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First of all I don’t think we need to be making trades to add. We need to be making them to subtract. Unless we have another 17 game win streak on the horizon we need to be selling, not buying. I know the Cardinals are worried about making money this year but they had better be worried about not turning this one year downturn into a five year downturn. I would be stocking up on as many high quality AA and AAA players as possible, especially pitchers. Why trade away top prospects this year to make a run at 80 wins? Bite the bullet and move on.
As for the new manager, the last two managerial changes resulted in hiring the bench coach (Shildt, Marmol) so I would think the current bench coach (McEwing) would get strong consideration. Of course Clapp will as well since he has been in the organization longer and knows the current players better. I don’t see any other internal candidates getting the job except maybe Warner.
A popular topic around Cardinal-land has been is a trade possible.
These were found on Redbird Rants – Josh Jacobs.Getting rotation and bullpen help from the Yankees
The Cardinals trade OF Tyler O’Neill to the Yankees for RHPs Michael King and Clarke Schmidt
The Guardians give the Cardinals a promising starter for promising bats
The Cardinals trade DH/OF Juan Yepez and OF Moises Gomez for RHP Cal Quantrill
The Cardinals and Marlins finally swap offense for pitching
The Cardinals trade OF Tyler O’Neill to the Marlins for LHP Jesus
The Cardinals bring back a familiar face
The Cardinals trade DH/OF Juan Yepez for RHP Lance Lynn
The Padres and Cardinals make a bold trade
The Cardinals send OF/1B Alec Burleson and RHP Jake Woodford for LHP Blake SnellPreferences anyone.
My preference would be none of the above. Those moves might get us from 65 wins this year to 70. We need to be cleaning out the dead wood and restocking with younger guys, which would free up some payroll space to actually do something big this next winter. It is time to start thinking about 2024 instead of spinning our wheels with 2023.
Yankees aren’t blowing up their pen for O’Neill. O’Neill isn’t going to bring a major league SP, they missed their boat on that one long ago. No way I’d give up Yepez for another aging SP that solves nothing, especially the way he’s been hit around. Snell is an expiring contract, and not solving any issues especially to give up Burleson.
Just no way I’m trading to add to this team at all. Just play it out a few, miserable months and hope Flaherty and O’Neill can do something to build value. Then sell off expiring contracts of Montgomery, DeJong, Flaherty, Hicks, VerHagen, and Stratton. Trade O’Neill and try to sell him that you get the rest of the year and next year. And as much as I like Edman, I’d probably sell him too. Load up on on the best prospects they can get in all trades. I’m not sure what to do with Herrera. The back up cather needs to be a defense first cather, Contreras can hit, and under contract, but there needs to be a defensive option.
Finish out the year with
1. Nootbaar RF (L)
2. Carlson CF (S)
3. Goldschmidt 1B (R)
4. Arenado 3B (R)
5. Gorman 2B (L)
6. Contreras C (R)
7. Burleson/Yepez DH (L/R)
8. Walker LF (R)
9. Wynn SS (R)
Donovan UTIL (L), Motter UTIL (R), Yepez/Burleson LF/1B (R/L), Knizner C(R)Mikolas, Matz(L), Wainwright, Liberatore(L), Thompson(L)
Woodford, Pallante, Walsh, Romero(L), Zuniga, Cabrera(L), Gallegos, Helsley
Edman is the last player that you get rid of. Why trade a fast, gold glove 2B/SS that is a switch hitter?
The manager needs to go. Too many very bad decisions have been made leading up to this epic failure.
Edman has two arb years left, and is the type of player whose skills tend to decline early. I agree that he’s the guy who you trade to get the best return now. This year is close to being sunk and there are replacements waiting in the wings.
The future at SS is definitely Winn and the future at 2B is probably Gorman. It is going to be difficult for Edman and Donovan to both stay here long term. One of them will most likely leave.
We need a top shelf starter with some controllability. That is going to take a potential impact player, not a basket of complementary pieces, however good. One of Walker, Wynn, Gorman. Otherwise you are dreaming. Somebody will be willing to trade a potential impact player for any top shelf starter that is available.
