St. Louis Cardinals: 4 Offseason Deals That Would Hurt Most

“The Los Angeles Dodgers Trade Yasiel Puig”

Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier this week, former St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Andy Van Slyke went on local radio and claimed that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ highest-paid player, ace Clayton Kershaw, wants Puig gone. Here’s a snippet:

“When the best player — the highest paid player on the Los Angeles Dodgers — goes to the GM and … is asked what are [the needs of the Los Angeles Dodgers], this particular highest-paid player said, ‘The first thing you need to do is get rid of Puig.’ That’s all you need to know.”

Wow. This is damning on several fronts. First, Van Slyke totally threw his kid, Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Skyke, under the bus, because we all know that bit of dirt is coming from him. And second, he completely screwed over Kershaw by outing him like that. Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ other ace, current free agent Zack Greinke, who everyone assumes will be returning to L.A., famously chucked Puig’s luggage onto the streets during a roadtrip several years ago.

The Puig distraction in L.A. has been good for everyone else in baseball. The Cuban outfielder has helped torpedo several winning seasons now with his antics on and off the field. He certainly greased the skids for former skipper Don Mattingly and certainly won’t do new manager Dave Roberts any favors, if history is any guide. Trading Puig would be a classic addition-by-subtraction move by the front office.

Meanwhile, you have to wonder whether such a trade would finally be the wake up call for Puig. If that happens, then two teams will be vastly improved.

Next: The Cubs Add Greinke or Price

The Cubs Add Greinke or Price

Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

New Boston Red Sox general manager and wheeler dealer extraordinaire Dave Dombrowski has reportedly laid all his cards on the table already. He wants David Price. Okay, fine. So do a handful of other teams that have the budget.

But do you know who’s been very, very quiet so far? The Chicago Cubs. There is absolutely no news about the northsiders on the trade or free agency fronts, which is exactly how team president Theo Epstein likes to operate. Remember the winter of 2003? Yankees fans do. New York and the Philadelphia Phillies were the favorites to land righthander Curt Schilling, who the Arizona Diamondbacks were pushing to trade in a cost-cutting move.

Then, in swooped the Boston Red Sox and Epstein, who had Thanksgiving dinner with the Schilling family. The rest, as they say, is history. The potential of a similar scenario by Theo and Hoyer is real. And if a deal goes through for either Price or Greinke, that gives the St. Louis Cardinals’ archrivals the best rotation in baseball. Bar none.

Next: The Giants Land a Power Hitter

The Giants Land a Power Hitter

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Well, we’re heading into a year when the San Francisco Giants should win the World Series again. You know, because they’ve won three titles in even years dating to 2010. That would be much easier to laugh about if the Giants weren’t poised to do just that.

Like the St. Louis Cardinals, the Giants have a knack for winning no matter how injured they are or how weak one part of their game is. Also like the St. Louis Cardinals, that weakness has been offense. San Francisco was among the handful of teams last season to hit fewer home runs than the Redbirds’ 137. It was just one fewer, but still.

Enter Chris Davis, the 30-year-old free agent first baseman who’s been maligned on this very website. Should there be any resistance to the huge, multi-year contract the 6-3, 232-lb. slugger is seeking, the Giants can sneak in there and sign him. Given how bad the Orioles seem to want him back, however, that seems unlikely.

What does seem possible is Giants GM Brian Sabean signing a Yoenis Cespedes, whose value plummeted when he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn in the World Series. Or how about Mike Napoli? He’s an even more Giant-like acquisition. He’s coming off a horrible season, although he hit better in the second half, posting a .903 OPS after having an ugly .648 OPS in the first half.

Napoli, a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at first base, said he’d be willing to catch again, too. He played some left field last year, as well. In other words, he’s not just an American League DH kind of guy. I can totally see Napoli bouncing back big time with the Giants next year. Because it’s the Giants.

The Dodgers Deal for Todd Frazier

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Lost amid all the hubbub over the Dodgers’ dogged pursuit of pitching is the fact that their offense kind of sucked last year. Their 667 runs was just middling in the National League. A better offense just may have earned Zack Greinke or Clayton Kershaw another Cy Young Award. But I digress. For a payroll as large as the Dodgers’, you’d expect more than your infrequent offensive explosion.

Gone is one of the few non-offensive offensive talents, second baseman Howie Kendrick. But the team will get a full season of super rookie Corey Seager. But like everyone not named Adrian Gonzalez, he’s a question mark. Which brings us to Frazier, the king of the Cincinnati Reds, Joey Votto be damned. Fans love him. Teammates love him. He’s coming off a season in which he had career highs in homers and RBIs.

Next: Needs for Patience and Urgency

The only drawback about Frazier is he’s relatively old for his experience. Drafted out of college in 2007, The Toddfather will be 30 when spring training camp opens. The win-now Dodgers don’t care if he keeps producing. Which he’s likelier to do than Puig. Do I smell a swap?