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Re: Donny
A contender may want to address an underwhelming lineup. Could be injury backfill, a debut that underwhelmed by the deadline or simply needing a leadoff man w/D versatility.If its a rebuild,they arent signing max or verlander. Why would those guys want to come to st louis. Donovan and gray could bring possible young unproven pitching prospects. I like donovan and gray but sometimes you have to look at at reality.
Any trades they make should bring back pitching prospects. Any fa signing should be 1 year starting pitching so they don’t overuse what they have. Especially if they trade Gray. The pitching pipeline has to be developed and feeding players to the major league club before they spend on the roster to compete. 27 has a good possibility of being disrupted by the cba. It shouldn’t really effect that system. 28 could be a year we start spending again. But it has to be on plugging holes in the roster, not buying starting pitching. This of course is just my opinion based on information available. All of which is unsubstantiated. We will find out shortly. It should be an interesting off-season. Hopefully more interesting than waiting all winter for the Arenado-Mo stalemate.
Seemingly the FO is dysfunctional, the clubhouse is demoralized and the fanbase is disinterested. What a mess Mozeliak is leaving behind. But put that on the owner. Unless DeWitt opens up with some support for the team, we’ll just be spinning our wheels…. wishing and a’hoping for a bunch of younger guys to have break-out years all in one season.
Since most Cardinal followers feel the answer lies in a stronger rotation. “Any trades they make should bring back pitching prospects”. The club should be looking for a guy who will have the ability to be a #1 in ’28, and prospects that will be in the MVP race in the same time frame. Bloom will be thinking baby steps in his effort to rebuild this franchise that is, let’s face it, not going to be a contender for several years.
Ultimately, it will be DeWitt who will decide when he wants to start spending money to put fans back in the seats that will be watching a bonafide contending team. Until then he’ll be using the team as a tax write-off. To use an old cliche…. money talks.
Ny said:
Seemingly the FO is dysfunctional, the clubhouse is demoralized and the fanbase is disinterested.
Well, there is a new FO coming very soon. I am not aware the clubhouse is demoralized. I would like to hear more about why you think that has occurred, either here or on the Marmol thread.
The fan base will probably remain disinterested until the team starts playing better. As you noted, that turnaround may take a few years.
The fan base will remain disinterested until the team starts playing better.
That’s a fact. The saddest thing for me is not seeing a stadium full of happy fans. We will have to wait a couple more months before we find out how they intend to rectify that. I shifted my interest to the minor league systems long ago. I think it’s obvious spending isn’t in their immediate plans. This is going to take time.
I am not aware the clubhouse is demoralized.
I am not aware of it either and that may be indicative. The stands are half empty, the team is spinning its wheels hoping for a .500 season and everyone knows the calvary isn’t about to come riding over the hill. What kind of players wouldn’t be demoralized by that? The kind we have apparently.
Maybe they don’t care? However, as opposed to feeling demoralized, I would prefer that they had a player or two that would become angry when taking a close look at the poor performance of the team. I’d guess that’s how Chris Carpenter would react. It would also be my best guess that he wouldn’t keep his anger from being known.
Contreras has often been angry this season. I’m not sure that helps any. Getting better players or getting our players to play better is far more important.
In fact, not getting demoralized or angry might be a good thing. Maybe.
I see the club is planning on putting Herrera back at catcher next year. That makes the obvious plan of dealing from among Pages, Pozo and possibly Crooks for pitching. And then we have Bernal not too far away.
With Crooks a lefty swinger, my guess is Bloom will put Pages and Pozo in trade discussions. But a trading partner might insist on Crooks, who would seem to have the higher ceiling at this point in time.
The part of the Herrera story that gets glossed over.
” Marmol noted that Herrera’s chances of sticking at catcher will “play out” during spring training,”
The story notes he will have elbow surgery on his throwing arm this winter, and he will work on improving game calling.
My thought on Herrera has been to find some place to stash his bat whether that is DH or, maybe, the outfield until first base opens up whether that’s by trading Contreras or waiting until his contract runs out. Then, put Herrera on 1B and leave him there. I love watching Herrera take an AB. But I hate seeing him throw the ball to second base to try to stop at steal.
Speaking of 1B, I still haven’t figured out what to think about
Blaze Jordan. He’s still only 22 years old with impressive and improving stats. The Red Sox basically gave him away to the Cardinals.Some say Jordan is the next Luken Baker. I have no idea. I’d like to see him and Curtis Taylor in ML camp, at least for a bit. So they bump some other 4A types, wheel spinners and hospital cases, so what. Tired of the annual Mo tactic of hiring a journeyman scrap heap guy with a ML camp invite attached, while in house strong performers don’t get the bone.
I still think the most likely outcome is Herrera is back at DH and it’s a 50/50 timeshare with Pages/Crooks at catcher. The next most likely scenario is Contreras waives his NTC and Herrera and Burleson split time at 1B and DH. Third most likely, and I’m putting the odds at about 15% is that Herrera is a full-time catcher again (with either of Pages or Crooks). There’s also a non-zero chance Herrera gets traded away for starting pitching. My hope would be Contreras waives the NTC or a team gives us a frontline starter for Herrera. I really don’t like the everyday DH thing and I’m not a fan of continuing to try to make a guy who can’t throw or call a good game a catcher.
As for Blaze Jordan, he certainly looks more athletic than the hulk Luken Baker. Baker had sooo much power though and was good at getting the ball in the air. Jordan is supposed to have power but he generally doesn’t put the ball in the air. Those are the 2 biggest differences – athleticism and lift. They are both good against lefties. Blaze probably starts the year at AAA. But I think there’s both a good chance he gets protected from Rule 5 before December and a good chance he gets added to the big league squad as a right-handed bench bat before next season ends.
Why does everybody seem to think that Arenado is gone after this season?
Isn’t he under contract for 2026?
I don’t know that Arenado WILL be gone but he should be unless he just hates to win.
His dumb ass could be playing in Houston right now instead of once again playing out the string in another non-playoff season.
2026 in StL may not be a whole lot different than 2023-25. Certainly the team will not be a sexy pick to even make the playoffs much less be an actual title contender.
He’s what, 34 going on 35?
Personally I don’t mind if he stays, since the Cards will be eating a large chunk of his salary AND Gorman appears to be a pedestrian at best 3b.
Even an aging Arenado will likely still hit better than anyone else we can put at the hot corner and will certainly play better D.
Agree with you entirely there, ZTR. If Arenado was smart, he’d abandon the ship and take a trade to anywhere that gave him a better chance to finish his career on a winner. Maybe he really loves living in St Louis, I dunno. But if he stays…he’s still a useful player, and trading him won’t save a whole lot of money.
mudville
But I hate seeing him throw the ball to second base to try to stop at steal.Perhaps this is due to his elbow pain, which the surgery may fix? He had solid CS% numbers in the minors until 2022-2024. Hard to say the way he was jerked around and injured in that timeframe.
blingboy
Some say Jordan is the next Luken Baker. I have no idea. I’d like to see him and Curtis Taylor in ML camp, at least for a bit. So they bump some other 4A types, wheel spinners and hospital cases, so what. Tired of the annual Mo tactic of hiring a journeyman scrap heap guy with a ML camp invite attached, while in house strong performers don’t get the bone.
Baker was at A+ ball at 22 years old. That’s a big difference. He hit AAA full-time in his age-25 season. Plus Baker has 5″ in height and 80 some lbs on Jordan.
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