Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Which veteran is next?
Grichuk?
Pham?
Piscotty?
Carpenter?
Fowler ? I can hope he is next.Followed by Carpenter.I am leaning towards free agency.Jay Bruce OF or Todd Frazier 3B/1B would be my choices.Cards would have to deal a OF or two to make room for Bruce who is 31 and would offed a LH bat with power and okay defense in RF.If Todd Frazier was signed you would have a RH bat with power who has a good OBP for that particular crowd.He might be a little cheaper because he is having a bit of a down year. He is 32 so maybe a 3 year deal.Going free agent route only cost money and the OF surplus can be used in trades to get bullpen help.I would love to see Moustakas 3B in StLouis but I think he will get more money than Cards will pay.Gyorko can be utility guy or be used in trade to upgrade bullpen if Frazier is signed.If Cards really wanted to they could sign both Bruce and Frazier.Lynn and Duke and Oh are coming off payroll and making some smart trades can cut some underachieving players and money from the roster.I would even consider trading Carpenter and Pham and Diaz and Gyorko if gettong younger cheaper players in return.Carpenter would be a fine addition to a team that needs a good OBP guy with some pop.Carp would be a good DH in the AL.He would look good in Yankee pinstripes or BoSox with both their funky RF and gaps in alleys.Gyorko would fit most anywhere as a utility guy with some power and a reasonable salary and is still young.Grichuk has power potential that should be interesting to a team lacking power and Pham has had a good season and someone might feel he can be a possible 2 season starter who is cheap.As others have said this team doesn’t have a bunch of untouchables.
Carlos Martinez
Luke Weaver
Paul DeJong
Alex Reyes
Carson Kelly
Kolten Wong
Jack Flaherty
Magnus Sierra
Harrison Bader
Austin Bomber
Dakota Hudson
Sandy Alcantara
Tyler O’NeillI would keep these guys as a foundation for the future.I think there are other guys to keep but just a step below top guys
Michael Wacha
Matt Bowman
Tyler Lyons
Brett CecilGuys team is stuck with
Yadier Molina
Derek FowlerI think that none of the OFs are valuable enough by them self to being big returns back in trade.I think it will have to be a package type deal.I really hope Cards can keep most of their young pitching prospects because of the question marks concerning Wainwright and Wacha.Weavdr and Flaherty andHudson all need to be kept along with Bomber abd Fallen and Helsey.
Nice post Eurowolf.I think Yadi’s stats are somewhat misleading.He might not strikeout much or Walk much but batting 5th it seems he has killed many more rallies than he has started.Didn’t DeJong only walk 1 time in his first 100 Abs?His walk rate has improved since then but he still could improve his selectivity at the plate.
The fact that the Cards have a surplus of OF’s.Piscotty has a long term contract and i think he gets 1 more year to rebound.Fowler has a NTC.Sierra is a top 30 Cards prospect and is very young so I think he stays.Bader and O’Neill are young and close to being ready. Plus Cards have Martini who is hitting .300 at Memphis and he is a lefty bat.
So using that logic makes me think that these guys could be the guys who are traded.
1.Tommy Pham- he is having a good season but he is also going to be 30_
Before next season and does have his vision issues.
2.Grichuk-his power potential will make somebody take a chance with him since he is still cheap,good defense and only 26.
3.Jose Martinez.might be a great fit for a AL team as a DH.A role that fits him perfectly.
Do I think the FO will be proactive enough to be really aggressive to make big things happen this off season.I really hope to see big progress and not just “We really tried” but nobody wanted to deal.Didn’t mean for you to feel singled out.It just gets real tiresome to read daily how Grichuk stinks and how Tommy Pham is the greatest thing since sliced bread and does no wrong
People act like Grichuk strikes out all the time.What bull crap.Yes he fans a lot but he also has 42 XBH of his 82 Hits.Everybody whines about the offense all the time and then they proceed to rip Grichuk every time.There were 8 other guys hitting out there the whole game who failed multiple times to produce runs.Even The great Tommy Pham failed also.Spread the venom around boys Grichuk played very little part in today’s loss.
Bccran
What you say could be a possibility.That being said do you take a chance with the guys currently here now or do you try to improve thru Free agency?The FO has to decide a course of action and go from there.As for the Molina situation he needs to realize he isn’t the manager and rested Yadi is a better Yadi.If he can’t see the logic of a good Yadi for 110-120 games at a high level then he is just being foolish.He has declined somewhat especially mobility-wise behind the plate .
Anyway the FO has decide what plan to follow.It will be a tough choice but the team as currently constructed just won’t be a serious contender.What I wonder is will the FO pick a couple of main targets in FA and if they fail to sign that target then decide to go with what is here.I think the only advantage he would have over MCarp is that Santana is a switch-hitter.Isn’t Santana pretty much restricted to 1B only or DH?
I firmly believe Tyler O’Neill will be a big bat for the Cards.I just think it might be in 2019 because unless he has a monster Spring training and can get at least semi-regular playing time I think he goes back to AAA for more experience.He does strikeout a lot but he also walks more than RG.He is definitely part of the future for the Cards IMHO.
