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Why trade Knizner? There is no sure thing in the system….Molina has been injured the last 2 years and Wieters did a adequate job he isn
t known for his defense (although he did do okay).Smart move is to start Molina 100 -110 games ,Knizner 50-60 games.Knizner did throw out 3 of 4 baserunners in his 13 starts.Molina threw out 8 of 30 baserunners 26 %.Wieters threw out 8 of 19 baserunners 42%.I know its not all on the catcher but it does show that Molinas arm can`t make up the difference like it used to.Only if he takes a big pay cut.Reduces his workload and shuts his mouth and lets the manger decide who is catching.
STL25-Shildt sat Carpenter some but he continued to play Fowler daily when Fowler couldn`t hit a barn.That ticked me off.Plus the fact the waste of space Fowler is still sucking payroll.
While certainly unhappy about how some contracts have played out and some trades have not worked out yet things could be a lot worse.Cards have their way of doing things and stick to it.They have triede to venture into big dollars a couple of times (David Price and Stanton) so its not unheard of .None of the FO guys are perfect nor is Shildt but generally do a good job (except for the refusal to see Fowler/Carpenter are not starter quality anymore).While hoping for a big trade for a bat or a good FA SP signing I expect a trade or two with one of the OFs and maybe a low-to-mid-level SP FA innings eater type and several minor league FA pitcher signings to add to the SP competition in Spring training.
Crazy talk to think that CMartinez can be a healthy SP ……..will he even rehab seriously this time after last offseason and his failure to do the work? Will Waino come close to 14 wins and 17-18 QS again? You just can
t wish and make it so.Plan for the worst case scenario.Cmart isnt ready and AW is totally ineffective.Got to have another solid veteran innings eater who will keep you in the games.I have mixed feelings on Ozuna.I like his power but he is so inconsistent and his defense….? Will he age well and while he was okay this season the offense was still very inconsistent with him in the lineup.Do we hope for a solid steady season from him and Goldy at the middle of the order or hope he turns down the QO and Cards go young or try and trade for a less power more contact type guy ?
Too bad Mayers could never harness his stuff and be a consistent bullpen guy.Hudson is a serviceable guy to have at AAA.I suspect he might come back and if not I expect another veteran AAA type to be a NRI for Spring training.Now just get Fowler the hell out of town.
Forsch-the glass is setting in the middle.Undecided on which way to go.Skeptical on one hand-hopeful on the other.It would be great if all the kids came in and performed to expectations or better and avoided any sophomore slumps or stayed healthy but how often does that happen? Thomas might have been able to help but he got hurt,O
Neill played okay when he got to start for a couple of weeks then got hurt and Shildt banished TO to waste away on the bench while playing the waste of space Fowler.Shildt had Arozareena for what a month? he sat him while playing Edman in the OF while Fowler sucked as usual.Schildts inflexibility and his refusal to use all his different options cost in the end.why have Poncedeleon on the playoffs roster? Why not another bench bat? ONeill would have been a better choice.Ravelo too.needing more than 10-11 pitchers in a short playoff series is rare.Better bench options would have helped IMO.Shildt is baffling at times..i know he is still a work in progress but IMO he simply wore Gant and Gallegos out,wasted and discarded O`Neill,Thomas and Arozarena while continuing to send Fowler out every day.Never said Arozarena was doomed or a lousy player.I said I don`t feel he is the solution.IMO Arozarena can be part of the 4/5 guys in the OF mix.The speed is nice to have.As for Carlson hitting under .300 in the minors remember Carlson has always been younger than the guys he played against.As for the
Edman hit .283 in the minors this and he did okay in the majors.Why cant Arozarena?" Nonsense .Just because TE had some success doesnt mean RA will have3 success.Thats a really silly assumption.I remain skeptical of a guy who has a 50-70 point jump in BA in one season.And for those who want to say its only his his 3rd year I say what do you think he did at home…… he has been playing for 6 years (Cuban national league 2 years,4years Mexican league ,minors).Last season pulled him up to a .280`s career minor league hitter.Nothing wrong with that.Good speed ,defense decent contact…he can be a part of the mix.I remain skeptical about Arozarena.I think the 2018 version is reality more than the freakish 2019 season.As for being the4 answer I say nonsense.As for being a piece of the group of OFs that is more reality based than expecting RA to come and take over a spot and run with it.Another reason to take RA 2019 season with a grain of salt was the fact that the whole PCL went nuts hitting this season.I want to see more sustained results before being convinced.So excuse me for not being impressed enough to hop on the Arozarena bandwagon.
Choo has a big paycheck also…so how does that solve anything?Finding some way to get Fowler the hell out of town is the3 solution.As for Arozarena… i am not convinced …before this season he was a .270 hitter.I think he could be a 4th or 5th OF but being the answer …nonsense.I would have no problem will having Bader,Thomas,O
Neill and Arozarena all getting playing time in the OF.Justin Williams and Adolis Gar cia in AAA with Carlson coming up sometime next season.Plus you know Shildt will find a find toi get Edman in the lineup somewtimes in the OF.Then you still have JMartinez (if not trade).With all the prospects/kids the Cards have why trade for a aging high dollar guy?You want a LH bat to help the offense then try and sign Moose to a 2-3 year deal if reasonable salary can be negotitated.He is not a big needle mover but he is reliable steady,doesnt strikeout a bunch and is okay at 3b and can play 1B-2B if needed.Since Carpenter is likely untradeable then he gets DH duties in interleague games,spot starts at 1B-3B and PH duties.He hasn`t earned anything else because of his performance lately.Everyone hoopes for a Madison Bungarner or Dallas Kuechel or jake Ododrizzi or Zack Wheeler etc;-what Cards will likely end up with is a Dan Straily or Jordan Lyles or Gio Gonzalez because of cost.
