Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Based upon the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), as a top-100 prospect, if Walker wins the Rookie of the Year award, or comes in second, he will be credited with a full year of MLB Service Time, even if he was on the roster for less than the required 172 days.
By strict interpretation of the agreement, the Cardinals would not get the CBA’s Prospect Promotion Incentives (PPI) draft pick at the end of the first round for having Walker – one of the top-100 prospects – finish in the top three for Rookie of the Year voting, because he was not physically on the MLB roster for 172 or more days.
The issue of having an “actual” versus “credited” Full Year of Service time – and the benefit of the draft pick – needs to be made more clear. Perhaps, it was clarified in the agreement. It’s been awhile since I looked it over, but it seems like MLB would not reward a team if their top-100 prospect had to come in the side door to get the full year of Service Time.
As Roseanne Roseannadanna often said on Saturday Night Live, after making inaccurate statements, “Never mind.”
This was on MLB, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and other outlets today,
This is from MLB:
“Cards set to add top prospect Walker to Opening Day roster”
“‘The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Walker was informed on Saturday afternoon that he had made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster and would be added to the team’s 40-man roster,’ team president John Mozeliak said. The Cardinals are expected to announce their official 26-man Opening Day roster on Sunday morning, and Walker will be a fixture on a Cardinals team…”
=========
I still question how much playing time Walker will get with the crowded outfield and roster, but this is what many of the fans want – Walker on the roster to start the season.
After going 0 for 2 today (3-25-23), Walker is down to .286, but hopefully he can catch fire in MLB. At least it will give him a taste of the Big Show, while adding some additional excitement for the fans.
We’re all pulling for Walker to excel, but I suspect he will end up spending some time in AAA this year to work on mechanics and / or to get more playing time.
If Walker is off the MLB roster for 15 days of more during this season, he will not qualify for a year of Service Time in 2023 – unless he gets it under the steep CBA qualifier – giving the Cardinals a seventh year of control.
I hope you’re right. Contreras started 72 games at catcher in 2022 – playing a complete game in 61 of them, and he played 39 games at DH. It looks like he pinch-hit in 2 more games. That’s 113 games total of the 162 schedule.
Contreras has played around 100 games a season at catcher before, including 92 complete games in 2021 and 113 complete games in 2018, when he was 26-years-old.
The Cards have talked about him DHing, which keeps his bat in the lineup, but it would make sense for him to catch more games, as you predicted – 90 to 100. This would expedite his familiarity with the pitchers, establishing a good foundation in his first year with the Cardinals.
==========
“One Tough Dominican” – Your handle made me think of Joaquín Andújar – one tough competitor, with a lot of fire.
Loved Whitey, but he goofed when he inserted Andujar into the volatile game 7 blowout in 1985 – especially with Don Denkinger behind the plate. Yikes! After blowing the call at first base in game 6, MLB should have put Dekinger on the outfield foul line, instead of behind the plate, but that’s musings for another thread.
Andujar won 21 games in 1985, but after the blowup in game 7, he was traded to Oakland in December 1985 for two marginal players who flopped as Cards and were soon gone. So was Andujar’s career a year later.
Contreras only started 72 games in 2022, one more game than Molina, and Molina was off the roster for an extended period. Contreras should be projected for catching less than half the games, with his starts further diminishing as he ages and plays more games as the DH.
When the Cardinals replace Knizner, they should go for quality – a solid bat, with good defensive skills including a strong and accurate arm and other traits – framing, pitch calling, et cetera – that make the pitching staff better and the team more successful.
The Cardinals should be looking for a higher quality candidate, who will likely be catching more games than Contreras. These type of players are not found among other teams’ rejects, who often fall short of the Mendoza Line (.200 batting average). The Cardinals will have to pony up players and / or cash to get the type of catcher they will need for the duration of Contreras’ time with the Cardinals.
In John Denton’s mlb.com article of 21 March 2023 – “Is Barrera now the favorite to back up Contreras?” – Cardinal manager Oli Marmol is quoted as saying, “One guy is performing well,” referring to Barrera. He also makes other flattering quotes about Tres Barrera’s performance in spring training.
However, neither this article, nor any others that I have seen on Tres Barrera, provide his spring training batting line. They may mention that he’s hit a home run or drove in a tying run while making an out, but they stay clear of telling readers what Barrera’s batting average is.
To date this spring, Tres Barrera has 17 plate appearances, producing 2 hits and 6 walks for a batting average of .182
This is hardly Johnny Bench production.
