Cardinals’ Rumors: Carlos Gonzalez would be a great get for the St. Louis Cardinals

Dan Buffa

Sep 6, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) delivers a pitch to Colorado Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez (5) in the first inning at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Since St. Louis Cardinals‘ General Manager John Mozeliak doesn’t value any of the remaining free agent sluggers, how about a trade with The Colorado Rockies for Carlos Gonzalez?

The St. Louis Cardinals can’t afford to be complacent this winter. The Chicago Cubs have bulked up and plan on bullying teams for the next decade. The Pittsburgh Pirates are going to hang around with their pitching strength. Going with internal options is playing with fire, especially with the thinness of the Cards outfield.

Let’s say, Randal Grichuk‘s elbow finally blows up, and the Cards stick injury prone Tommy Pham in. Who takes Pham’s slot? Charlie Tilson perhaps? When Pham gets hurt(it happens every year) and Tilson goes in, who takes Charlie’s place? See where I am going here. 2016 doesn’t have a smoking gun prospect waiting in Memphis.

They are all here. Filling vital roles. With the departure of Jason Heyward, Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos,Tommy Pham has rose up in status but can you trust his health? Don’t bet on it. Betting on Pham staying healthy is like betting on Jaime Garcia to make 30 starts. Nuts. So do you get Gonzalez in a trade? It will be costly.

Sep 27, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez (5) waves to fans after the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. The Rockies won 12-5. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Good and The Bad of trading for Carlos Gonzalez

The Good

Gonzalez can hit and for power. He stroked 40 home runs while slugging .540 and getting on base to the tune of .325 with a .271 batting average. He also appeared in 153 games, the most in five seasons for Gonzalez. Gonzalez has won three gold gloves in right field and won two Silver Slugger awards. He has slugged over .500 in six different seasons.

A difference making bat that could be a quality add for the Cardinals. He’d bat fourth and give the Cards a fine substitute for the departed Heyward. Gonzalez’s contract is also for two more seasons. That’s a low amount of risk attached to a 30 year old baseball player. He will make 17 million and 20 million in the final two seasons.

The Bad

A few of the man’s appendages are made of glass. Gonzalez has missed a substantial amount of time in several seasons and only played over 130 games three times in his eight year career. As is the case with most lifetime Coors bats, Gonzalez’s power stroke is partially attached to the home field advantage. Playing 3 games there instead of 81 may have an effect on his overall production.

His .758 OPS away from Coors last season was a large drop from his .972 mark at home but still respectable. Gonzalez cranked 16 home runs, 10 doubles and slugged .464 on the road in 2015. Car-Go also can’t touch lefthanded pitching, compiling a wretched Matt Adams like .530 OPS in 2015 against LHP as opposed to a .997 mark against RHP. That’s ugly but only took over a third of his overall at bats.

Jun 27, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong (16) reacts after tagging out Chicago Cubs right fielder Mike Baxter (29) to end the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Trade Package

According to the Rockies SB Nation website this week, Gonzalez will command a huge package in light of the Heyward signing. The Rockies won’t let an aging slugger walk out of the door without bringing a large package home. We are talking about 2-3 pitchers and a bat or two. You could send Colorado native Marco Gonzales home if he clears a physical. Tim Cooney is ready to start for a big league team.

My Prognosis

Will it happen? At this point, I’d place it over a signing of one of the remaining free agents on the probability charts. Mo doesn’t want to pay big dollars to Chris Davis or Justin Upton, and I am not sure what the market is for Yoenis Cespedes.

What do I want? While Gonzalez sure is sexy, I’d still take the ribeye steak like allure of Yoenis Cespedes. Both are 30 years old(birthdays are a day apart in October), and while Gonzalez plays a better right field, I think he will cost you too much to make a deal worth it. If Cespedes agrees to test out right field, you could sign him for 4-5 years and not lose any prospects.

I am not against Mo hoarding prospects, but you may want to save those for a midseason trade if needed. Cespedes has a rocket for an arm and can play center field as well. A Gonzalez trade is more likely, but I’d prefer Cespedes. Similar player. Just money. Not players. The Cards may need a lot of that pitching depth. My three cents.

What do you think of Gonzalez? Should the Cardinals trade for him or change course and make an “impact” signing instead?

Thanks for stopping by-DB

Dan Buffa

A regular guy who feels a journalistic hunger to tell the news. I blog because its wired into my brain to write what I think in print. I offer an opinion. A solo tour here. Take regular stories and offer my spin on them. Sports, film, television, music, fatherhood, culture, food, and so on. Commentary on everything. A St. Louis native and Little Rock resident who wants to write just to keep the hands fresh and ready.