Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I’ve been all for blowing it up and building around some of the guys who are now running low on team control. And I’m now in the blow it up and include Donovan and Nootbaar in there and get some return. I love Donny, but his value is sky high this season and Wetherholt is pushing for a MLB job. It’s way past time to tear in down and build it instead of trying to stabilize a falling structure with no foundation. Gray and Contreras aren’t going to waive, reportedly, so we’ll just have to use them the best we can until they decide to or their contracts expire. I’d trade Arenado, Nootbaar, Donovan, Fermin, Matz, Mikolas (NTC too though), Romero, Maton, Helsley, and DFA Hampson.
1. Wetherholt 2B (L)
2. Winn SS (R)
3. Burleson LF (L) – needs to be 1B/DH, but Contreras won’t waive NTC
4. Contreras 1B (R)
5. Herrera DH (R)
6. Gorman 3B (L)
7. Walker RF (R)
8. Pages/Pozo C (R)
9. Scott CF (L)Prieto IF (L)
Saggese IF/OF (R) – Get him learning corner OF
Church OF (L)
Pozo/Pages C (R)Gray, Liberatore (L), McGreevy, Pallante, Mikolas (if he won’t waive NTC, if he does then Leahy/Graceffo for the rest of 2025)
Leahy, Graceffo, King(L), Fernandez/Munoz/Roycroft, Svanson, ??? (L), Granillo, O’Brien
Even if they don’t want to bring Wetherholt up yet then 2B can be Saggese and Prieto and hold on to Fermin for the other bench spot since he’d just be a throw in anyway.
There is no good reason to keep Contreras other than the difficulty/cost of moving him.
Same can be said about Gray. But they both have no trade clauses and have said they want to stay in St. Louis and not waive them.
New hitting coach?
Couldn’t agree more. You can see the change in philosophy, better at-bats, better approach. I’m not one to blame the coaching often, the players play. But the coaching has to lead and put the players in the best opportunity to succeed and I don’t think Turner Ward was doing that. The offense looks completely different now with new leadership and essentially the same players.
I agree. Gorman hasn’t been awful. I know the overall stat line right now isn’t impressive, but watching him he looks much better and the underlying stats show quite the improvement.
I like Scott batting 9th. Especially with Nootbaar hitting 1st, Scott works as a secondary leadoff hitter there without putting added pressure on the kid. Noot becomes more of a 2 hitter if Scott is on base and I like that too. If you hit Scott 1 and move Noot to 2 and Donny hitting 3rd it makes the first 3 guys all LH too, and Noot and Donny need to be at the top. Leave it be for now wit Scott hitting 9 and let things work themselves out there.
Gorman results aren’t there, but watching his AB’s this year compared to last year are night and day. He looks much more comfortable at the plate, hands are getting to the zone quicker, and pitch recognition is much better. I don’t know if he’s ever a .260+ with 40+ HR they want him to be, but I think he’s made huge steps in the right direction of being a productive hitter. I said when he first came up a few years back I thought he was much more “Russell Branyan” than a star player. But Branyan was serviceable.
Walker is still pulling out terribly and getting fooled a lot. He’s young and was rushed. I’m not saying he won’t ever be anything, but some guys take longer to figure it out. If developing was actually focused on then he would need to be playing, but they held on to guys and winning needs to be the focus, and it is really hard for me to say he needs to be in the line-up until they start selling off a lot of these guys if they can’t be in contention.
