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I see O’Neill spending too much time on the DL if he makes the cut out of spring training.
Nah, O’Neill will be hungry to compete since he’s a low salary guy. Isn’t that what drives all players to have good years?
Minuteman3
Ever the maverick around here, I am hoping Ozuna resigns with the Cardinals. The Red would be pretty much out of it with the foreigner they just signed but I am not sure of the Rangers spending ability. I doubt the Cards would go more than 3/40 for him so, despite my wishes, he may not return. If he is bullheaded about the 5/100 I heard mentioned, he will be waiting past the draft and the pick is dropped but he will never get $100 mil from anybody.
The Reds signed Akiyama for CF most likely. That would allow them to put Senzel in the super-sub role, ala Edman.
If they pursued Ozuna, it would likely be for LF exclusively, pushing Winker, Sensel, and Ervin out from that position. They are at $122M payroll so far and are said to be able to go to $140M.
GC wrote:
…One factor to consider when comparing is that Ozuna received a Qualifying Offer from the Cardinals, which means that any team other than St. Louis that signs him will forfeit a Draft pick…
This is a common misconception. ANY team that signs Ozuna before the June draft will lose a draft pick, including the Cardinals.
Mark Feinsand apparently doesn’t think that or know that because he wrote and said the opposite on MLB.com & MLB Network.
Allow me to explain, GC. One of the other 29 teams that signs Ozuna will get one of its picks taken away. If the Cardinals sign him, they forfeit the compensation pick they are assured of when he signs somewhere else. The whole purpose of making the qualifying offer to Ozuna was to get that pick.
So part of the cost of signing Ozuna for all teams is the loss of one draft pick. Did that clarify?
P.S. If this is what the MLB Network guys think about Ozuna, I am glad I am not listening to them…
These talking heads on #MLBNetwork are talking about Ozuna being a better center fielder than left fielder…And his speed and arm, Really? He sucks as a defender and has no arm anymore #stlcards
— Marlon Hill (@Marhill7) January 2, 2020
Folks, I am in the boat of bringing Ozuna back. No more than three years though. As I said earlier, 3/45 would be my best offer to him.
I suspect he might be capable of hitting .270+ and 30+ dingers and 100+ rbi’s. Defense isn’t good but he does catch, like Jose Martinez, about everything within catching distance for him. Terrible arm too.
I just don’t see any better options out there the next 2-3 years.
r/Esteemed Rat <~~~~who had chicken thighs, mashed potatoes/gravy, yams, and a chocolate shake for lunch today. Along with some sweet tea too. And the venerable Whitey Herdog got a bite or two as well. Or three.
I only put the article that was written on MLB.com and said on the MLB Network because it mentioned the Cardinals as current players for Ozuna. I didn’t say I agreed with it because in fact I don’t think the Cardinals should or will sign him.
I heard the guys on MLB Radio a few minutes ago going crazy that the Cardinals may not bring Ozuna back. One of them admittedly prefaced his comments by saying “I don’t know the details about the Cardinals finances”.
Uh, isn’t that information you should know before making a comment on national radio? Isn’t that your job to know? Do you even have internet access?
Without injury, he might have been over 4 war. If he continues to heal and strengthen, he could be expected to produce over 5 war. That is the dilemma.
I hope the coveted one-year pillow deal at the unimaginable discounts seen by Lynn, Moustakis, and others have been forced into.
Are you saying the injury kept his numbers down while playing or he would have played more if not injured? I dont think you want to use WAR to justify an Ozuna contract. WAR is not kind to Ozuna due to his defense. Even Bader hitting .205 had a higher bwar per plate appearance than Ozuna.
Steamer is projecting Ozuna at 3.1 WAR for 2020. It is the defense that hurts him.
https://www.fangraphs.com/players/marcell-ozuna/10324/stats?position=OF
His gaffs aside, he made countless surprising plays that Martinez, Ron Gant, or Dane Iorg would have never made. He isn’t that bad. His arm is shot, and we expected a Gold Glover.
Without the games missed, his war would have been higher,and without the shoulder weakness, we would have seen more loft and better results in the first year.
He will be worth about 25 million a year if 1 war equals a little over 8 million. It would be hard to go wrong on a shorter deal.I want Ray Lankford back for LF… can someone get him a glove?
On a serious note, between Bader, Thomas and Randy A, Thomas is the best all around option. The Cards have lost a lot of trades the last couple of years and moving Bader now while he still has some value might be a good decision.
Bader will hit. Thomas has alligator arms. I understand he had a past injury, but his lack of testicular fortitude concerns me deeply. I love his swing and potential, but I would tolerate Ozuna’s misguided blunders over missed plays due to fear.
As previously stated, signing Ozuna back is my wish. Now for my first prediction of the decade…………
Prediction #1…..Munoz will not come back to St Louis out of spring training. Either Memphis or traded.
Reason- Edman can do anyting Munoz can do but do it better.Forthcoming prediction – but not yet firmly stated:……Carlson will come to St Louis out of ST unless they want to play the Bryant game on him which I am not sure I fully understand. But I remember all the wishing and wishing for Oscar Taveras and it came later than a lot of us wanted. RIP Oscar.
MM3, I encourage you to share your predictions. I cannot resist commenting, though.
Taveras struggled when he first came up and was sent back down twice. Just because fans want a player doesn’t mean he is ready.
I keep repeating it. The Cards have not played “the Bryant game” with anyone yet, so why would they start now? Over time, I have found this to be a lazy excuse for some people who can’t or won’t consider the big picture. The default approach for some is to attack the front office because they think they know better. (This is not directed at you, MM3. It is obviously a long-standing irritant for me.)
Carlson has 18 career games at Triple-A and there are a lot of OFs already on the 40-man roster to sort out. A bit of patience can be a good thing.
I still think O’Neill deserves a shot at LF. I saw them all down here in Memphis. I still perk up when he gets an AB in St.Louis which hasn’t been too often. He hit some bombs at Auto Zone. Got the glove too.
As if on cue, a 20 predictions for the 2020 Cardinals article is running on The Athletic.
An amazing statement is part of it. The writer wants the Cards to admit that are managing Carlson’s service time if he hits well in the spring but doesn’t make the team on Opening Day.
Let’s think about that. How fast would there be another Kris Bryant type grievance filed if any team was actually stupid enough to admit publicly that they are managing service time? What are the odds the player would win? I would put it at 99.9 percent.
“Let’s just hope the team doesn’t lie and call it anything other than service-time manipulation if he tears up the Grapefruit League.”
https://theathletic.com/1507390/2020/01/03/twenty-predictions-for-cardinals-in-2020/
I snipped the relevant sentence but the article is probably 2,000 words and posting entire articles is against our forum rules. He doesn’t think Carlson will make the roster because the team would be “nuts” to give up a year of his service time by starting the season with him on the roster.
Like so many others, without specifically saying so, he is assuming Carlson will be clearly better than the other outfielders in camp.
P.S. I brought this up because it supports a point MM3 made this morning. The service time manipulation theories are going strong. I am writing a story about the Carlson opening day situation for tomorrow. I will make it free. 😉
Frankly, I am getting tired of the players or columnists whining about service time manipulation. Whether it is right or wrong teams are acting according to the current CBA. The best way to fix is it to change the CBA when the time comes. Who agreed to the current rules??? Hmmmmm…
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