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I think he’s evolved a lot since he first took the job. His public scuffle with Tyler O’Neill was very poorly handled. His public criticism of Giovanny Gallegos also really bothered me. Since that time, I think he’s done a better job of handling these sorts of issues in-house, which is critical now that we have a younger team. I feel like the dust up with Doug Eddings shows that he’s willing and able to stand up for his players. He still takes some criticism of his team to the press, but I think that’s when it’s just gotten so bad that it’s impossible to ignore (like this seasons many bullpen collapses in the second half) and I can’t recall the last time he publicly called out a specific player.
I think Oli has won over the clubhouse and this year’s results, although not ideal, show that he can get a lot out of the guys that play for him. In today’s data-fueled game, I think most calls to the bullpen and pinch-hitting decisions are more or less out of the manager’s hands. Having someone that is respected and well-liked in the clubhouse is mostly what you want in a manager and after some growing pains, I think that’s what Oli’s turned himself into.
The Pablo Torre video on the shell game that Mark Warner has been using to fund his other enterprises is fascinating. Former Marlins owner Brian Samson is interviewed as part of the segment and says that MLB was aware of some of the self-dealing, but it appeared to benefit the league since it inflated the value of the Dodgers (and gave other owners an inflated data point to use when valuing their own franchises). It’s terrific journalism and a worthwhile watch.
Dustin May cited the lack of arm injuries in 2025 amongst the Cardinals pitching staff as part of why he wanted to play for the Cardinals. I’d love to know what the Cardinals are doing differently from other teams here.
Great recap this week, sent me down a rabbit hole on Tom Alston. I’m ashamed to say I did not know anything about him before reading this week’s recap. SABR did an incredible piece on his career and legacy and I highly recommend giving it a read: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/tom-alston/.
I wonder if the looming CBA negotiations are a factor in this league-wide deluge of extensions. It’s no secret the owners want a salary cap and the owners probably understand that they need to give something up in order to get it. Perhaps they’re willing to allow players to reach free agency earlier in their career in exchange for a cap? This could explain the recent gold rush surrounding early (and extremely early) career extensions this season – the owners could be buying out free agency years on their young stars at arbitration year rates. This is all speculation, but I’m just trying to make sense of these extensions (particularly the Cooper Pratt extension, which strikes me as the most odd).
https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/michael-mcgreevy-makes-first-spring-training-2026-start
Apparently McGreevy was inadvertently given BP balls during his start. The article doesn’t say exactly when they fixed the issue, but I’m wondering if the BP balls caused a drop in velocity.
I think the interesting thing about this trade is that we will know very quickly whether or not it was a good idea. Granillo will likely get a decent shot at major league playtime since the Nats have a weak bullpen, so it should be fairly easy to stack his performance against Soriano’s and see who won and who lost this trade. This trade, as insignificant as it may ultimately be, should at least give us an early assessment of Chaim’s and the new FO’s ability to assess talent.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Cubs shop Nico Hoerner or Matt Shaw following this signing. If Nico is made available, that could undercut the market for Donovan.
Unfortunately, Curtis Taylor is no longer a FA. Taylor signed with the NC Dinos out of the KBO. Hopefully he impresses against the competition there and can return stateside on a major league deal.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/sports/20251211/dinos-sign-ex-minor-league-pitcher-curtis-taylor
I have an unfounded, baseless theory that the Yankees meant to select Hancel Rincon in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft but mistakenly selected Hansel Rincon (who was a minor league FA signing about two weeks ago) from Milwaukee instead.
Also, did we get lucky losing Cade Winquest to the Yankees? The Yankees are obviously free spenders and are consistently aggressive at the trade deadline. Winquest could potentially find himself as the odd man out in a roster crunch and get returned to St. Louis.