Nobody knows if Winn will hit enough to be an everyday MLB player. He will improve as a hitter but he will face way better pitching, so nobody knows. I can’t begin to count the number of “the next” this and “the next” that have come up through the system over the years. Hardly any actually were. If we could get a top shelf starter with some controllability, absolutely.
Eddie’s one of my favorite players on the team, but the fact is at this juncture, he’s in all probability the first quality player on this team to be dealt. You can be certain he’ll bring a decent return because there are plenty of teams who’d love to have him. I wish him nothing other than good fortune and I genuinely hope he lands with a winner. If he does, he’ll fit right in.
I keep Edman, this season and two more.
Winn at SS, Edman at 2B, Donovan as the utility IF/OF and Gorman at DH works long term, but who can see the problem with the overall everday lineup thru 2025, if this how you anchor SS, 2B and DH?
Correct, Walker is not an outfielder.
Mo is so offense hungry he has forgotten pitching and D wins championships.
Burleson is not an otfielder, or Walker or Yepez. Gorman is not a 2Bman. Are they all going to share DH? With Contreras and Donovan too occasionally?
We are a collection of bats, built to sell tickets. The pitching and D has been ignored to the point of being booo’d at home. Well done Mo.
jj, did I ghostwrite that for you? Actually, you did much better than I could.
How does an organization stray so far from what I would’ve thought are it core values on the field? It seems like they began to stray in that direction in the latter Matheny years. Then Shildt came along and we began to see cleaner, crisper play in the field. I thought it was a re-emphasis, but maybe the were just coincidentally fortunate to have Bader, Edman, DeJong (and Goldy/Arenado from outside) coming up, who just happened to be great glove guys. And now, here we are….
We are a collection of bats, built to sell tickets. The pitching and D has been ignored to the point of being booo’d at home. Well done Mo.
We are a collection of bats build to win fantasy baseball. In real life baseball, Walker and Burleson are not outfielders. Gorman is not a second baseman. He and Carlson are platoon players. Noot is not a center fielder and neither is O’Neill. (Admittedly, on a team with a rotation of Nolan Ryans they would be OK.)
Another thing that does not work in real life baseball is looking at what a guy does in the Texas League, on the mound or in the batters box, and confidently declare they’ll be fine in MLB, and chisel them into your MLB lineup or rotation. It doesn’t work that way and never has, but every year we get the same thing, and not just from us arm chair GMs.
We also need to be realistic about Walker. He is not going to hit in MLB unless he changes how he hits. As it is, he can’t keep his shoulder in and stay on balls away. It took MLB staffs a couple weeks to figure out you just feed him sliders and such away. If he connects at all it is out beyond the sweet spot, and usually he pulls off and doesn’t connect al all. Keep him honest with inside stuff out of the zone. Mistakes in the zone on the inner half he can crush, but that doesn’t happen nearly as much in MLB as in AA. He also has too big of a swing which means he has to commit too early. He was swinging at a lot of stuff that moved out of the zone. He needs a shorter hack.
So why did he get all the way here with a hitting style that can’t work? My guess is nobody was paying attention beyond oooing and aaahing over exit velocities. You can’t see much when you are busy aiming your gun and checking the exciting number on the display. Is there even anyone present anywhere along the the way who even knows that what they were watching would not work in MLB? My guess is no. What would have happened if somebody would have said, you know that guy with the 112mph exit velocities, we need to change his hitting mechanics? That guy would be gone, and is gone. Long gone.
So Walker is in AAA currently hitting .130. Yes, I know small sample. So what. He either already is, or will have to learn a different way to hit. Will he be able to? Will he be a good hitter? Good enough to make up for defensive limitations? We have no idea. It may be too late and that is not fair to him.
The wonks and polo shirts probably helped him develop those mechanics to max that exit velocity. Never mind that MLB pitchers would just pitch around it. Who is there to step in front of that and say, wait a minute.
I guess all those scouts are wrong. And we have a “may be too late” prediction before the guy has had his 21st birthday. Sheesh!
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