Cardinals look to fill the void after tragic loss of Oscar Taveras

Like most (if not all) of you, I was shocked and deeply saddened upon learning of the death of Oscar Taveras.  Not only did the Cardinals lose a potential star in the making, but they also lost an incredible person both on and off the field.  My condolences go out to the Taveras' family and friends, as well as those of his girlfriend, who was also killed in the accident.

Taveras will be missed.

Now, the Cardinals have to move past the tragedy and try to build a team capable of beating the Giants and making it to next year's fall classic.

To start off with, the Cards will have to find a replacement for Taveras.  Randal Grichuk, who was slated to compete with Taveras for the right field job, could get the nod, and the team also has Stephen Piscotty waiting in the wings. 

However, Jennifer Langosch is reporting that the Cardinals could look outside of the organization for a right fielder. 

If the Cardinals do look outside the organization for a right fielder, what are their options?

Here are some free agent possibilities:

Yasmany Tomas

Probably at the top of many teams' lists is Cuban defector Yasmany Tomas, a right-handed corner outfield who reportedly has "huge power".  He is just 24 years old and is expected to get somewhere in the neighborhood of a 7-year, $100 million contract.  However, there are already several teams vying for his service, which could result if a bidding war, something the Cards may want to avoid.

Nick Markakis

Markakis is a decent right fielder with a good career OBP (.358) and a little pop (.435 SLG).  The Orioles did not make him a qualifying offer, meaning he is not tied to any draft picks, thus making him all the more attractive.  He is only 30 years old and will likely be seeking something in the neighborhood of 4 years/$65 million.


Nelson Cruz

Cruz, 34, led all of MLB with 40 homers in 2014 and is arguably the best power hitter on the market.  For a team that finished last in the NL in home runs, that certainly holds some appeal.  However, he is limited defensively and, with Matt Holliday patrolling left field, the Cardinals may not want to further damage their defense.


Mike Morse

Morse could be a decent stop gap option if the team feels that Randal Grichuk just needs a little more time before he's ready.  As a right hander capable of playing first, he could also be worked into a platoon with Matt Adams.  He's only 32, but seems to be on the down slope of his career.

Alex Rios

Another potential stop gap, Rios offers little power, but hits for a decent average and destroys lefties (.325 average against in 2014).  He will turn 34 next year andcould be had on a one year deal in order to build value.

Overall, the Cardinals have been saying they are willing to increase their payroll and with little other needs, a quality right fielder might be the best way to spend that money.  Tomas would be my first choice, with Markakis second.  Beyond that and you begin to wonder if any of the players would be an upgrade over Grichuk. 

Who are the Cardinals trade chips?

Buster Olney is reporting that the Rays are prepared to deal David Price "right now".  The trade market is obviously heating up and thhe Cardinals appear to be looking to make a big splash this time around.  But what do the Cards have to offer the sellers as the trade season heats up?

Here's a look at some of the players that the Cards might be willing to part with to land the pieces they need to contend for a title.

The Outfield Logjam

One area in which the Cardinals have a surplus is in the outfield, here are some players that could be moved to ease that logjam.

1.  Matt Adams

It was reported a while back that Adams could be on the block as the Cardinals look to eliminate their outfield logjam, while at the same time getting a quality player in return.  Adams is appealing to other teams in that he is cheap (he still has one more season before arbitration) and he is a career .295 hitter with power.  He could be involved in a trade for a big fish, such as Price.

2.  Allen Craig

Craig is also appealing due to his reasonable contract--he is earning just $2.75 million in 2014, and will make just $5.5 million in 2015, $9.0 in 2016 and $11 million in 2017.  All affordable salaries for a career .297 hitter and rbi machine.  He probably wouldn't be the centerpiece of a David Price deal, but could be used to acquire an upgrade at another position, such as second base.

3.  Jon Jay/Peter Bourjos

Jay and Bourjos have been splitting time in center this season, with Mike Matheny riding the hot hand.  However, one of them could be traded to land some bullpen help or as a piece to a larger deal.  Both will be entering their second year of arbitration this offseason and trading one of them could help the Cardinals save money to use for other needs.

The Prospects

Although the Cardinals no longer have the top farm system, the team still has quality prospects and depth to make some moves.


