What Happens if Kevin Siegrist Is 100% For St. Louis Cardinals?

One of the many question marks heading into Spring Training 2015 is whether or not lefty reliever Kevin Siegrist is back to form. And, if he is back who leaves?

Siegrist was shut down for the season in September after a series of ailments including a forearm issue that landed him on the disabled list for a couple of months. Additionally, he dealt with neck pain during the 2014 Spring Training.

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When considering Siegrist, the following Derrick Goold chat on the Post-Dispatch was pretty interesting to see. “The Cardinals have received phone calls from other teams about their left-handed relief and possibly trading for the likes of Randy Choate, Sam Freeman, Tyler Lyons. The Cardinals are holding on to them now until they get a sense of what Kevin Siegrist can bring to the bullpen — or if it’s Siegrist who goes to Class AAA to get back his groove.”

Siegrist himself thinks he is good to go for 2015. He told Brian Stull of StlBaseballWeekly.com, ““I can tell right away that it’s definitely better and it’s probably 100%,” the lefty began to explain. “Just the way the ball comes out of my hand throwing long toss and stuff like that compared to last year, where something I just knew wasn’t really right with it. But it’s definitely given me a lot of confidence moving forward to Spring Training because it feels good.”

And that’s awesome! I hope he does have a great Spring Training and is a real asset for the Cardinals.

So who is out if Siegrist does pan out?

If the Cardinals want to trade Randy Choate, I am perfectly fine with it. I haven’t exactly been his biggest fan since his little temper tantrum after choking and wanting to quit on his teammates during the 2014 National League Championship Series. Not a fan.

So who is out if Siegrist does pan out?

That was viewed by a few million folks, so I’m sure there are others that aren’t fans. A deal for him is not really going to cut it.

Sam Freeman? He is out of options with the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s pretty sad because Freeman shows the potential to be a really good reliever. He just doesn’t seem to be given much of an opportunity with St. Louis.

Tyler Lyons? This is another fellow who has done everything asked of him by the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s gone from spot starting, to long relief with the Cardinals. And then he gets to Memphis and starts. He’s young and really pretty decent. Depending on the deal, I’d be a little apprehensive about seeing him go.

Other lefty relief options for the St. Louis Cardinals include Marco Gonzales and Nick Greenwood.

Greenwood will probably be with the Cardinals sporadically, as he was last season. He’s good for a spot start or long relief.

Gonzales, on the other hand, is the organization’s top prospect and projected to be a starter of the future. This season he is expected to compete for the fifth spot in the starting rotation against Carlos Martinez. However, many expect that he will be a long relief option or spend a little time in Memphis getting some starts under his belt.

How Siegrist performs at Spring Training will have a huge impact on several pieces of the 2015 puzzle. It should be interesting to watch unfold.