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St. Louis Cardinals: Trevor Rosenthal’s future

By Dan Buffa

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Apr 5, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal (44) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal (44) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

More than likely, Rosenthal continues to dazzle in the closer role in 2016 and beyond.

From Mark Tomasik(@RetroSimba):

Based on his 2 full seasons as closer, I project Trevor Rosenthal to earn more than 30 saves, have more strikeouts than innings pitched and post an ERA below 3.00 in 2016.

Yes, Cardinals will sign him long-term. In this age of specialization, he’s likely to remain a reliever his entire career.

From Josey Curtis(STL Sports Minute, @Curtis_Josey)

Despite the fact that I feel as if Oh will receive a handful of save opportunities, I think Rosenthal will post another year with over 40 saves. I’d say the ERA and strikeout total will stay about the same and — if there is such a thing as a luck — that walk count will fall a bit.

I think the Cardinals will give him a multi-year deal at some point this season or early after. Frankly, I thought they’d try to ink him up this offseason or at least buy out his arbitration years. I’m curious to see when (if) the Cardinals sign him how much of a pay raise he receives.

We saw Baltimore give O’Day a four-year, $31 million deal and Kansas City give Joakim Soria one for three years and $25 million. Rosenthal got $5.6 million to avoid arbitration in January. It makes one wonder how much the price of Trevor will increase when it is used in a multi-year deal.

I think Rosenthal will stay a closer for his career, assuming he remains a Cardinal. However, what’s to say Oh won’t continue his success over here, or Tuivailala won’t make it big in the next few seasons? Another thing that’s important in fulfilling my thought is his health.

I remember arm tightness popping up last season, but it was excused with some rest. As the innings log with pitchers, we see things like arm tightness turn to DL stints which turn to surgery and a lengthened stint. Keeping Rosenthal fresh is obviously crucial to his health and the team’s, too.

With Siegrist seemingly capable of closing some games and Oh, I think Matheny will be a little more apt to resting his prized reliever.

Next: Oh sharing some of the saves load?

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