1.  Oscar Taveras

If the Cardinals are going to land a pitcher like Price, they are going to have to part with some of the best prospects and there is no one better than Taveras.  He could be the centerpiece of a mega-deal while at the same time helping to eliminate the outfield logjam.

2.  Carlos Martinez/Marco Gonzales

If there is one thing that selling teams crave, its young, controllable, major league ready pitching.  Martinez is a young power arm that could be the key to a deal for a veteran arm, such as Price.  Gonzales doesn't have the power arm, like Martinez, but his promotion to start on Wednesday could just be a means of showcasing him to other teams.  In any case, don't be surprise if one of these guys names pops up in trade rumors.

3.  Stephen Piscotty/Randal Grichuk/James Ramsey

The Cardinals have an abundance of good young outfield prospects and one of these guys could end up on the block.  Any one of these guys could be traded to land a quality reliever or could be included in a larger deal. 

These are just some of the guys who the Cards might consider expendable to get what they need.  The team currently has the depth to do whatever it takes to make this team better, but will John Mozeliak be willing to pull the trigger?

Should the Cardinals pursue David Price and, if so, what might he cost them?

Last week I opined as to what the Cardinals needs might be heading into trading season.  Bullpen help is their main priority, but there is also the possibility that the Cardinals could make a big splash and try to pull off a blockbuster deal.

A little while ago, Ken Rosenthal suggested that the Cards should pursue a big-name starting pitcher, such as David Price and, with the recent elbow issues of Adam Wainwright, that is a distinct possibility.  However, Rosenthal recently indicated that the team is hesitant to go shopping for a starter, as they still have internal options, such as Joe Kelly and Carlos Martinez.

Early indications are that Wainwright's injury is not serious, but it does raise concerns.  Waino is definitely the Cardinals ace and while Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller and Jaime Garcia have all pitched well, a long-term injury to Wainwright would definitely hurt the Cards playoff chances.

Plus, could you imagine a big 3 of Wainwright, Wacha and Price in the playoffs?  The Cardinals would definitely be tough to beat.

Price would be under team control through the 2015 season, which means he is not the typical "rental" player available this time of year and it would give the Cards time to negotiate a potential extension with him.

Obviously, there are a lot of benefits to acquiring Price, but at what cost?

The best comparison to determine the asking price for Price is to look at the Rays trade of James Shields and Wade Davis to the Royals in December 2012.  At that time, the Rays acquired Wil Meyers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard from the Royals for those two pitchers.

To put that package in perspective, Meyers was the Royals #1 prospect and the 4th best in all of baseball according to Baseball America.  Odorizzi was the Royals #5 prospect and ranked 92nd overall by Baseball America.  Montgomery had fallen off the charts a bit, but was once a top 50 prospect and Leonard was a low-level, unranked power hitting prospect.

What might the equivalent package be that the Cards would have to pony up for Price?

Well, you have to consider that the Royals were getting two quality arms in their deal, however Price is considered a much better pitcher than either Shields or Davis, so that probably balances out.

Thus, I would think that any discussion would probably start with Oscar Taveras.  The Cards would probably have to include a pitcher who is close to major-league ready as well, such as Tim Cooney and then a couple lesser prospects. 

The question then is:  Is it worth the cost?

Would you be willing to part with your top hitting prospect for arguably the best pitcher on the market? 

Considering the logjam of outfielders that the Cards have in their system both in the majors (Matt Holliday, Peter Bourjos, Jon Jay and Allen Craig), as well as at AAA (Stephen Piscotty, Randal Grichuk) and even AA (James Ramsey), parting with a top talent like Taveras for a lefthanded "ace" like Price is a little less painfull.

Overall, I think that, if the Cards could land Price for some package involving Taveras, they should go for it.  Pitching wins championships.

What do you think?

What are the Cardinals' needs as we get ready for trading season?

With the MLB first year player draft out of the way, the focus now shifts to the next big event, the July 31st (waiver-free) trade deadline.  The Cardinals have been scuffling all year and could certainly use some help, but what exactly are their needs as the deadline approaches?

Bullpen

The top priority for John Mozeliak should be to find bullpen help. 

The Cardinals bullpen has a 5-11 record with a 3.67 ERA.  While the ERA is not too bad, as a team they are tied with the Cubs for 5th worst in the NL with 10 blown saves. 

