Things have been pretty quiet for the Cardinals (and this blog) for a while, so its time to catch up with the team and where they stand with the Winter Meetings going on this week.
The Cardinals got their Christmas shopping done early this year, acquiring center fielder Peter Bourjos in a trade for David Freese and signing shortstop Jhonny Peralta, all before Black Friday. As Derrick Goold points out, that should make for a pretty boring Winter Meetings, at least by comparison.
That's not to say that the 2014 Cardinals team is complete.
The main piece remaining for the Cardinals, that Bernie Miklasz and yours truly have both pointed out, is a right handed infielder.
Miklasz listed a virtual who's who of right handed infielders for the Cardinals to choose from, including Jeff Baker (my personal choice), Ryan Roberts, Mark Ellis, Scott Sizemore, Michael Young, Kevin Youkilis, Placido Polanco and Jayson Nix.
As Miklasz points out, the guy the Cardinals are looking for would ideally give the team an option at second against left handers, potentially as a platoon with lefty Kolten Wong, or even as a fill-in if Wong is slumping.
Beyond that, there are no glaring holes left to fill.
However, that doesn't mean that the Cardinals can't find other ways to improve their team.
For one thing, even though they have the shortstop for the near future, the Cardinals appear to still be looking for a long-term answer and have shown heavy interest in Cuban defector Aldemys Diaz. Diaz cannot sign before February 19th and has drawn interest from several teams, so the Cardinals will have a battle on their hands if they want to sign him.
Other than that, there were rumors that the Nationals might make short stop Danny Espinosa available via trade, but those were quickly shot down. Adam Kilgore of the Washington post noted that the Cardinals were already rebuffed when they inquired on him earlier this offseason.
Finally, we have Friday's Rule 5 draft to look forward to. I previewed who the Cardinals left available back on November 21st and looking around the web, it appears that Boone Whiting is the odds-on favorite to be picked by some team.
On the flip side, the Cards might be able to find a useful shortstop in this year's draft, as Cubs farmhand Marco Hernandez is available. The drawback to selecting a guy like Hernandez is that he hasn't played above class A ball and his development would likely be hindered by being buried on a big league bench for a season.
Overall, the Cardinals are sitting pretty and have time to wait for the right-handed utility infielder market to set itself before making a move there. In any case, whoever they sign cannot be any worse than Ty Wigginton.
Showing posts with label rumors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rumors. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Could the Cardinals lose their draft pick compensation for Kyle Lohse?
When the Cardinals made their qualifying offer to Kyle Lohse, they were counting on two things: (1) that Lohse and greedy agent Scott Boras would like turn it down and (2) as a result they would get a draft pick from the supplemental round (between the first and second rounds of the draft).
However, that may no longer be the case.
Any team who signs Lohse would lose their first round pick, along with the allotted dollars for that pick and that is the main factor deterring teams from signing Lohse (along with his still high asking price).
According to the CBA, if a team waits until after the June draft, they would not lose their first round pick for signing Lohse. In addition, the Cardinals would lose their draft pick compensation if Lohse does not sign before the next June draft. Thus, there's been speculation that Lohse would wait until after the June draft to sign.
However, according to Peter Gammons, Boras insisted that Lohse wouldn't have to wait that long, indicating that "we have too many teams in play." However, Boras has been saying that for a while now and we still have no indication that any team is close to signing Lohse.
Even though the loss of a first round draft pick is the major deterrent to any team signing Lohse, his asking price still remains high. According to Yahoo's Jeff Passan, one week after spring training, Boras was asking for 3 years and $45 million for his client. That figure has dropped, but per Ken Rosenthal, Lohse is still looking to match Ryan Dempster's two year, $26.5 million contract.
For his part, Lohse is getting himself ready for the start of the season, throwing 90 pitch simulated games in Arizona, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown. But the question remains as to whether he will sign with a team before then.
Scott Boras is usually pretty good at pulling a rabbit out of his hat and getting a large contract for his clients when there is seemingly no market for them. However, I feel he has seriously misjudged the market for Lohse this year and its going to cost him.
It may come down to whether Lohse and Boras are willing to agree to a contract that they feel is "below market" or if they want to wait a few months and see if they can get that 3 year/$45 million deal they wanted in the first place.
The Cardinals are hoping its the former, but its looking more and more like its going to be the latter.
However, that may no longer be the case.
Any team who signs Lohse would lose their first round pick, along with the allotted dollars for that pick and that is the main factor deterring teams from signing Lohse (along with his still high asking price).
According to the CBA, if a team waits until after the June draft, they would not lose their first round pick for signing Lohse. In addition, the Cardinals would lose their draft pick compensation if Lohse does not sign before the next June draft. Thus, there's been speculation that Lohse would wait until after the June draft to sign.
However, according to Peter Gammons, Boras insisted that Lohse wouldn't have to wait that long, indicating that "we have too many teams in play." However, Boras has been saying that for a while now and we still have no indication that any team is close to signing Lohse.
Even though the loss of a first round draft pick is the major deterrent to any team signing Lohse, his asking price still remains high. According to Yahoo's Jeff Passan, one week after spring training, Boras was asking for 3 years and $45 million for his client. That figure has dropped, but per Ken Rosenthal, Lohse is still looking to match Ryan Dempster's two year, $26.5 million contract.
For his part, Lohse is getting himself ready for the start of the season, throwing 90 pitch simulated games in Arizona, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown. But the question remains as to whether he will sign with a team before then.
Scott Boras is usually pretty good at pulling a rabbit out of his hat and getting a large contract for his clients when there is seemingly no market for them. However, I feel he has seriously misjudged the market for Lohse this year and its going to cost him.
It may come down to whether Lohse and Boras are willing to agree to a contract that they feel is "below market" or if they want to wait a few months and see if they can get that 3 year/$45 million deal they wanted in the first place.
The Cardinals are hoping its the former, but its looking more and more like its going to be the latter.
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