ozuna and his agent want to enter free agency and get a enough millions for future security before taking a chance on surgery. Ozuna could likely find a team that would give him, say, 3 yrs./$30M based on his past performance.
There are several complications with Ozuna. If they take him out now for surgery then they are really pulling the plug on 2018 and DeWitt doesn’t want to send that signal. Then if the surgery requires him to miss a significant portion or all of 2019 then that salary is totally lost. Neither of those options are good for the Cardinals. It sounds like 2020 is the first time that Ozuna might be fully healthy for an entire season which is too late for the Cards.
I know hindsight is 20/20 but we messed up by signing him over Yelich. We got spurned by Stanton then the Marlins supposedly told everyone that Ozuna was available but Yelich may or not be. We pounced on Ozuna since we didn’t know if Yelich would be available then of course the Marlins send Yelich to one of our division rivals.
Figures.
This team is in 4th place. The FO is being looked on as lying to the fan base. They’ve made a mess of this team. The $$ they lose getting the current OF off the roster could be made up by putting low-cost Memphis players to replace them. Management also has to look at the bullpen in the same way… get rid of the guys they brought in to improve the relief staff.
I would fire Mozeliak today telling him he has caused the destruction of this team and making them a 4th place team instead of a contender. His evaluation of talent is laughably horrible.
I get the dislike (hate) for the Front office/Mo but lying to the fanbase? Get real.Nobody could have predicted Alez Reyes and Wainwright and Gregerson and Leone would all get seriously injured.Mo signed Holland who has flopped completely.He was one of the closers the rabble was clamoring for.Who could have predicted lyons flop,Molina`s injury,Carpenter poor start,Phams crashing back to reality(told you all so).Gyorko ,Fowler and Wong underperforming along with Ozuna and DeJong getting injured.So being seen as lying to the fanbase is beyond crazy IMHO.It has been a perfect storm of misfortune this season.I see no lying involved.I see a glass half-full FO who could be realizing now that th glass is leaking .
That is all true, bw. The lying part is them still saying that this is a play-off contending team. Little by little that reality is starting to sink in here at TCN. C’mon we’re in fourth place behind the Pirates for crying out loud.
The FO is so afraid to do anything that would make it appear that the Cards are out of it, again. Ozuna’s arm is a good example. Right or wrong?
From BF of the Post Dispatch.
When the Cardinals fired Mike Matheny and promoted Shildt from bench coach, Chairman Bill Dewitt Jr. and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak made two opinions very clear.
1. They felt this team was talented enough to salvage a postseason appearance.
2. The intention was to pursue that goal under Shildt.
And obviously that was a cop out and rationalizing by the front office, their excuses, it seems quite clear to me now that the manager was not the problem.
Well the time to crap or get off the pot is getting closer for the FO.I would hate to see a losing streak happen now but unfortunately that might be the only thing to really force the FO hand into making a major change or two.Farting around the .500 mark won`t accomplish anything .
If they traded 75 percent of those players mentioned, they’re a 70 win team next year, not a strong contender. I’d really like to see some of the chaff removed but not the actual decent players.
It depends on what they get in return and also what they do with the cost savings from trading those players.
Sell:
Norris
Gyorko
Fowler (if you can)Listen to offers on (and hope to move):
Jmart
Listen to offers on (move if you can get a good offer):
Pham
Wong
Ozuna (who should be having surgery if his shoulder really is hurt)Listen to offers on (move only if you can get a haul):
Mikolas
Wacha
HicksMove only if someone gives you something insane like Gleyber Torres:
Cmart
MarpDFA: Holland, Lyons, Cecil
My ROS lineup:
1B Marp
C Yadi
SS Dejong
LF O’Neill
RF Pham
3B Muñoz
2B Wong
CF BaderBench: Mercado, Pena, Jmart, Garcia, Wisdom
SP: Cmart, Mikolas, Flaherty, Weaver Wacha/Poncedeleon/Gant
RP: Hicks, Hudson, Gomber, Brebbia, Tui, Ponce, Mayers, Gant
(One of Tui or Brebbia gets traded when Wacha comes back)
Let’s give the young guys a shot.
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