Their closer, Trevor Rosenthal, has struggled all year with his control (4.9 BB/9, over double his 2.4 mark from 2013).  Top setup man, Carlos Martinez, has a 4.32 ERA and their best lefty, Kevin Siegrist, is on the DL, and, while 2012 closer Jason Motte has returned from Tommy John surgery, can Mike Matheny lean on him as heavily as he has the others?

The Cardinals have done an excellent job the last two years of acquiring struggling relievers from other teams and helping them turn things around for the stretch run.

In 2012, it was Edward Mujica, who the Cards acquired from Miami for prospect Zack Cox.  Mujica had a 4.38 ERA with the Marlins prior to the trade and a 1.03 ERA with the Redbirds.  He went on to serve as the Cardinals closer for much of the 2013 season, before tiring down the stretch.

In 2013, the Cardinals acquired John Axford from the Brewers for reliever Michael Blazek.  Axford had a 4.45 ERA with the Brew Crew, but posted a 1.74 ERA with the Cards.

Its a little early to tell exactly who might be available, but someone like J.J. Putz of the Diamondbacks fits the profile.  He has struggled this year with injuries (forearm) and ineffectiveness (4.91 ERA), so he could be had for cheap (if you don't count the prorated portion of his $7.0 million contract) and could provide the Cards pen with a boost.

A Big Splash

Perhaps what this team needs to wake from their doldrums is for Mozeliak to make a big splash at the trade deadline and land the big fish.  Other than shoring up the bullpen, this is the only other move I think that the Cardinals could make to light a fire under this team.

Ken Rosenthal is just the latest writer to suggest that the Cardinals go after a big name pitcher, such as the Rays' David Price or the Royals' James Shields, because, well, pitching.

The Cardinals certainly have the minor league talent to land a big target.  They could offer up one of their AAA outfielders (such as Randal Grichuk or Stephen Piscotty), a young pitcher or two (Carlos Martinez, John Gast, Tyler Lyons, Marco Gonzales, etc) and perhaps even someone like Matt Adams.

It would take a lot to land one of the big fish, but it just may be the spark that this team needs.

Of course, one might say that its the offense that needs a boost, so why not go after a big hitter.  Well, for one thing, where would you put him?  The team is pretty much set at all their positions and its really the struggles of veterans like Allen Craig and Matt Holliday that have caused the offense to sputter, so should the team really use its resources to land another hitter and try to squeeze him into the lineup?

In any case, it will be interesting to see what Mo does to shake up this team.  Will he make a big splash or will he just make a small tweak?  Perhaps the team's performance over the next month will decide.

Cardinals could trade an outfielder. Who could move and for what?

Its no secret that the Cardinals have a surplus of outfielders in their system, from major leaguers Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, Peter Bourjos and Allen Craig on down to their AAA outfield of Oscar Taveras, Randal Grichuk (who are both currently on the major league roster) and Stephen Piscotty.

In a recent article, Bernie Miklasz indicated that something's got to give, hinting that a trade is the logical thing to do.

But who might the Cardinals trade and what do they need in return?

Well, Darren Wolfson says that the Twins have interest in Jon Jay and that the Cardinals would probably ask for reliever Casey Fien and a prospect in return.  This makes sense for the Cards as they certainly could use the bullpen help and it could open up the possibility of Taveras splitting time with Bourjos in center.

Jon Heyman speculated a while back that the Cardinals could trade either Matt Adams or Allen Craig. However, if the Cardinals were to trade one of those guys, they would be looking for more than a reliever in return. 

According to Miklasz, a scout suggested to him that the Cards could try to make a big splash and acquire a "formidable starting pitcher" to complement Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha in the rotation.  Two of the biggest starting pitching names that have been rumored to be on the block are the Cubs' Jeff Samardzija and the Rays' David Price.

The Cubs don't seem to be willing to pony up the money necessary to extend Samardzija, who is signed through the 2015 season.  However, the Cubs already have a couple of talented outfield prospects in Albert Almora and Jorge Soler.  Do they really need another outfielder and would they want to trade within their own division?

As for the Rays and Price, they could certainly use another outfielder, as they are currently employing David DeJesus in left field.  While he's a decent outfielder, he doesn't have the power normally associated with a corner guy. 

