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I’d rather have seen old Greg Garcia or Descalso getting a minor league deal and invite than Moroff, at least we could use his leadership and familiarity
welcome to the team nevertheless, but even as depth is he really the best option?
A guy like Cozart might be worth a shot for depth with a hint of upside.
I know this deal isnt a big deal, but when there is no other movement it is hard not to look at it closer than we might normally.
Why Moroff? What about him is worth a minor league deal and invite over a lot of the other minor league deals that have went down of seemingly or at least partially useful players
He actually has some decent pop to go with his versatility. Averages 1 home run for every 30 at bats. Wonder how his defense is.
I am just so impressed that we end up getting that middle of the order bat out of a guy who failed so miserably as a left-handed pitcher acquired from Detroit. I guess you change positions, decades, and a couple letters, and you get a second chance from Mo.
Here it is…
Is new #stlcards IF Max Moroff a much poorer man's Brad Miller or a replacement for a departed Max, as in Schrock? (free) https://t.co/h0Ga20Fcql pic.twitter.com/kGZX7zoJee
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 15, 2020
To me Moroff seems to be a poorer man’s version of Schrock. I wonder if the Cardinals were surprised that Schrock got claimed.
Anyway, maybe Moroff can be a decent depth piece.
Helps the SS depth if no options Sosa makes the roster, and Edman likely at 2B. Biggest difference between the two Maxs’ I see. I must have missed something about the “fellow switch hitter” part, but that’s a plus for Moroff also.
Raydar Ascanio is an actual prospect, but most of us forget about him. He is ready defensively, and can hit a little, too.
I guess I’ll put the last sentence of Brian’s “musings” piece on Mozeliak’s comments on the status of the organizations minor league teams here. The sentence is dead-on accurate and one that could be included in every topic as a summary regarding just about all that concerns the St. Louis Cardinals and the entirety of their system.
But one thing is clear. There are many uncertainties that will need to be cleared up ahead before minor league ball can be played in 2021.
As the C-19’s status effects nearly everyone and everything… everyday personal planning is effected. And future plans are almost impossible to make…. not knowing the future. The virus continues to ramp up as experts had predicted and the entire vaccine program is confusing and impossible to grasp. These are two major factors that will determine what the future holds.
Will the uncertainties clear up anytime soon? That’s up to each individual’s perception as to how this situation will play out, some positive others less so, still others…. I’m not even going there.
Covid has thrown a wrench into a lot of plans for sure but not every team is stuck in neutral. There have been several transactions since the season ended. I think the Cardinals were going to have a quiet offseason whether covid was around or not because we boxed ourselves in payroll wise with some bad contracts.
The type of INF depth is for AAA which had been lacking players. The AAA Of is likely set with Thomas-Williams-Capel and the one Card who will miss making the MLB team. Down below them there’s Toerner-Noots-Pinder and Hurst. The real need was AAA infielders.
bcc are you saying we need another MLB ready OF? (mentioned with a smile)
I’m sorry, 14, but I’m not keen
on Capel, Toerner, Noots, Pinder, and Hurst. Less than interesting. Maybe Torres, Fletcher, and Burleson.Stl25 and Nigel T alluded to something the other day that I have been thinking a lot about, which is the Cardinals should go big or go home in free agency (not necessarily this year but just in general.) The more I think about it the more it makes sense.
I think most of us on this board would agree that building from within should be the primary supplier of talent for a successful organization, but supplementing from the outside is necessary at times. The trick is striking the right balance and deciding what kind of player to bring in from the outside.
It seems to me that in the past few years the Cardinals have decided to use free agency to acquire a bunch of average players instead of a few elite players. I suppose the thinking is that this will save money and if you add up enough average players their WAR will equal a few elite players. I think this model has failed miserably. Fowler, Leake, Cecil, Holland, Miller, and Mikolas, were pretty much average players when signed by the Cardinals but their contracts were above average. How many of them would you consider a good signing? Maybe Mikolas or maybe Miller if you really squint.