Brian-Seems to me I read KC is going to give Hosmer a Qualifying offer and they will do almost anything reasonable to keep him in KC.As for Moustakas I read KC is leading towards offering a QO to him also and want to keep both guys around.It probably comes down to how much both guys like KC and if some team offers really big money for either guy.
Jager- you make some good points.
Whatever happens the Cards need to do several things to jumpstart this team for 2018.
1.Solidify the Bullpen-even if some of the kids show excellent stuff and have good finishes to the season don`t be cheap and fail to get a vbeteran of two to have a extra arm to use and choose from.
2.No gambling on the rotation-If Wainwright shows he can`t cut it starting anymore then send to fill a role in the bullpen( long relief,etc;).Give Flaherty and Weaver and Hudson or Gomber real chances in Spring training to show what they can do.
3.Get a big bat either thru Free agency or trade although I prefer FA route unless that trade gets a younger better player than a Matt Carpenter or Jed Gyorko.
4.Make Yadier Molina realize that a 110-120 game Molina is better for the team because he will be fresher and stronger for the long run and the Cards have a solid backup in Carson Kelly who needs playing time.
5.Spend more Teaching time on basic fundamentals and baserunning skills.Cut down the stupid mistakes.If its Jay Bruce I put him in RF and leave him there.Same with JD Martinez.If its Todd Frazier I put him at 3B and use Gyorko as utility guy/spot starter.Te reason I bring up Todd Frazier is that he is having a down year and might be cheaper plus he plays 3B-1B .As for your OF just penciling in Pham and Piscotty is being optimistic.I think some guys from the OF glut get traded for bullpen help.My choice to sign would be Jay Bruce because he hits lefty and has power and plays decent OF.Who else is a LH hitter for the Cards and is a real threat?Carpenter and Wong are only lefty bats who get playing time.Fowler is a switch-hitter so another lefty bat couldn
t hurt.Plus Jay Bruce is familiar to the NL and wouldnt have a acclimation period changing league.JD Martinez would be a decent choice after Bruce.Hosmer and Moustakas stay in KC is my thinking.IMHO Cards should try and deal for Bullpen help using OF surplus or Gyorko or Carpenter.Wainwright can`t be counted on .Wacha is doing okay now but he is still a health risk.Lynn a FA.So you have
Martinez
Leake
Wacha-fingers crossed
Wainwright -big question mark?
Weaver-still a rookie
Flaherty-young untested a MLB level
Gant -some MLB experience
Gomber -at AA
Dakota Hudson- at AAA many think he will end up in the bullpen
Alex Reyes-figuring he might be bullpen guy until arm strength builds back up.
Still those are players who have major injury questions or are untested at MLB level.Another reason I think Free Agency will be the way to go is Jay Bruce who is having a very solid year offensively and since he was traded in season he won`t cost a draft pick (correct if I am wrong about that) so it cost only money.Plus with all the Cards pitching injury problems and unreliability and since most of Cards top prospects who are close to major league ready then it would be foolish to trade top pitching prospects at this time.Wainwright could be effectively nearly finished as a reliable starter.Wacha is always a question.Reyes will probably still be a year away from being a solid starter again.Leake and C.Martinez are the only ones who have shown they can be counted on to take the ball every 5 das.Weaver certainly flashed last start and has been better but a couple of starts is encouraging but still too early to pencil in for next year.
As for improving the team for 2018 I think Free Agency will end up being what the FO does for a bat ( JD Martinez,Jay Bruce,todd Frazier) .I think some OF surplus will be traded for bullpen help.I think someone or two from (Pham,Grichuk,Sierra,Piscotty) will be tradebait.Pham because he is having good season although his eye issues and age might drop his value a bit.Grichuk for his power and potential.Piscotty if he rebounds had a good 2016 and is still younger 27 has some value.Sierra because of his speed and potential.
As for Tyler O`Neill transitioning poorly to AAA that is true.He was and is one of the youngest players in the league also and is playing opponets who are older and more experienced for the most part.He has struggled but he has produced a RBI per game since joining Memphis and he should improve as he matures.
Brian-you misunderstood my point.I did not mean that Cards prospects are intentionally being devalued by the “experts”.I meant to show that the ratings vary quite a bit depending on who does the ratings.I know John Sickels,Baseball America and MLB.com all rate prospects and there are differences of opinions on prospects.That`s what I apparently failed to get across.
I fail to see why O’Neill ranks higher earlier this season and then gets traded to Cardinals and immediately drops down in the rankings.So I take rankings with a grain of salt.So many ranked prospects never make a impact at all and many end up being role players.Very few become big stars and the Cards haven’t really produced a really big star since Albert Pujols.Molina has been a all-star many times but his defense was his main calling card although the offense picked up over the years.But as for a homegrown Big offensive bat nobody since Pujols.
Tyler O’Neill could be the big bat Cards need .He does strikeout a lot but he also walks a decent amount.He just turned 22 this midseason so he should be able to be coached up to cut his K”s and walk a bit more.A younger RG type with better plate discipline.He has slumped a bit lately but the power is very good.Solid defense.
As for a homegrown power bat-maybe Bader.Hang in there Jager.I think Montgomery is going to get the call when Mayer’s gets dropped from 40 man.I think Mayer’s gets dropped in the next week and Montgomery gets a shot.Who would claim Mayer’s after the way he has been drilled in almost every appearance.