That's not to say that Craig or Adams would be enough to land a pitcher like Price.  Most likely it would require some prospects as well.  For example, when the Rays traded James Shields and Wade Davis to the Royals a couple years ago, they acquired the Royals top prospects Wil Meyers and Jake Odorizzi, along with a couple other prospects (Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard).

Are the Cards willing to part with some of their top prospects for Price, who is only under team control through 2015?

Both Price and Samardzija are more valuable than most players on the block this time of year, as they are under team control beyond 2014, but that just means that their teams will be looking for more in return as well.

In any case, this situation bears watching and I'm sure there will be many more rumors floating around as the July 31st trade deadline gets nearer.

Cardinals call up Oscar Taveras. Matt Adams headed for the DL.

The long wait is over, the Cardinals have called up Oscar Taveras.  Unfortunately it comes at the expense of Matt Adams.

Per Derrick Goold, Taveras will be called up on Saturday and likely inserted into the lineup immediately, while Adams will head to the DL with a calf injury.

Its a shame to lose Adams, who is hitting .325/.337/.474 on the year and is one of the team's most productive hitters.  However, the Cardinals hope that Taveras can fill the void, as he was hitting .325/.373/.524 at AAA Memphis.

Taveras will likely play right field while Adams is out, with Allen Craig shifting to 1B.  Recently promoted Randal Grichuk will likely be the DH during the Cardinals road trip to the AL parks that starts on June 4th.

So, the long wait is finally over, however, unless he hits like gangbusters, don't expect his stay to last longer than that of Adams' on the DL.

How can the Cardinals upgrade their bench?

The Cardinals bench leaves a lot to be desired.  As a team, the Cardinals subs are hitting just .198 with a .555 OPS. 

Other than backup catcher Tony Cruz, who is hitting .292, and Jon Jay, who is hitting .279 while splitting time in center with Peter Bourjos (.210), the Cardinals have gotten little or no production from their bench.

Other than those two, the Cards do not have anyone on their bench hitting over the Mendoza line.  Utility infielder, Daniel Descalso, is not known as a great hitter, but his .172 average is far below his normal level.  Backup second baseman Mark Ellis is hitting .181 and the 5th outfielder shuttle of Shane Robinson (.156), Randal Grichuk (.143) and Joey Butler (0 for 5) haven't fared much better.

So, how can the Cardinals improve their bench?

Well, for one, they can promote Oscar Taveras or Stephen Piscotty.  Taveras is hitting .325/.373/.524 and Piscotty is hitting .292/.330/.426 for AAA Memphis.  Either one could be an upgrade over Robinson and could rotate in the outfield spots to give the team's veterans a rest.

Another potential upgrade would be Aledmys Diaz as a utility infielder.  Unfortunately, he has been sidelined since April 26th due to a shoulder injury.  However, once healthy, he would be a upgrade over Deslcaso and is capable of playing second, third and short.

As for Ellis, the Cards are probably stuck with him, as he is looking like this year's version of Ty Wigginton.  Hopefully the team has learned their lesson and will stop signing 35+ year old veteran infielders to fill out their bench. 

Finally, although Tony Cruz has hit well in his limited role as Yadier Molina's backup, the team needs to find someone that Mike Matheny can rely on more so that he doesn't overwork Molina.  Yadi played in 136 games last year and it showed in his second half numbers.

In the first half of the season, Molina hit .341/.386/.489, but he finished the year hitting just .280/.309/.456.  Some extra rest here and there would do a lot to ensure that drop off does not happen again. 

Unfortunately, the Cardinals best catching prospects, Steve Bean and converted third baseman Carson Kelly, are both splitting catching duties for low A Peoria and are not an option, so any catching help will have to come from the outside. 

There are some internal options to improve the bench.  We could see one of those options (most likely Taveras) as early as June 4th and, once he's healthy, Diaz should be able to replace Descalso.  Those two could go a long way to improving the overall performance of the bench.

Cardinals look to shake thing up by demoting Kolten Wong

With their offense continuing to struggle, the Cardinals decided to shake things up by demoting second baseman Kolten Wong to AAA.  Wong has certainly struggled on the season, hitting just .225/.276/.268, but he is not the only one.