The Cardinals should avoid this kind of middling player in the future and instead try to sign a few elite players and some bargain bin players. A bargain bin player would be someone like Brad Miller or Kwang-hun Kim. They haven’t put up great numbers but they were extremely cheap so I would consider them good signings. We need more signings like them plus an elite signing or two and avoid the middle of the road players that only bring us grief.
Well I am not ready to declare him elite yet but he was a good signing. I would consider him a good signing even if his numbers were more pedestrian because he is so cheap. He isn’t a burden to our payroll like the aforementioned average player are.
IMHO, so far he has been a great signing. Small sample, but pitching like a #1-2. Can he keep it up? Don’t know, but sure hope so.
I saw KK as the best pitcher we had last season with Adam number two. I am disappointed we didn’t sign him longer at those dollars.
Kim is an example of a good signing, for sure. He’s cheap and will at worst be worth what he’s paid. He is not hurting the budget in any way.
Gscottar is right. People are gunshy about committing big money to a big name player in case he flops. And of course a number of the big free agent deals can turn into really bad deals at the very end of them due to aging curves. But take the Bryce Harper deal as an example of one that people would be hesitant to make. He’s essentially making $26M a year for a long time. That’s a risk, sure. But what is the downside? He’s worth 2-3 WAR, or $18-27M a year on the market. The upside is that he has a 6 WAR season or two that pays for nearly half his entire deal at once. By nature, these contracts aren’t likely to be huge bargains, but even in the case of a player like Arenado, he’s likely going to be salary/production neutral when all is said and done.
That’s why guys like Lindor or Seager, etc are likely to be bargains even if they sign a big free agent deal after next year. Providing 4-5 or more WAR per year for a few years and then tailing off to a lower tier would be just fine and it’s probably the most likely scenario. Some fans would be scared of that. Some fans care nothing about the money. Smart fans would call that good business for a championship level team.
So, in summary…building most of your core from within (Carlson, Gorman, Flaherty, Dejong, Hudson, etc) and supplementing with good trades (Goldy), low money deals for support players (Kim, B Miller types, etc) and some high $$ stars (Lindor/Seager/Correa, Conforto, etc) is a far better model than paying market value for mediocre returns (A Miller, Cecil, Leake, Fowler). I hope the FO will agree and consider the course for 2021-24 wisely. I really do believe this team could win a title in that stretch if they are smart and have a little bit of luck.
The logic is sound – but only if the top-tier star they choose turns out to be a good decision over time. Because if not, the Cardinals do not have the ability to eat a huge contract and likely remain competitive.
My concern is that the list of big money players they did try to get in recent years would all have been bad contracts. It started with Pujols, then Price and Heyward and Stanton. None of them have lived up to their money.
I am not saying the Cardinals shouldn’t try, as I have said a number of times since Albert left that the team needs a bonafide star and I don’t think there is one in the making in the farm system. I am just pointing out that the track record is concerning. And if they screw up, it could hurt the team’s competitiveness for years.
At this point in their careers, Wainwright and Molina are middling FA’s too, so it’s not always field value that drives our FO decisions.
Brian – I don’t know why you would say that you don’t see a budding bona dude star in the system. Some do have that potential, don’t they? Carlson? Gorman?
Herrera? Walker? Winn? Torres?
Montero? No surety, but it seems the potential is there.Star or superstar, a perennial all-star and one of the best players in the game for years ahead? I see the former, but not the latter.
You will see when we finish rolling out the top 50 that even the best prospects in the system are graded as having “Above-Average Regular; Occasional All-Star” potential, with a risk level that varies by the player. COULD they become more? Sure, but this is our objective assessment.
P.S. You can see these quantified in the “FUTURE VALUE” listed at the end of each of Matt Thompson’s scouting reports. Having a nationally-aware eye included in our prospect ranking process this year has really helped keep our evaluations grounded.
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