Who Are The St. Louis Cardinals Targeting For Bench Help?

There are some surprising names that appear to be on the list of possibilities the St. Louis Cardinals are targeting for their bench in 2015.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the names include Rickie Weeks, Mark Reynolds, John Mayberry, Jr., Kyle Blanks, Gaby Sanchez or Corey Hart. That’s a lot of former Milwaukee Brewers. Let’s discuss this list!

* Weeks. It seems the Cardinals have added a right-handed second baseman to pair with Kolten Wong. That’s surprising in that it’s never been mentioned before because of all the infielder options in the minors. This would be good to have someone to relieve Wong or when the team needs a more righty-centric lineup. According to the P-D, “Anecdotally, he has one of the longest home runs hit at Busch Stadium III. In his career he has an .834 OPS against left-handed pitching.” That’s interesting.

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* Reynolds. He makes me a little nerves. If I didn’t get a Ty Wigginton vibe from him, different story! Maybe putting on the St. Louis Cardinals jersey would be a good thing for Reynolds. We have definitely seen it happen before. According to the PD, “He had 22 home runs and 122 strikeouts in 378 at-bats for Milwaukee. He played in 130 games. He’s a known quantity around the league and can put a mistake over the wall. As a pinch hitter, he’d come to the plate with a reputation vs. some of the younger options the Cardinals have considered in the past.” Having a power option off the bench would be excellent. Having a high strikeout guy off the bench, not so much!

* Mayberry. He hit .212/.310/.425 with two teams last year. He had seven homers and in 78 games in the majors had 146 at-bats. That’s more than a little nauseating. Not very impressive at all. Ugh. Hopefully that’s just a name being thrown out there.

* Blanks. Who? He was cut recently from the Oakland Athletics. According to the PD, “He has 30 career home runs, but has played multiple positions around the field. He hit .309 with a .409 on-base percentage in 26 games. He also had 34 games in the minors. Health has been and is a concern.” Yeah. No. No, thanks!

* Sanchez. Definitely the most intriguing name thus far! Per the PD, “A first baseman who has been a part of several platoons in his career. He hit .229/.293/.385 overall last season with seven homers in that 262 at-bat sweet spot again. The line improves to .256/.318/.429 against lefthanded pitching.” See? Intriguing! A good bat off the bench or platooning with Matt Adams would be awesome! Hope Sanchez is a name they are strongly considering.

* Hart. A few years ago this would have been a greatly expensive option. Injury has slowed this once All-Star down. According to the PD, “An All-Star when he was with the Brewers, he’s been undone by knee injuries. He hit .203/.271/.319 with Seattle last season and had six homers in 232 at-bats. He plays the positions that would be in play for the Cardinals.” If he could find his power again for the Cardinals, this could be a great get for the birds. I used to hate when he would come to bat. He was once an amazing hitter. If he could re-find that stroke with the Cardinals, that would be amazing.

Interesting names indeed, you guys! What do you think of this names?