Shortstop Jhonny Peralta (.195/.290/.476) is not doing much to make Cardinals fans forget about Pete Kozma and his offensive struggles.  "Clutch" hitter Allen Craig is sporting a .177 average and just 6 rbi's and offseason acquisition Peter Bourjos has lost his starting job to Jon Jay thanks in large part to his .163 average.

Unfortunately, the Cards cannot demote their entire team, so they are making this change to try to light a fire under the team.

The Cardinals have recalled Greg Garcia to replace Wong on the roster. Mark Ellis should get the lion's share of the starts at second, however, with Ellis hitting only .100 since coming off the DL, don't be surprised to see Garcia split time with Ellis.

In addition to Wong's demotion, the Cardinals also sent down Shane Robinson and called up Randal Grichuk.  Grichuk was hitting .313/.356/.542 in AAA and will look to provide a spark off the bench.

Hopefully Wong's demotion will be short-term as he looks to get his stroke back.  However, it is good to have a veteran like Ellis available to plug into the void and hopefully either he or Garcia can provide the offense with a boost.

UCB Roundtable: Which rookie will have the biggest impact in 2014?

As part of the United Cardinals Bloggers Annual Spring Roundtable, today I got to ask the question for discussion.  What I originally thought would be a straight-forward question turned into a bit more.

Here is the question I posed and the resulting discussion.

Question: 

Despite several prospects graduating to the big leagues last season, including Shelby Miller, Matt Adams, Trevor Rosenthal, Michael Wacha and Seth Maness, the Cardinals still have one of the best minor league systems. 

Excluding Kolten Wong, who is projected to start at second, which rookie do you think will have the biggest impact on the Cardinals in 2014?  

Discussion:

Mark Tomasik, Retro Simba

Oscar Taveras. He’s likely to emerge as a run producer who gets significant playing time at all three outfield spots.

Matt Whitener, I70 Baseball

Whereas last year's team needed a lot of rookie contribution to make everything work, that's not the case this time around. The sophomores have established roles and the vets are all back for the most part, so it is considerably tougher to pick a rookie that makes a huge splash this year. Not due to a lack of talent, but simply because of available time to make a splash in.

With that preface, I think this year's top rook is finally Tavares, who wont get the early impact chance that everybody wants, but once he hits the field, has the type of talent to force his way into the mix and change what is established already. I see a year for Oscar that mirrors the type of year that Wil Myers had last year: mid-season promotion and increasing impact as the season gets older. He's the type of talent that is an internal trade deadline-like boost, and most importantly, provides a more stable option out of the #2 spot in the lineup, because that's a void that has not been able to be seamlessly filled like others have since Beltran moved on.

Daniel Solzman, Redbird Rants

Oscar Taveras is my answer.  I would expect that Randal Grichuck or Stephen Piscotty will see some playing time come September.

Bill Ivie, I70 Baseball

Taveras is the obvious answer, and I can't argue it. I think the team has a bright future, but most of the players are not quite ready yet.

Christine Coleman, Aaron Miles' Fastball

I agree with Bill, that Oscar Taveras is the obvious and inarguable answer. With the depth and talent (and youth) on even the 40-man roster, hard to see anyone else really having the chance to make a big impact.

Dan Boffa, Dose of Boffa

While we can all say Oscar, I am going with Tim Cooney. I've seen him pitch twice this spring and he's got command, a fine array of pitches and a poise out there that can't be taught. 

Sure we haven't reached the regular season grind yet but this talented lefty could definitely help the club, especially given Garcia's health concerns and John Gast's shoulder surgery comeback. Cooney may not provide a Wacha moment in 2014 but he could have a big impact down the stretch of a long season.

Daniel Shoptaw, C70 At The Bat 


While, as everyone said, you have to figure Oscar Taveras will be the answer to this question, I'm wondering if it might not be a bullpen arm that comes in and pulls a Kevin Siegrist or Seth Maness when someone (inevitably) stumbles.  Could that be Cooney, like Dan said, shifting from the rotation in Memphis to the big league pen?  Lee Stoppelman is my dark horse in that regard.

Mary Claussen, MLBVoice

Oscar Tavares.  He's got oodles of potential.  I'm excited to be able to see him this season (barring no more ankle stuff).

