Max Scherzer Sweepstakes: Greg Amsinger tells 101 ESPN that Cardinals are X-Factor

Redbird Rants brings you a roundup of St. Louis Cardinals news and notes including the latest on free agent starting pitcher Max Scherzer.

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MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger talks to 101 ESPN about Scherzer, the Cardinals, and whether or not the Cy Young Award winner would be willing to sign with the team for a discount.

“I’m starting to get the feeling that the Cardinals are the x-factor club,” Amsinger says.

Amsinger goes as far as to call the team a “juggernaut” and “the best team in the National League” should the team sign Scherzer. I can see Scherzer taking a hometown discount based on what Amsinger was telling 101 ESPN. Can you imagine him with a rotation consisting of Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn, and John Lackey?

Amsinger will be in St. Louis next month to emcee an event sponsored by Left Bank Books in conjunction with the release of The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager’s Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life by Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.

Jennifer Langosch recently did a question and answer session. Langosch covers everything from Jaime Garcia‘s future with the Cardinals to the impact that Jason Heyward will have on the Cardinals outfield logjam should he sign an extension beyond the 2015 season. There’s also the question of whether the Cardinals should spend nine figures on Scherzer.

Langosch’s Around the Horn series looks at the corner outfielders. There’s no doubt that Matt Carpenter will be a Cardinals player several more seasons but the other corner infielder, Matt Adams, needs to prove that he can hit left-handed pitching outside of the postseason. The first baseman had a hitting line of .288/.321/.457 during the 2014 season. His numbers against left-handed pitching (.190/.231/.298 in 121 at-bats) were extremely disappointing to the point that Mark Reynolds was signed as a free agent.

Carpenter hit lead-off last season but with the addition of Heyward and Kolten Wong coming into his own, Matheny could move him to another place in the lineup. Carpenter has proven to be comfortable from the lead-off spot in the lineup and should likely stay there.

Chase Probert offers his thoughts at Cardinals Farm on the top ten Cardinals prospects as ranked by Baseball America.

It’s never too early to preview the 2015 MLB Draft and Scott Schook does just that by looking at high school outfielders likely to be selected this summer.

Mark takes us back in time by looking at Gerald Perry‘s controversial home run off of Pedro Martinez in 1993.