Left hander Andrew Abbott is making the start for Cincinnati. Cards going with the RH heavy line-up
1. Nootbaar LF
2. Winn SS
3. Donovan 2B
4. Arenado 3B
5. Contreras 1B
6. Baker DH
7. Walker RF
8. Pozo C
9. Barrero CFSiani has option years and they will option him. I’m perfectly fine with Barrero over Siani for the bench. But I really don’t know that they option Walker, even if right now it looks like the best thing to do for this roster construction. If Arenado is moved at some point it would open up for Walker to be back in RF, Nootbaar to LF, Donovan to 2B, Gorman to 3B…but we’ll have to wait for that day. Koperniak needs to be in a corner, CF out of necessity only. Nootbaar is a better CF option than Koperniak. Who gets DFA for Barrero? I think it would come down to Loutos or Munoz. AAA SP of Matthews, Hence*, Robberse*, Roby*, Munoz*/Graceffo*. Pen Munoz*/Graceffo*, Rom(L)(Healthy?) Bedell, Gomez, Raquet/Mosqueda(L), Weiss, Granillo, Kaminzky(L), Loutos*, Roycroft*, Anderson, O’Brien*, Svanson*. Thats a lot of RP and none overly impressive, so DFA Munoz or Loutos. Anderson is available for all teams to claim per his contract when they sent him to minor league camp. Cardinals either let the team claim him or block it by adding him to the active roster and paying him the major league portion of his contract, which I think was set at $1.1 million.
I found where I explained what I’d do with the rotation, near the bottom of this,
I don’t really think they will keep Siani up, but do you keep Walker up and not playing every day? If he’s up hes going to play every day. So then who becomes the odd man out? None of the others in that starting 9 deserve to sit either. I think Fermin has done enough to make the team, Barrero is close, Fermin adding some LF/RF play helps him. Barrero SS and CF primary positions help him. Deciding factor to me is Fermin is on the 40 man and Barrero isn’t. Barrero can go to AAA and play all over the place with Helman and either be ready when they are needed.
I am very cautiously optimistic about this team. No, I don’t think they will be good. A LOT has to go right for them to be a consistently good team this season, but I think there is the possibility of them being the “surprise” team of the year. But I still think they will be too inconsistent and finish poorly, but only time will tell. But maybe I’m with you gscottar, maybe its just the excitement of opening day coming that is leading to optimism about this team.
I think with Arenado on the team Walker is the weak link in the 10 guys for 9 spots, but I really doubt they would option him out again. Winn’s struggles this spring I think he needs moved down until he figures it out, take the pressure off. And even as well as he played last season for a rookie, his stats weren’t really leadoff hitter quality. They seem like they are going to give Arenado the veteran benefit too and not hit him 6th where he belongs, so something similar to today’s (3/19) line-up…
1. Donovan – LF (L) (Utility)
2. Contreras – 1B (R)
3. Nootbaar – RF (L)
4. Arenado – 3B (R)
5. Burleson – DH (L) (1B)
6. Herrera – C (R)
7. Gorman – 2B (L)
8. Winn – SS (R)
9. Scott – CF (L)
Fermin- IF/UT(R), Baker- DH(R), Siani- OF(L), Pages- C(R)vs. LHP could leave most of it the same and swap Baker in for Burleson. Maybe Fermin in LF, Donovan in RF, Nootbaar in CF some days too to get Fermin so AB’s.
I’ve posted somewhere else, I don’t remember which thread, but I like the idea of a 6 man rotation. Gray, Fedde, Pallante pitching every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. M-Th are made up of Mikolas, Matz, McGreevy. If there is a 7th game for the week, which doesn’t happen all that often really then Liberatore and Leahy combo could give 5-6 innings or option out Leahy, bring up a AAA SP for the game, then option out that SP, and bring in Roycroft for a week or so, then Leahy could be brought back. McGreevy needs a shot. The only way Mikolas and Matz have trade value in a few months is to be starting them. The other 3 are going to start.
Gray, Fedde, Pallante, Mikolas, Matz(L), McGreevy
Liberatore(L), King(L), Leahy/Roycroft, Maton, Romero(L), Fernandez, HelsleyIf today’s line-up is more in line with what they are thinking for opening day I don’t hate it. With Arenado on the team, I think Walker is the one who is the weak link to get left out, but I don’t know they will make that decision to send him back to AAA again. Winn struggles in spring, could put him 8th in the line-up to start the season. I’d probably flip Nootbaar and Donovan, but either way is OK.
1. Cubs (88-74)
2. Pirates (80-82)
3. Reds (78-84)
4. Cardinals (76-86)
5. Brewers (75-87)Cubs pitching will keep them from being better, but still win the division.
Pirates will ride their pitching and have enough offense to stay close to .500 in a poor division.
