Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I kind of thought he would be the second choice in Philadelphia if they miss out on Machado. Good to see the market moving…
How about instead of Joe McCarthy we aim for Nathaniel Lowe?
The advantage of McCarthy is that he plays corner outfield as well as 1B, instead of just 1B…
For $35 million I want a complete player
Again, it appears he is actually recording more outs this year, even though his defensive ratings look terrible.
Same thing happened to Mike Trout last year.
That is the problem with recent Cardinal acquisitions. We get average players that produce average results that yields an average record.
I think the problem is that we are acquiring relievers coming off bad years, then expecting them to magically turn around in a Cardinals uniform as they did when Dave Duncan was our pitching coach.
Dave Duncan is no longer our pitching coach, so we have to start acquiring relievers who can actually pitch.
Interesting analysis of Harper’s defensive slide.
So, I went and read the article Brian linked to earlier (p2), here are my observations:
1. Bryce Harper is playing the deepest he’s ever played
2. Because he is playing the deepest he’s ever played, he was tied for the most easy chances in baseball
3. He converted those easy chances slightly under league average (97% versus 98%, which is just noise)
4. Where he really fell off was not converting difficult chances, of which he had far fewer than in the past, because he is now playing deeper and has fewer difficult chances
5. Of the plays they showed that had a 50% or better catch percentage,
a. one was a line drive that was smoked and had almost zero hang time and would have required diving for the ball, in the best case. If he misses, it goes for 2-3 bases
b. one would have been a very long run, and would have required diving for the ball. If he misses, it goes for extra bases if the runner is actually running
c. one would have meant likely crashing into a wallHarper moved from CF to RF a few years ago because he was missing too many games due to injuries in the field.
Without knowing how many opportunities he actually received, it sounds like Harper may have actually recorded more outs by playing smarter baseball and positioning himself deeper. He also played the most games of his career by not needlessly diving after balls or running into walls on balls with low catch probabilities.
Ozuna injured his shoulder diving for a ball, and we all saw how that affected him. Brantley injured his shoulder diving for a ball, and many posters don’t want him because he is injury prone. Harper is better positioning himself, recording the most easy catches in the big leagues, but is being wrapped for having bad defense because he is not needlessly going after balls, that if he misses, wind up yielding an extra base or two.
If you are going to have a $35 million per year player, would you rather he dive and run into walls or actually be on the field?
With Munoz making the team last year, and if Wisdom can do well this year, I wouldn’t see Gyorko on the team next year either
Yeah, I just thought it was funny that we are already hearing Stanton trade rumors…
But here’s another idea to trade JMart:
To Tampa for either 1B/OF Joe McCarthy (I previously suggested an Adolis Garcia for McCarthy trade) OR LHP Kyle Bird.Both are on Tampa’s 40 man, so this would be a trade that doesn’t have to wait for the market to do whatever…
Well, I think most here agree that Bryce Harper would be the least attractive of the 3 options.
I’d probably go with Option 2 and sign Donaldson and Brantley. That would leave a batting order of:
1. Carpenter
2. Brantley
3. Donaldson
4. Ozuna
5. DeJong
6. Molina
7. Wong
8. BaderOnly problem is if DeWitt insists on getting something for Fowler. Maybe trade him for Mark Melancon?
As for the bullpen, I still feel the best trade of JMart is to Seattle for Alex Colome…Signing Oliver Perez to a one year deal as a LHP would be smart and within their risk tolerance, too.
I don’t like the definitions of sabremetrics, I like what they are trying to accomplish. They just do it in an inherently flawed manner.
But my eyes tell me JMart is the absolute worst defender I’ve ever seen in my life, and he has absolutely no business in the field whatsoever…
I would expect the FO to clear a path first, before a Harper signing.
Yes, if you read Goold, he is making it clear the Cardinals have no plans to address right field unless they can move Fowler….
Bozo Martinez for Robbie Ray.
I don’t see why the Diamondbacks would want JMart.
Well Robert, I almost put the caveat, “to acquire a middle of the order bat” to keep it on topic and prevent people from cheating….
Don’t want Brantley to block Tyler O’Neill, esp. since Brantley is old and breaks too often.
