Why there’s no concern–yet–for Cardinals mostly quiet winter

Mar 1, 2012; Jupiter, FL. USA; St. Louis Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. (left) and Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak chat during spring training at Roger Dean Stadium. Credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

Fans in St. Louis are still disappointed at the end to the Cardinals playoff run. Most fans will tell you that it’s the manner in which they were defeated, more than the fact they lost.

They played themselves out of ball games. The starting pitching vanished, the bullpen struggled and the lineup did not produce.

Sorry, no more painful reminders of this painful October.

Many Cardinals fans have wondered why John Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt Jr. have been pretty quiet this off season.

The simple answer is the Cardinals, as all teams have some needs, but not many. Mo is waiting to let the market develop and also playing his hand to see how Rafael Furcal and Jaime Garcia‘s rehab programs progress before making decisions.

No matter how Furcal progresses, I’d like to see the Cardinals pursue a shortstop who can play 145+ games. Just in case. Elvis Andrus can probably be crossed off the list. The Rangers are known to be open to shopping him with prospect Jurickson Profar ready to take over everyday at shortstop. 

Besides shortstop, the Cardinals also need to fill at least one and possibly two spots in the rotation, depending on the progress of Garcia. Shelby Miller is probably ready to take one of the spots. The question is will the other spot–if needed–be filled internally or via trade or free agency? 

That all depends on how the market shakes out this winter. A former Cardinal, Kyle Lohse, could set the pitching market this off season. Starters are not particularly deep on this free agent list, so Lohse could determine the price of other starters on the market.

Jon Jay, Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran will all be back next year, barring trades. The Cardinals would like a fourth outfielder off the bench who can spell Beltran and Holliday from time to time. Both had injury issues at times last year, so someone who can play long stretches would be a nice commodity to have, just in case.

Most of the Cardinals needs are supplementary. There’s no need to make a big splash. Mo’s best option is… to wait.