In 53 plate appearances with Washington in 2022, Barrera had 9 hits (8 singles and 1 double), 2 walks, 4 RBIs, and a .180 batting average. Barrera also struck out 16 times in 53 PAs, a rate of 30.2 percent, while only generating 1 extra base hit – a double – the entire season.
Andrew Knizner’s offensive performance is terrible this spring, but it’s been dropping steadily with the open and ongoing discussion of replacing him as backup catcher. He’s now down to a .105 batting average. Knizner’s stressed and pressing, more each day as a player with a sub .200 batting average is being lauded as his replacement.
The benefits of Knizner that I stated in my post yesterday merit consideration. Knizner should be the designated back-up catcher to start the spring, with the assurances of a longer leash to diminish the anxiety, encouraging him to get his confidence and production back up to the the .215 level he had last year, and hopefully beyond that.
As I previously noted, once Contreras has established himself with the pitching staff – professionally and personally – the issue of backup catcher can be revisited. Until that time, it makes sense to have a familiar, knowledgeable, and well-liked batterymate available for the benefit of the pitchers, Contreras, and the team’s success.
It looks like Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch may have read my article that I posted on the Cardinal Nation forum yesterday.
Frederickson’s take on the Knizner situation appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning (22 March 2023).
Here’s the title and the link of his article for those interested in getting another opinion about Knizner.
BenFred: Giving Cardinals catcher Andrew Knizner a little grace now could pay off later
The issue is not just Paul DeJong’s performance, but the perceived Front Office meddling to force DeJong into the lineup, due to his contract. This had hurt other Cardinal players and negatively impacted the team.
Paul DeJong will turn 30 on August 2, 1993. Potentially, he has a number of good years left in him as a baseball player, but the weight of his failures in St. Louis have become a psychological barrier that stifles his ability to get out of his own head. This will prevent him from reestablishing his capacity and achieving his remaining potential. These repeated failures, and his inability to successfully address them, could haunt him the rest of his life, extending well beyond his baseball career.
Matt Carpenter suffered from the same affliction, as have many players throughout the history of MLB, and millions of people in professions other than baseball.
DeJong has repeatedly tried to make corrections during the offseason that can revive his career, but none have worked, and likely never will if he stays in St. Louis. DeJong needs a fresh start – physical and psychological – with another team, slamming the door on the emotional and professional baggage he leaves behind in St. Louis. The physical change in locations can provide a fresh perspective that enables him to revive his career.
His teammates back in St. Louis, can focus on winning the Division and advancing in the playoffs, without the distraction of DeJong’s continued futile efforts and their ongoing attempts to console and motivate him.
Baseball is a team sport and the chemistry of the clubhouse can be fragile, – at times. DeJong can provide a back-up at shortstop to open the season, but if he continues to struggle, it would be best for everyone if he were traded or released by the July 31, 2023 trade deadline.
Hopefully, he can resurrect his career in a new location, the way Matt Carpenter did with the New York Yankees in 2022. I doubt that Carpenter would have had the same success if he had stayed in St. Louis, where he would have been haunted by the memories of his recent failures.
In 2019, Arozarena had 15 home runs in 343 AB’s in the minors when he was called up – an average of one home run every 22.86 at bats.
Bader, who played with the Cardinals in 2019, hit 12 home runs in 347 AB’s an average of one home run every 28.91 at bats, while hitting .205. Arozarena hit .300 with the Cards in 2019, but garnered little playing time due to Mo limiting his exposure, while promoting a struggling Harrison Bader.
The comparison was between Arozarena and Bader regarding playing time and trade bait.
In 2019, DeJong’s big year, he hit 30 home runs in 583 AB’s, an average of one home run every 19.43 at bats. His home run frequency was about the same as Arozarena’s that year.
Tampa Bay chose Liberatore with the 16th pick in the 2018 draft.
One of the driver’s in the Liberatore deal was the fact that Mo had traded left-handed pitcher, Marco Gonzales for Tyler O’Neil July 21, 2017. The O’Neil trade was meant to provide the Cardinals with a much-needed power hitter, without having to sign an expensive free agent slugger. This left the Card’s staff short of left-handed starters. The Cards had chosen Gonzales with the 19th pick in the 2013 draft.
The issue with the Liberatore trade is who the Cardinals would send to Tampa Bay in return.
(Moderator note: This reply was updated at poster’s request.)