As Forsch noted in another history, Brantley’s injury included shoulder surgery after injuring his shoulder diving for a ball (just like how Ozuna injured his shoulder) that kept him out all of 2016 and and ankle surgery in 2017…I don’t consider the shoulder surgery anything more than a one time deal, especially when you look at his slugging % since coming back…
As for blocking O’Neill, Ozuna only has one year until he reaches free agency…
Let’s say you are Mozeliak, and you are told you can spend $35 million per year to improve the team. You are staring at three options:
1. Sigh Bryce Harper. Make Dexter Fowler a $16.5 million backup
2. Sign Josh Donaldson for $20 million (3 years/$60 million). Sign Michael Brantley for $15 million (3 years/$45 million). Make Dexter Fowler a backup
3. Trade Dexter Fowler + Dakota Hudson + Austin Gomber + Jose Adolis Garcia to the Diamondbacks for Greinke + Goldschmidt. You will likely slap a QO on Goldschmidt next year and recover a draft pick.Which option do you choose and why?
Last I checked, there isn’t much of a market for $20 million first basemen these days.
I mean, CJ Cron got released because he was projected to make $5 million this year. Of course, that was by one of the teams that receives $40+ million in revenue sharing per year even though they are in a larger metropolitan area and larger TV market than STL.
It depends on what the Cardinals give up for Goldschmidt.
Also, by trading for Goldschmidt in the offseason, he will most likely be given a Qualifying Offer next year, giving the Cardinals an extra draft pick.
Donaldson – I’ve seen about 8 teams linked to him so far…
Why would the Phillies trade Santana for Fowler? How does that improve their situation?
The reason they are trying to trade Santana is to move Rhys Hoskins back to 1B.
They would have to be betting on Fowler playing left field better than Hoskins does. Both Wrigley Field and where the Phillies play are about the same size, as the second and third smallest ballparks, respectively. If Fowler can play defense anywhere, it would be in a small ballpark.
Carioca – where do you have Junior Fernandez? Do you think Wainwright is going to be in the rotation or a reliever?
Do the people in the trade Fowler camp truly think he will waive his no trade clause?
To Arizona, yes.
To Philadelphia or New York, no.
Why?
1. The media in each of the respective markets. If Fowler is miserable in St. Louis, imagine Philadelphia or New York
2. No state income taxes in Arizona
3. Arizona is closer to his home in Vegas
4. He gets to have spring training near his buddies on the CubsWhy would the Mets want Fowler over Bruce? Why would anyone?
You’re right. We should trade him for Cespedes and collect the insurance.
let’s do it because we have acquired an elite player for 1B (Goldschmidt), instead of an overpriced albatross (Santana).
I would rather have Goldschmidt than Santana, yes.
I believe the only way we trade for Goldschmidt is as part of a Greinke deal, and I don’t think the front office and ownership have that vision or fortitude, based on what I have seen of them the last three years.
Thus, I am looking for other bad contracts that we can trade Fowler for…
I don’t think a two year/$41 million contract is an albatross in the place of a 3 year/$48.5 million contract. It is lower overall value and gets a bad player off the team sooner, freeing up roster space to protect prospects, if nothing else.
I look at it this way, getting rid of Fowler is the single biggest improvement the Cardinals can make this offseason. They have 2 ways of doing that:
1. Release him and eat $48.5 million. Nobody believes they will act like the Red Sox or Dodgers and swallow their pride.
2. Trade him for a much bigger contract or one that is a different area of need.especially with his onerous contract.
There are two years and $41 million left. $500,000 buyout on 2021. How is that onerous relative to Fowler’s three years and $48.5 million?
I guess another place to trade Fowler would be to the Mets for Jay Bruce. They have similar salaries, though Bruce is signed for only two years instead of three. So, the Cardinals would have to send back some prospects to facilitate a trade…
why would Cleveland trade Santan for Fowler?
Cleveland wouldn’t. He plays for the Phillies. The Phillies are trying to move Carlos Santana so they can move Rhys Hoskins back to 1B (because he was a nightmare in LF).
One could argue, if Fowler can play defense anywhere, it would be in the third smallest ballpark (actually, might be tied for second smallest with Wrigley).
