St. Louis Cardinals: Cardinals’ end of season presser reaction part one

What do Mozeliak’s comments mean for Tommy Pham?

If you didn’t go straight to Kolten Wong, then my next guess is you probably said, “What about Tommy Pham?” I don’t blame you either. Tommy Pham is arguably the team’s MVP of the 2017 season, and would surely be a lock for the starting outfield, whatever position that may be. However, again, it puzzles me to not hear his name in those comments.

Part of me understands why Tommy Pham wasn’t included as a sure lock. Lets be honest with ourselves for one second. Even though Tommy Pham had a career year, and was one of the best players across MLB, where was this production before this year? I’m not doubting his ability, but it was only one season of great play.

I don’t want to say we are over-hyping his season in any regards, but would you blame me if I did? Look what happened to Aledmys Diaz after 2016. What if Pham regresses, which could be expected, back to his old ways?

I think Mozeliak is aware of that scenario and won’t commit to anything like that just yet. Mozeliak will need to see it with his eyes before saying, yes Tommy Pham is a starter.

Now, on the other hand, Mike Girsch has publicly stated Pham is deserving of a starting role. It’s not contradicting what Mozeliak stated mainly because Pham’s play would be worthy of starting on any team in MLB.

Again, I don’t deny what Tommy Pham was able to accomplish this year. His play and attitude is something we can all admire. The only thing I wonder, with Mozeliak’s comments, is whether Pham is going to be on the roster by the time spring training comes around in 2018.

If the St. Louis Cardinals are seriously considering making the move for Giancarlo Stanton, which they should be, then one of two things will happen. Either Pham is a part of the trade or not. Simple, right?

The only reason the Marlins would take Pham is because of the massive salary dump of Stanton’s contract. However, lets recall a recent quote by Giancarlo Stanton in regards to a possible trade.

"“I don’t want to rebuild. I’ve lost for seven years.”"

If the St. Louis Cardinals want to improve the chances of acquiring Stanton in a trade, then you have to believe Pham MUST be a part of the 2018 lineup. The Cardinals could package many players to acquire Stanton without giving up Tommy Pham. That list includes Tyler O’Neill, Dakota Hudson, Magneuris Sierra, Harrison Bader, Sandy Alcantara, and more.

But hey, like last slide, the only question left for the Cardinals to answer is whether they are willing to give up those prospect for Stanton? If Stanton does not want to be a part of a rebuilding process, then I think the answer is pretty clear on what to do this off-season.

What if I’m reading far to into this, though?