Red pitching will struggle, offense and a good manager will keep them in games, but won’t be enough to get to .500.
Cardinals will be inconsistent and streaky, will hear conversations of “they did the right thing not selling off in the off-season and need to be buyers to win a weak division”, and won’t trade away any of their pending free agents trying to win the division. Then will hit an extended cold streak and fall to 4th in the division. (Maybe this is just my pessimism)
Brewers loss of Adames will mean more than they thought and with injuries are unable to meet expectations.Complaining about lineup construction day one in ST is about meaningless as the first ( if not all) NFL preseason game.
It wasn’t complaining about a spring training line up. It was gscotter saying it could be the opening day line up and me stating the only line up I’d like to see early until things shake out the way a long MLB season does.
I don’t think “case closed” on it, but even a slight improvement isn’t going to justify playing him vs LHP over about anyone. It’s going to have to be a substantial improvement. But vs RHP he’s going to be a must to have in the line-up.
Thanks for the info. But I agree with Oli on this one. I think Burleson is serviceable in RF if necessary, but needs to be at 1B where I think he best fits defensively. Though if he’s going to be a regular 1B he needs to be able to hit LHP. At DH hes much easier to platoon, and like I’ve said previously I think he has to be platooned because vs RHP he was one of the best hitters in the league and vs. LHP he was one of the worst.
I see Burleson and Saggese not listed as available. I know it’s the first spring game, but kinda expected Burleson.
And I really don’t like the line-up. I like moving Donovan up, but my opinion the ONLY line-up that makes sense is
Vs. RHP
1. Donovan LF
2. Winn SS
3. Nootbaar CF
4. Contreras 1B
5. Burleson DH
6. Arenado 3B
7. Walker RF
8. Gorman 2B
9. Herrera CVs. LHP
1. Donovan LF
2. Winn SS
3. Nootbaar CF
4. Contreras 1B
5. Arenado 3B
6. Herrera C
7. Walker RF
8. Gorman DH
9. Saggese 2BI know it’s not their best defensive line-up, which would be Donovan at 2B Nootbaar in LF and Siani in CF. But a much better offensive line-up and much deeper than anything they can do with that defensive line-up.
(Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres, Angels)
I thought it was the Mets, not the Yankees.
I think I would rather take on the Stroman contract.
I don’t want Stroman, and I think adding Stroman creates more problems. Rotation is probably Gray, Fedde, Pallante, Matz, Mikolas. And they have McGreevy deserving of a spot, then add Graceffo, Matthews, Hence, Robberse, Roby and lesser Munoz, Rom, Bedell all fighting for spots and in the AAA rotation or just out of it. At least with LeMahieu there could be a roster spot for him for the year and if NYY pay off part of his 2026 contract then the potential for trading him could go up. I don’t want LeMaheiu taking up a bench spot either, but at least he’s not blocking anyone really deserving. He would keep 2 of Helman, Scott, and Fermin in AAA, possibly Saggese if they opt for giving him regular AB’s early and use a bench of LeMahieu, Helman, Scott. But then is Helman able to be the back-up SS? But I also see the intent of NYY is offloading Stroman. Maybe they can find a 3rd team to get involved, because I don’t want him in STL.
Yankees are by far the most interesting team likely to have interest in Arenado, if he’ll waive to go there. I don’t think he was on the list of 6 reported. They also have a need for LH reliever. I still think selling high on Romero and including him with Arenado to sweeten the deal, probably cover around $15 million of Arenado’s 2025 contract, but not any future money. Return still wouldn’t be great but maybe could pull Ben Hess (high strikeout, iffy command 2024 first round pick out of Alabama and originally from Moline, IL), or Bryce Cunningham (2024 2nd round pick out of Vanderbilt) neither of which have thrown an inning in pro ball. Maybe Gage Ziehl (2024 4h round pick our of Miami) who also hasn’t pitched in pro ball. And maybe another 1-2 lower level lesser known guys to take a flyer on.
