photo: Ivan Herrera (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Cardinals add two to 40-man roster
The deadline for adding players to the 40-man roster for protection from the Rule 5 draft came and went on Friday, November 20. The Rule 5 draft occurs annually on the morning of the last day of the Winter Meetings, this year on December 10.
The Cardinals protected two top prospects in anticipation of the draft. Catcher Ivan Herrera was announced on Wednesday, November 18. Herrera, 20, was signed as an international free agent in 2016 for $200,000. He spent the 2019 season between Low-A Peoria and High-A Palm Beach and concluded 2019 playing in the Arizona Fall League. The catcher was to start the 2020 season in Double-A Springfield, but due to the cancellation of the minor league season he instead participated in the alternate training site in Springfield for the shortened season.
Herrera is known more for his bat, slashing a combined .284/.374/.405 in 2019, but has improved his defense through working with coaches as well as Yadier Molina. Herrera’s addition to the 40-man roster is independent of any talks to re-sign Molina to a new contract.
The second addition to the 40 man roster, RHP Angel Rondon, was announced on Thursday, November 19. The 22-year old was also an international signing in 2016 from the Dominican Republic. Rondon was named the Cardinals organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2019, and like Herrera, spent the last summer at the alternate site. The right-hander pitched for Palm Beach and Springfield in 2019, posting a 2.93 ERA over 28 starts.
Further free details on each as well as an in-depth subscriber article on those players left unprotected in the Major League and Minor League phases of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft:
Cardinals Follow with Placing Angel Rondon onto 40-Man Roster
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
In an interview with Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch, Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said the team’s payroll situation for 2021 is “fluid”. DeWitt stated that due to the uncertainty of what the 2021 season will bring, a payroll reduction remains a possibility.
The extent of the public health situation as the 2021 season nears will be determinant in which direction the Cardinals finances will head. St. Louis is more reliant on ticket revenue than other teams and therefore the ability for live attendance at games in 2021 will be key.
DeWitt asserted that regardless of the financial situation, he intends to field a “competitive” roster, without clarifying what level of competitiveness is the target.
Transactions
- 11/18 The Cardinals selected the contract of C Ivan Herrera from the Palm Beach Cardinals
- 11/19 The Cardinals selected the contract of RHP Angel Rondon from the Memphis Redbirds.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
Dates for key offseason events:
- 12/2: Deadline for teams to offer pre-arbitration and arbitration eligible players new contracts for the 2021 season.
- 12/6-12/10: The dates originally scheduled for the annual Winter Meetings in Dallas, TX. The in-person meetings have been cancelled due to Covid-19 and will instead be held virtually. This also include the annual Rule 5 draft, which will also be conducted virtually on December 10.
- 1/15/21: Deadline for teams and arbitration eligible players to submit salary figures. The Cardinals have six arbitration eligible players, CF Harrison Bader and RHPs Jack Flaherty, John Brebbia, John Gant, Jordan Hicks, and Alex Reyes. All but Gant are first time arbitration eligible. Gant is in his second year of eligibility.
Blast from the Past – Whitey Herzog: 1964-1979
Last week’s installment of Blast from the Past chronicled the playing career of Whitey Herzog. Herzog retired from baseball at the end of the 1963 season after putting up poor numbers with his final team, the Detroit Tigers.
This week, we begin in 1964, with Herzog returning to the Kansas City Athletics as a scout. In 1965, Whitey became a coach for the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate in Vancouver. After one year in Vancouver, Herzog left the Athletics organization and went to work for the New York Mets.
He joined the Mets in 1966 as the third base coach for Wes Westrum, who had replaced Casey Stengel as manager in 1965. In 1967, Whitey was named Director of Player Development, the farm director. He also managed the Mets Florida Instructional League for 50 games that year. This was Whitey’s first foray into managing. He spent the next six years in Player Development.
After Whitey was passed over for the manager job in 1972 following the death of Gil Hodges, he left the Mets organization. In November 1972, Herzog was named the manager of the Texas Rangers at the age of 40, replacing Hall of Fame player Ted Williams. He made his managerial debut on April 7, 1973, with his first win on April 12 by a 4-0 margin over the Kansas City Royals.
Whitey did not finish the season with the Rangers, as he was fired after 138 games and a record of 47-91. Billy Martin was his replacement.
Herzog’s next job was as the third base coach for the 1974 California Angels. He became the interim manager for the Angels for four games after manager Bobby Winkles was fired. The Angels then hired Dick Williams and Whitey stayed on as coach for the rest of the season.
In 1975, Herzog was named manager of the Kansas City Royals in July after the firing of Jack McKeon. His salary was $50,000 for the remainder of 1975 and through the end of the 1976 season. Whitey’s first Royals team included George Brett, Frank White, Hal McRae, and 39-year old Harmon Killebrew. Herzog managed them to a second-place finish.
It was with the Royals that Herzog’s style of baseball, called “Whitey Ball” first began. Trademarks were top-flight fielding, speed on the basepaths, and solid pitching. Whitey Ball thrived on the artificial turf of Royals Stadium. The Royals earned their first AL West Division title in 1976 with a record of 90-72 but lost in the Championship Series to the Yankees.
The Royals again took the AL West title in 1977 with 102 wins. A rematch with the Yankees in the ALCS ended in a 3-2 loss in five games. The pattern repeated in 1978 as Kansas City took the AL West title and lost to the Yankees for the third time, in four games.
The 1979 Royals ended the season in second place with only 85 wins. This setback and friction between Herzog and Royals owner Ewing Kauffman over the manager’s perception that the owner did not want to improve the team led to Herzog’s firing.
Herzog began the next decade with a different team, just across the state. Next week we will review Herzog’s successful stint as the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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