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Woo states that Contreras and Gray are likely to stay. Arenado and Mikolas are TBD.
Included here: The Cardinals are close to naming a new farm director, and the decision could come as early as next week. They will also be adding multiple coordinator positions, including a catching coordinator and outfield coordinator. https://t.co/P378rR5JgD
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) November 7, 2024
Nobody is trading for Mikolas unless he pitches incredibly well up until the trade deadline.
There are better, cheaper options available in free agency.
"My prediction is St. Louis will be one of the more active teams come December, but not in the ways that we usually expect."@katiejwoo joins @jonmorosi to share insight into how the Cardinals will approach the offseason. #MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/z36GepuVwy
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 7, 2024
Woo must read our forum. If Mo reclaims 10mil on Arenado’s 2025, by taking back a salary (to shed the long term), and moves Fedde/Helsley for good returns, Bill is in the 110-115mil range (26man), even with Mikolas/Matz onboard.
I hope that needs tweeking by GS in the 2025 payroll thread. That is shaving about 50mil from 2024.
Nobody is trading for Mikolas unless he pitches incredibly well up until the trade deadline.
There are better, cheaper options available in free agency.
It depends on how much the Cardinals are willing to pay down. I don’t think any team would take him at the $17.6M salary but that isn’t the expectation.
It depends on how much the Cardinals are willing to pay down. I don’t think any team would take him at the $17.6M salary but that isn’t the expectation.
You have to pay down roughly 90% of it, and at that point, what is the point?
Let him pitch, hope he does well enough that we can somehow trade him at the deadline. If he is tradeable at the deadline, another team is going to take on 20-30% of his salary anyway.
I’d focus more on trading someone like Burleson.
I think you could move him by paying down 50% but I would rather keep him and Fedde both until the deadline regardless.
Bill may look at it like it costs ~4mil to keep Fedde until the deadline for a similar return (w/risk added).
Arenado .273/.325/.394/.719 OPS+ 101
Salary $27,000,000 (after $5M paid by Rockies)Donovan .278/.342/.417/.759 OPS+ 110
Salary $760,000If the Cardinals are only losing $17 million of their TV revenue, they should be done cutting salary just for the savings. It’s time to make decisions based on fielding the best team within their budget. Don’t handcuff the team for the future and make smart trades. Start turning the farm system around and develop what we currently have.
That said, if the Cardinals could trade Mikolas while eating only 50% of his salary, they should do it. I think he is done.
I am concerned there is not enough “ready” talent to fill holes if we continue cutting salaries.
Mud, Donovan is needed for 2B until Gorman starts hitting. Or he is the super sub if Saggese is the regular 2Bman.
This is a really bad take. Really bad.
With Willson Contreras is moving to first base, let the record show that the Cardinals spent $87.5 million in a five-year deal for him and in his first two years, St. Louis bought into his defense exactly zero months. A monster mistake for a team restrained in its spending.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 6, 2024
I personally would have preferred Contreras to stay at Catcher as his defense wasn’t horrible, and his bat more than made up for the glove. I think he will do great at 1B as well and it does solve a problem of needing to fill both 1B and DH roles. I assume Burly to DH, but hopefully his offense picks up for a full time DH.
I am curious what they do with C as Herrera and Pages are very different catchers. I assume they choose Pages since they moved on from Contreras supposedly for defense, so I doubt it is Herrera. That means we will definitely have 1 offensive hole in the starting lineup at catcher, with maybe a 2nd in CF.
I don’t think we should assume that whatever they are talking about now is how it will be 5 months from now.
Yeah that is a good point. Things change in Spring Training and injuries could occur that shake up everything.
I don’t think Contreras’s contract was the problem limiting our SP choices. We spent decently well on SP and filled up a rotation of FA signed or soon to be FA pitchers. We didn’t have an an open spot in the rotation without signing 6+ SP to make 10+ million. Salaries are from spotrac which counts signing bonuses and incentives. The problem instead appears to be handing out bad contracts for pitchers who pitched no where near the pay they received.
2023 Opening Day Planned Rotation
Miles Mikolas – $20,416,667
Adam Wainwright – $18,500,000
Steven Matz – $10,500,000
Jordan Montgomery – $10,000,000
Jack Flaherty -$5,400,0002023 Total – $64,816,667
2024 Opening Day Planned Rotation
Miles Mikolas – $17,666,667
Steven Matz – $12,500,000
Kyle Gibson – $12,000,000
Sonny Gray – $10,000,000
Lance Lynn – $10,000,0002024 Total – $62,167,667
I don’t know if it is 100% accurate as it appears to be after trades (which means the Cards would have been even higher in 2023 as they traded Montgomery and Flaherty), but spottrac says the Cardinals spent the 6th most money on SP in 2023, and the 9th most in 2024 (Gray’s contract is heavily backloaded).
They spent on Wainwright and Contreras, and the offseason was over. I disagreed w/both choices. 2023 needed significant adds to the rotation. Those that were here know I endorsed non-tendering Jack too.
If you liked their rotation and offseason choices, happy for you.I very much did not like their SP choices in FA and extension wise, but Contreras wasn’t the problem with that. If we hadn’t signed him, I think we go into 2023 and 2024 with the same rotations we had.
This is a really bad take. Really bad.
Would this be a better take:
The Cardinals spent $87 Million for a catcher and still need a catcher.
I don’t think we should assume that whatever they are talking about now is how it will be 5 months from now.
I don’t think we should assume whatever they are talking about this morning is how it will be by lunch.
In a offseason that saw StL have a 22′ mvp, an mvp-3 and a ENTIRE roster posting a 112 ops+ average for the season, we buy a lineup bat and a has-been pitcher. The model was “offense sells tickets”.
After the 91 losses built on those decisions, the FO wises up and spends on pitching for 24′.
Offense sells tickets.
Fix the pitching.
Tear it down.Three very knee jerk offseasons in a row.
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