Do the Cardinals even entertain the idea of taking on LeMahieu and having the Yankees include money instead? He’s making $15 million in 2025 and 2026. Cardinals could pay him in 2025 essentially eating $15 million of Areanado for 2025. Then have the Yankees pay $5-10 million of LeMahieu in 2026. I don’t know that the Cardinals have room for him on the roster though is the hang up. Helman does have options and could be sent to AAA, or Helman serves as the primary backup CF with Scott in AAA if they were to do it.
Arenado’s contract. I believe the Cardinals have set their offer at around $15 million – $5 million per year they are willing to pay for
No money after 2025. Take the hit this year, put the savings in 2026 and on so Bloom is starting clean. Arenado is owed 27, 22, 15. Pay him down or take the expiring after 2025 contracts, nothing beyond.
They could theoretically do something like:
Get:
RF- Haniger (SEA) ($15.5 Million) (DFA him)
C/DH- Garver (SEA) ($13.5 million) (DFA him)
OF- Zach Ehrard (BOS) (A+)
RP- Hunter Cranton (SEA) (A+-AA)
IF- Brock Rodden (SEA) (AA)
Comp A pick (SEA)SEA Gets:
OF/DH- Yoshida (BOS) (18.6, 18.6, 18.6)
RP- Romero (STL) (2.26, final arb)
OF- Jhostynxon Garcia (BOS) (AA)
1B- Blaze Jordan (BOS) (AAA)
OF- Allan Castro (BOS) (AA)BOS Gets:
3B- Arenado (27, 22, 15)This would be a 2025 break even on money, but add some prospects and a draft pick and rid of any future money owed to Arenado and Romero. Maybe they could flip Garver, paying $8 ish million of what he’s owed, and save $5-6 million for 2025 too.
Because trading him is strictly about shedding money. They don’t see value in trading him for minimal return and eating money. Why I thought early on the only way to make it work was adding Romero with him and taking on Taylor and Brasier from the Dodgers. Would have temporarily filled 2 needs (they have since filled with Helman and Anderson) and taking on the 2 contracts of Taylor and Brasier would have eaten $17 million of the contract too. Then they add on 2 prospects or Bobby Miller and have a deal. But Dodgers weren’t interested in him, or as one of the unnamed executives said “if we wanted him we would have him”.
I just don’t see them trading him at this point. Boston dosn’t want the full contract either. Unless they can get a 3rd team involved that would take Yoshida. Which I have thought about and tried to come up with ways to make that work. But Arenado to BOS, Yoshida to SEA, the Cardinals still don’t get much of a return at all from SEA. Even if the Cardinals took on Mitch Garver($13.5 million) or Mitch Haniger($15.5 million), both of which expire after 2025 I don’t see them getting much and they have nothing to do with either one of those guys except release them and that’s basically the same as including money.
Saggese would start every game vs LHP for me for sure and sitting Burleson. But vs RHP I think he would have to earn more time. Even if Arenado is gone he’s still going to be fighting for time. But I don’t think he has anything more to prove in AAA. He finished his time there strong last year and then lit up the AFL. He deserves a legit shot at earning big league time and its probably going to start with starting vs LHP and a utility IF vs RHP. Helman (or Barrero or Vilade) is the guy that will play very little. I don’t see Baker having a role. He’s limited to DH and maybe some 1B. Burleson is going to play every day vs. RHP at DH and maybe some at 1B or RF. Vs LHP Saggese replaces Burleson, but playing 2B and probably Gorman going to DH. And is keeping Baker around worth the very limited time and defensive versatility? I don’t think it is.
The offseason is now done except for a possible Nado trade.
I agree. I think they need to trade Arenado, but I don’t know that they can. To get any return at all they are going to have to include money, and the Cardinals are more set on shedding money, moving Gorman to 3B, Donovan to 2B, Nootbaar in LF, CF to Siani/Scott. I think the bench will be Saggese, Helman, Siani, and Pages. Barrero and Vilade will get a chance to earn a roster spot and Helman has options, though the 40 man is now full too. Anderson will have a legit shot at a pen spot, but his health is going to be the major hang up as its been most of his career.