Predictions for the St. Louis Cardinals at the Winter Meetings

The Cardinals acquire their new catcher, Sean Murphy

John Mozeliak has remained firm in his stance that adding a starting catcher is the team’s number one priority, and the rest of their off-season really hinges on what they do at that position. There are some interesting pieces of information that seem to point to Sean Murphy as their main target.

First, Ken Rosenthal has reported that the trade market seems to be the way the Cardinals will address the catcher position. Derrick Goold is reporting that they will meet with Willson Contreras and Christian Vazquez’s representatives this week, but they will also continue their talks with the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays as well

The Cardinals are not locked into any one type of catcher – but they still value defense behind the plate and are also looking to add an impact bat somewhere in their lineup. Why not get both in the form of Sean Murphy?

Here I broke down just how great of an addition Murphy would be to this Cardinals team, and why I think he’s worth the high asking price the Athletics have. Now, if a bidding war ensues and that price rises significantly, than this may not be worth it for the Cardinals. But right now, I do believe he is worth multiple valuable pieces due to being one of the best catchers in baseball.

Even if the Cardinals do not grab Murphy or another catcher this week, I do think it becomes very clear who they will be bringing in by the end of the meetings.

The Cardinals’ other targets will become clear

As has been said numerous times, how the Cardinals choose to address the catcher position will have a lot to do with how they address other parts of their roster this off-season. Assuming we get answers on the catcher position, St. Louis will be quick to turn their attention to supplementing their pitching and/or their starting lineup

If the Cardinals end up trading for a catcher, they will have money to spend that could be used to bring in a starting pitcher or bullpen help, which both seem very possible based on reporting around the club and their current roster construction. A trade for a catcher likely means some of their young bats have been dealt, increasingly the likelihood they add a left-handed bat. Whether that is a guy like Cody Bellinger or any of the other left-handed bats that may be good fits.

If St. Louis signs Willson Contreras, I think that pretty much ends their pursuit of any significant free agent bat outside of some potential bench options, especially since they’d still have their young bats on the roster. They could decide then to trade for some pitching help, and maybe add one arm through free agency.

If they sign a different catcher, this is where things get weird, as they could go in a number of directions with the remaining money and prospect capital.

Whatever happens with catcher this week, expect the rest of the off-season picture to open up quickly after for the Cardinals.

Cardinals do not sign a shortstop, but they will be connected to big fish on the trade market

As much as many of us would like to see the Cardinals make a splash and sign a big name shortstop this off-season, it appears like that will not happen for the second off-season in a row. Again, the possibility should not be ruled out, because the Cardinals are checking in and things do change, but I predict that other club’s will make strong offers on each of the top shortstops, offers that the Cardinals will not want to play around with.

In typical Cardinals fashion though, the club should be linked to some of the best names available in the trade market. They explored Juan Soto just a few months ago. They will call on big names and make a move if it seems right to them (see Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Marcell Ozuna, Jason Heyward, and Giancarlo Stanton – who did not waive his no-trade clause, as examples of this). Sure, they did not move on Soto, but that is because it would have taken a historic package of prospects to get a deal done. Just take a moment to revisit the haul Washington got for Soto. To match that package, we are talking a deal that would have involved Jordan Walker with at least 3-5 of Nolan Gorman, Maysn Winn, Dylan Carlson, Tink Hence, and Gordon Graceffo.

But, the Cardinals proved once again they were willing to dance in deep waters and explore a move. Mozeliak knew it was going to cost a lot, and he would not have wasted his time in talks if he knew there was no way they could swing a deal. But in the event it did not cost Walker, and only a few of those names were on the table, Mozeliak was ready.

Bryan Reynolds just requested a trade from the Pirates and would be an excellent fit on the Cardinals roster. I speculated Reynolds and 5 other names a few days ago who could end up on the market this off-season. I firmly expect us to see the Cardinals as serious contenders for not only a catcher in the trade market, but another bat or pitcher as well.

These meetings may provide that direct link, or even a trade, but I do think they will at least plant the seasons for the Cardinals involvement in potentially another major trade.

What are your predictions for the Cardinals’ activity at the Winter Meetings? Comment them below!