Yes its good the surgery was done early this offseason.I question Cmarts dedication and willingness to do whats needed to get back to 100% and to become the top level SP he is needed to be.Maybe this is a wakeup call for him and he realizes his seemingly laid back goofy attitude doesn`t cut it if he wants to be one of the best in the league.
25 and tar-you guys must be glass half full types.Anytime a pitcher gets cut on it makes me leary and skeptical of return to 100% in a reasonable time frame.i have doubts because CMart has not exactly proven to be dedicated to his craft or a real hard worker.I guess we shall see.
Game Card-Ozuna and Bumgarner..okay…now what about 3B..do you hope Carpenter returns to at least MLB average player or do you just split time with Edman and sit Carp versus LHP? What about the bullpen? Gallegos and Gant both wore down.Miller was streaky as hell.Helsley and Fernandez di okay as partial season rookies,Webb is just Webb-too wild.Brebbia is fine.deleone,mayers..meh.i expect mayers to get dropped from 40-man and Deleone to be non-tendered.With CMarinez getting shoulder surgery cleanup that adds another question mark to the SP.
Flaherty
Mikolas
Hudson
Poncedeleon
Gomber?
Gant ?Wainwright?
So Cards still need to check some low cost options pitching wise or trade surplus OF for pitching.Nobody at AAA moves the needle.Best guys are at AA right now.If Ozuna takes the QO 17.9 million that will eat into any money the Cards could use to get a 3B or another SP (not a reclaimation project-a real solid SP instead ) and a reliable BP arm.The FO has to find a way to trade some salary away.I can only hope some team takes Fowler even if Cards eat half his contract..that still saves around 8 million a year.IIRC the figure tossed about on another hread said the Cards had 20-24 million to play with.Having Fowler limits your flexibity and blocks younger players.Carpenter is untradeable so he likely will retire a Cardinal.MO`s foolish extensions for Molina,Carpenter and the Fowler mistake equal 60 million mistakes.
Hope he comes out okay but this casts doubts on him being counted on as a SP IMO.Maybe even starting the year able to pitch? Just another question mark.
I think he bets on himself.He is one of the younger FAs and some team will see 31 HRs and think “why not”.Seems to me I have read rumors that the Reds might be interested…….of course the QO if offered will scare some teams off.Several other teams could use a LF (Indians-they have a boatload of OFs but few stay healthy-Naquin,Zimmer etc),Seattle needs hitters period,Orioles need bats also-other than Mancini -not a lot of big threats.Ozuna says he wants to stay but the FO has been quiet.Makes me think it is hoped he leaves and Cards get the draft pick comp.
the big stars this FA are Gerritt Cole and Rendon.Rendon has already turned down 7 years 210 Million from the nats.Cole will likely be in the same category pricewise.I sure as hell don`t see the Cards wading in that end of the pool.
With all the bad or unnecessary contracts MO/FO has handed out (Carpenter,Fowler,gregerson,Cecil,Molina) I would think the MO/FO are a bit gunshy about longterm deals right now.If some of the good FAs balk at shorter contracts (2-3 years maybe) the Cards could be on the outside looking in.I don`t know if that’s what the FO will do but I expect being overly cautious will be the tune of the day.Forsch- I like both TO and Thomas.I just think it would be dumb to trade O
Neill before he ever gets a real extended chance at regular playing time.He has never gotten more than 2-3 weeks regular time.After being left off the playoff roster by Schildt in favor of Arozarena( who whiffed 75% of his playoff ABs and looked outclassed) it could be TO is trade bait.IMO trading TO would be premature and foolish.Keeping fading overpaid veterans bums like Fowler around and dumping young talent with a upside doesnt do anything except make the bum happy.ST25-I wouldn
t mind having one of them in the rotation.I think Moose could surprise.He actually played 40 plus games at 2B this season.He has some pop and isnt a big strikeout machine 53 BB 98 Ks this season.But there has to be some reason why he hasn`t gotten a long term deal unless its just setting too high expectations and not budging.I have never heard negative info concerning him as a teammate so maybe its just wanting too much money and a perfect situation…who knows?Pads-Alex Wood only pitched what 5-6 games this season because of injury.there is the durability question.I like the fact that he is still under 30 but durable?
As for Hamels..he is what 36 years old?How about Jake Odorizzi? He turns 30 in March was 15-7 .3.51 E.R.A. 159 IP 173 K 55 BB .
Zach Wheeler 29 will be 30 next May.11-8 3.96 with Mets.195 IP50 BB 195 K WHIP 1.26
both likely in the 12-15 Million AAV or maybe more.A FA bat to consider would have to Moustakas
.Lefty hitter who plays 1B-3B-2B.likely cost more than 15 million AAV
33 HR 87 RBI 53 BB 98 K 30 doubles25-what if Ozuna decides to take the QO?I have mixed feelings about wanting Ozuna to return.He brings some positives but if the team is going to consider going for more contact and less swing and miss types then what do you do?More contact hitters with doubles power instead of 30 HR guy with 150 strikeouts?I like the Homreun as much as the next guy but somewhere in the lineup some changes need to be made.Who are some of the main culprits-Matt Carpenter and Fowler-aging veterans with big paychecks.Carpenter is untradeable IMO,Fowler needs to go.Goldy is going to be better hopefully his 2nd year,Dejong is young enough to bounce back,same with Bader,if Bader continues to struggle Thomas/Arozarena might be option.JMart I still around as a LF/RF bench guy unless traded.Its all speculation but IMHO somewhere in the lineup a better contact guy or two needs to be found.
