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St. Louis Cardinals: 4 Winter Meetings Takeaways
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Baseball Winter Meetings are over, leaving the outlook for 2016 a little different from what it was just a week ago. But for the St. Louis Cardinals, the view is unchanged.
The St. Louis Cardinals still could use some starting pitching. Only Johnny Cueto remains in the top-tier of available free agent starters, and his agent says he’s in no hurry to sign. Within the last day or so, however, reports have surfaced that the agent is pushing Cueto toward the St. Louis Cardinals.
Meanwhile, righthander Mike Leake‘s market has picked up in the last few days, and he has expressed an interest to play close to his Phoenix home. Given what the Arizona Diamondbacks have managed to do in a week’s time, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them snatch Leake off the market.
The St. Louis Cardinals could use a few bats, too, a fact that the Jedd Gyorko acquisition on Tuesday doesn’t change. Uber free agent Jason Heyward still lingers in free agency. So does slugging first baseman Chris Davis.
Let’s quickly review 4 key highlights from this year’s Winter Meetings to get a better handle on the tense days ahead for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Next: The Blockbuster Trade
Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Blockbuster Trade
There is no doubt about this one. After shocking the baseball world by giving Zack Greinke the sun, earth and moon to spurn division rivals in L.A. and San Francisco, the Arizona Diamondbacks moved a huge package of young players to the Atlanta Braves for former St. Louis Cardinals starter Shelby Miller. Honestly, it’s hard to say which of the two moves was more surprising.
The consensus in the immediate aftermath of the trade is that the Braves won it by getting a talented, young Major League outfielder in Ender Inciarte, a near Major League-ready starter in Aaron Blair (the 36th overall pick in 2013) and last year’s top overall pick in shortstop Dansby Swanson. The St. Louis Cardinals couldn’t have come close to making an offer like that for Miller, even if they wanted to.
While Atlanta certainly got a load of talent, the trade works out well for both teams. The Diamondbacks are building their team around Paul Goldschmidt, easily one of the best hitters in all of baseball. They’ve got plenty of talent surrounding him in the order already. And given that their starting rotation finished in the bottom half of the National League ERA standings last year, they’ve clearly addressed a key weakness.
So far, the Arizona Diamondbacks have won the offseason. Now let’s see if they can win when the St. Louis Cardinals do. When it counts.
Next: The Big Free Agent Signing
Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
The Big Free Agent Signing
Ben Zobrist took his sweet time to decide where to sign, whittling his list down to the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs before deciding on the latter on the second day of the Winter Meetings. His choice instantly made this signing the most impactful one for the St. Louis Cardinals so far.
I like the move for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs are getting a 34-year-old player with declining skills whose value is largely pegged on his defensive versatility and accomplishments with the Tampa Bay Rays several years ago. Zobrist is a different player now. He’s increasingly inflexible (he crossed San Francisco off his list of suitors because he would have to play the outfield with Joe Panik at second) and his defense is rapidly eroding.
But enough about Zobrist. The sentiment in Nashville was that he was holding up deals with all the other hitters still on the free agency market, former St. Louis Cardinals rightfielder Jason Heyward among them. Yet, days have passed with no movement. Could the St. Louis Cardinals be preparing to break the bank to resign Heyward?
Next: A Trade for Later?
Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
A Trade for Later?
The one that sticks out is the Miami Marlins and their sometime ace Jose Fernandez. The Cuban lefty has yet to make 30 starts and pitch more than 200 innings in a season, but his stuff is so good and he’s still so young that he continues to be perceived as baseball’s next big thing. Plus, having Tommy John surgery is really no big deal anymore. Pitchers not only come back from it. Many thrive in the aftermath.
Still, the mercurial Marlins didn’t tamp down trade rumors surrounding Fernandez. Depending on who you believe, the righthander allegedly has attitude problems that have rankled the front office and some teammates. That fueled the rumors, and the Marlins, apparently, did entertain offers and made their own counter-offers, generally judged to be insane.
Of course they were. The Marlins don’t have to deal him now. Meanwhile, they’ve effectively told the St. Louis Cardinals and every other aspiring World Series contender to keep them on speed dial in July.
Next: Boras Watch
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Boras Watch
Fernandez is a Scott Boras client, as is first baseman Chris Davis, who got a 7-year $150 million offer from his old team, the Baltimore Orioles, but is insisting on an 8-year, $200 million deal.
The media scrum gave Boras his forum on Wednesday, when he fielded questions about Davis and other clients, including 30-year-old lefthanded starter Wei-Yin Chen, also late of the Orioles. Boras also made his arguments about the whole service-time issue surrounding another client, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant.
But back to Davis. His contract wishes may mirror what Heyward is looking for, so his deal will be of intense interest to the St. Louis Cardinals. While GM John Mozeliak continues to sell the culture and tradition of the St. Louis Cardinals, he conceded to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Derrick Goold that in the end it’s all about the money.
It’s Scott Boras’ world. We all just live in it.