Are the Cardinals Done?

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

On Sunday, the Cardinals announced that they had signed right handed hitting shortstop Jhonny Peralta.

At first, I felt very confused. I was looking for John Mozeliak to make a big splash for a great young shortstop, and while Peralta is decent — even good at times — he didn’t fit what I wanted out of Mo. I understand the reasoning, and so I’m not opposed to the move at all.

But is that really it? Is that all Mo has planned for me?

I want something else.

Luckily, I think Mozeliak wants something else, too.

In the interview this morning, Mo said some things that indicate to me that he’s not quite done shopping yet, pointing out Peralta’s versatility and mentioning the possibility of future moves:

"There’s still some things we can look at, there are still opportunities for us over the next six, seven weeks as we progress into the Winter Meetings . . . I think the one nice thing about him is you do have flexibility, if you need to, to move him."

When I hear things like that, it doesn’t scream “starting shortstop for the next four years” to me. Now, I have no doubt that Jhonny will spend some time at short, but it also sounds like time at third, left field, and even possibly right field or first base could be a significant possibility.

Especially if Mo also picks up a decent shortstop prospect (a la Chris Owings) in trade. Granted, I’m sure that Mo already checked on such possibilities once already, but the market may have thinned a little bit now that the Cardinals have a passable shortstop.

I also foresee the market for Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn deepening as teams realize that Shelby Miller really isn’t available.

In short, I could be wrong, but I think that Mo has another couple of moves in mind for this off season. If you’re happy with the way the 2014 roster is shaping up right now, I think you’ll like it even better by the time pitchers and catchers report.