St. Louis Cardinals: Possible roster moves and lineup changes

Proposed 25-man roster going forward

With Fowler and Wong returning from the DL soon after the All-Star break, here’s what the corresponding roster moves should be:

Next, designate

Greg Garcia

for assignment. He would likely be picked up by

another team because he is a scrappy player that gets on base and can play anywhere in the infield, except first base.

He’s the odd man out, and at twenty-seven, it makes more sense to keep DeJong, Luke Voit and even Randal Grichuk on the 25-man roster. Garcia is a fine player, who I’ve grown to appreciate, but I think other players add more value.

With the 25-man roster now set, here are some shakeups and tactics that should happen in the future:

• Let Paul DeJong thrive at shortstop. DeJong is the only applicable shortstop on the roster, unless you count Jedd Gyorko. I have no problems with this unless DeJong falters in the field or continues to strike out at a high rate while not taking many walks. This is why it might make more sense to keep Garcia on the major league squad. He would be the only viable backup option at shortstop.
• Fowler and Pham should get the fair share of at-bats in the outfield. Although Folwer had a slow start and Pham started the year in AAA, they have been the most consistent outfielders all year. Stephen Piscotty‘s slugging percentage is barely above .400, Randall Grichuk lacks plate discipline and Jose Martinez… what’s the knock on Martinez? I can’t find a major one. Martinez is my third outfielder.
• Utilize bullpen arms more. Brett Cecil seems to have returned to his normal self. Tyler Lyons is good against lefties. Matt Bowman can get out of a jam with his ground-ball inducing abilities. I understand the bullpen has struggled this year, but Matheny should trust them more.
  Instead of Lance Lynn serving up a 5th inning home run to Christian Yelich on July 4th, I would have liked to see Cecil or Lyons, especially with the All-Star break coming up. Sure, you don’t want to overuse your bullpen, but with Luke Weaver and Lyons in the bullpen for now, they can eat up innings.
  Matheny has his go-to options in the bullpen, but it’s time to put favorites aside and focus on winning games with the best match-ups available.

Move Michael Wacha to the bullpen

This may be the roster move I prefer the most out of the suggestions I have stated. I am a big believer in moving Wacha to the bullpen, who is a classic two-pitch pitcher. Yes, after the 2013 season, he added a curve-ball, and in the 2014 he featured a cutter. Nonetheless, Wacha has mostly been a fastball, change-up pitcher, for good reason.

Using Fangraphs’ Pitch Value metric, which measures how successful a pitch is with the average being zero. Wacha has only two above average pitches, a fastball and a change-up, which is the least bit surprising.

• wFB: 14.3
• wCH: 5.3
• wCB: -0.5
• wCT (cutter): -4.5

On top of Wacha only having two effective pitches (which relief pitchers can get away with), he has been tremendously inconsistent in 2017. Still only 25-years-old, Wacha carries a 5-3 record with a 4.16 ERA on the season. In his last two starts (12 IP), Wacha has only surrendered one earned run while striking out 14. That’s the good Michael Wacha, but we’ve also seen him on the opposite end of things.

Five times this season he has failed to reach the 5th inning. Command has somewhat been an issue compiling a 3.3 BB/9, which is career high. However, it has more to do with lacking the repertoire of pitches needed to be a successful Major League starting pitcher. First time through hitters are hitting .176 against Wacha. By the second and third times through, hitters are hitting .336 and .355, respectively.

Inning by inning hitters can pick away at Wacha and uncover his game plan. He can’t get out of jams with a sweeping slider or a baffling curve. Instead he forces outs with his fastball and change-up. That is a tall task especially if hitters know those are his go-to pitches.

All signs point to Wacha being a more than effective reliever. His high-90s fastball and supreme change-up could easily improve the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen.

Trevor Cahill did it with the Chicago Cubs in 2015. Most recently Archie Bradley shifted to the bullpen for the Arizona Diamondbacks this season, and has thrived.

The Diamondbacks have had chances to move Bradley back to the starting rotation due to injuries, but they have elected to keep him in the ‘pen.

It’s up to Wacha to signal that he is okay with the transition. He could become a bridge guy like Andrew Miller. He may not be as dominant, but offers the same idea: A guy who can throw two innings to get to the ninth inning.

By moving Wacha to the bullpen, it would allow Luke Weaver to slot into the rotation and not stunt his growth. Another possible way to get Weaver into the rotation would be to trade Lance Lynn.

Trade Lance Lynn

Lance Lynn, who St. Louis Cardinals’ fans first remember as a bullpen weapon during the 2011 World Series run, has established himself as a dependable starter. Since 2012, Lynn has won twelve or more games each year, and has amassed a 3.42 career ERA. Lynn, being a fastball dominant pitcher, has developed into a guy who always wants the ball.

Like Wacha, Lynn has lacked a level of consistency so far this season. Lynn struggles to go deep into games and has been plagued by one bad inning this season. That being said, he’s a bulldog many contending teams could use.

A free agent to be, Lynn is the top starting pitcher trade candidate for the St. Louis Cardinals. Veteran Adam Wainwright is going nowhere. Mike Leake and his contract are going nowhere. Carlos Martinez is the ace of the Cardinals, and Wacha is still a talented pitcher that hasn’t panned out yet.

By trading Lynn to a team like the Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees or Houston Astros, who need starting pitching, it would create more flexibility for young pitchers in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. This could open the door for Mike Mayers, who seems to always get the short end of the stick. It could also allow John Gant, and his funky delivery, to return to the big league club.

The St. Louis Cardinals will be reluctant to trade Lynn, let alone anyone, if they can reduce the gap in the National League Central. Even if the Cardinals do keep up their winning ways, it still might make sense to trade Lynn, who will have a high asking price when the off-season rolls around.

Next: Surging Cardinals offense

It has been an interesting season to say the least for the Redbirds. Let me hear your take on the changes I suggested in the comments below or on Twitter. Thanks for reading!