Will the St. Louis Cardinals land a shortstop?

The annual meetings in Orlando have been going on all week. If the St. Louis Cardinals don’t acquire a shortstop this week, it’s not the end of the world. The Fall meetings will be starting soon and it could happen then.
Sep 25, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus (1) throws to first base during the game against the Houston Astros at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Image Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Jon Heyman writes about which shortstops that the Cardinals are focused in on. At the top of the list is Stephen Drew, who is a free agent after playing this past season with the Boston Red Sox.

Ranked second is Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. The catch to Andrus is the long-term contract that comes with him. He’s still relatively young so he has that going for him.

Erick Aybar is with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels need all the help they can get, especially with pitching. As Heyman notes, this is an area where there is no shortage on the Cardinals.

The Arizona Diamondbacks could offer Didi Gregorius or Chris Owings. One of which is proven, the other of which is likely blocked at the position.

You can forget about Baltimore Orioles shorstop J.J. Hardy.

The Colorado Rockies have no plans to send over Troy Tulowitzki. The Cardinals have no intentions of giving up half their team, either. It’s wishful thinking, but it won’t happen at all.

The Rangers also have Jurickson Profar at shorstop, which is why Andrus is likely to be shopped to other teams.

Jhonny Peralta is a free agent but he was also suspended this past season. Would the Cardinals want a player tied to the Biogenesis scandal? That’s something that the front office has to be asking.

Former Cardinal Brendan Ryan may be capable as a backup but he does not have the offensive stats to be the starter.

That’s where we are in the search.

Over at Dose of Buffa, the Cards can’t live without Yadier Molina.

Over at the MLB Pipeline, Jim Callis lets us know just how far way Stephen Piscotty is from the big leagues.

"A supplemental first-round pick in 2012, when he was one of the best pure college hitters available, Piscotty has batted .295/.362/.458 as a pro and already has reached Double-A. He continued to swing a nice bat in the AFL, finishing fourth in hitting (.371), and he also demonstrated one of the league’s strongest outfield arms.Piscotty wouldn’t embarrass himself at the plate right now if the Cardinals called him up, but it wouldn’t make much sense for him to spend 2014 getting 150-200 at-bats off the bench in the big leagues. He’d be better off playing every day in Double-A and Triple-A, allowing St. Louis to determine if he’ll develop enough power to profile as a regular in right field. Piscotty also needs game action to work on his defense after primarily playing third base at Stanford."

According to Callis, Piscotty will likely be a late season call up and get a starting spot in 2015.