As you can see, the consensus is that Oscar Taveras will be the Cardinals top rookie in 2014.  However, I was surprised that no one mentioned Carlos Martinez in the discussion, which led to a discussion on Martinez' rookie eligibility, as follows.

Me:  What about Carlos Martinez?  He's still a rookie.

Daniel Shoptaw

For some reason, I think Martinez is technically not a rookie.  He didn't reach the 50 innings pitched requirement, but I think he might have had 45 days or more on the active 25-man roster before September. I could be wrong on that, obviously, but I'm thinking I remember that coming up last year.

Bill Ivie

There's a huge debate on Martinez' rookie status.  I've counted his service days and thought he was clear by a day, others have said that he is one day past rookie status.

For what it's worth, MLB does not show him in their rookie run downs.

Daniel Shoptaw

Cot's Contracts shows Martinez with 73 service days, but that should be counting September as well. Which would seem to back up Bill's contention that he was just short.  Like he says, though, Martinez never seems to be included in any rookie rundowns.  Someone Tweet at Goold and have him clear this up!  :)

Me

I stand corrected.  According to Jennifer Langosch, Martinez is not a rookie.  This is from her January 13, 2014 article (in the comments section):

Martinez just narrowly misses rookie status. A player loses his rookie eligibility if A) he exceeds 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched or B) is on a team’s roster for 45 days or more (not counting September, when rosters expand). Martinez only pitched 28 1/3 innings in the regular season, but he did (just narrowly) surpass that 45-day mark for service time. As a result, MLB.com will not consider him for its prospect list.

Bill Ivie

From Goold on Twitter:  Baseball has him hitting just the mark.  Not a rookie.

So, from a discussion on rookies, we found out (or at least I did) that Carlos Martinez is no longer considered one.  However, I think Martinez will have a bigger impact on this year's team than Taveras, rookie status or not, and Daniel Shoptaw agrees:

Per Dan: "To the rephrased question (whether Taveras or Martinez would have a bigger impact), I'm going to lean toward Martinez, just because I'm not sure when Taveras will make the major leagues and I'm guessing they'll break him in gently with a rotation of him, Craig and Adams.  I don't necessarily think Martinez will start the year in the rotation, but what he does give to the team might be more than OT does."

Be sure to check out more discussions, like these, at the United Cardinals Bloggers site, as well as the individual site links provided above.

Cardinals buy low (and sell low) in David Freese trade

After a couple of days of talking, the Cardinals and Angels finally agreed to a trade yesterday sending David Freese and Fernando Salas to the Angels for Peter Bourjos and prospect Randal Grichuk.

When I first heard the news, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea.  First, Freese, who hits lefties pretty well, could provide the Cardinals with a platoon option for Kolten Wong.  Second, what do the Cardinals need with another outfielder? 

However, the more I looked into Bourjos' stats, the more I liked him.  He is generally considered one of the best center fielders in baseball.  Per Fangraphs, his 20.2 UZR/150 since 2010 is the highest in all of baseball during that time.

In addition, his platoon splits do not scream part-time player (like Freese's do).  For his career, he has a .706 OPS against lefties and a .703 OPS against righties.  You can't get much closer than that. 

Granted, Freese has a career .783 OPS and is arguably the better hitter than Bourjos, but Bourjos' defense more than makes up for it.  During his career, Freese has a cumulative WAR of 8.2, however, Bourjos' career WAR is 9.0 in 619 fewer at bats.

Bourjos will take over center field for Jon Jay and Wong will take Freese's spot in the lineup, playing second while Matt Carpenter moves over his natural third base position.  Thus, not only will the center field defense improve, but the infield defense should as well.

The only drawback I can see is that there is now no spot for Oscar Taveras, as some had suggested he could take over center for Jay.  However, Taveras has to prove himself healthy next season, after missing significant time with an ankle injury.  Once he does, the Cardinals will find a spot for him.

Finally, I haven't even talked about the other piece the Cardinals got, Grichuk.  Grichuk ranked 6th among the Angels top prospects prior to the 2013 season, according to Baseball America.  Grichuk had 22 homers in AA last season, but hit only .256.  In general, he shows above average power, but is a bit of a free-swinger.

Overall, the general consensus is that it was a good deal for the Cardinals and I see no reason to disagree.