By JP
David Freese and Fernando Salas were traded to the Los Angeles Angels for outfielder Peter Bourjos and minor leaguer Randal Grichuk on Friday. As usual with John Mozeliak, this deal helps the Cardinals.
Peter Bourjos is very good defensive outfielder and could win the everyday center fielder job during spring training over Jon Jay. The main problem is that Bourjos is very injury prone and comes with the possibility of missing significant time. But that's why John Mozeliak is such a smart GM; Bourjos is a defensive upgrade, but can platoon with Jon Jay and (maybe mid season if not sooner) top Cardinal prospect Oscar Taveres. Matt Holliday will still patrol left field and Allen Craig will presumably play right field.
As far as the infield goes, trading away David Freese opens 3rd base up, which will allow Matt Carpenter to slide over from 2nd which in turn opens up 2nd for Kolten Wong. Wong struggled at the plate in limited at bats in 2013, however he showed defensive brilliance during the World Series. He also made a base running gaffe during the World Series, however, he is young and has spent very little time at the Major League level, so his mental mistakes can be excused. More at bats in the Majors should allow him to improve his batting and if he can continue excelling on defense, he will be a very valuable player.
The St. Louis Cardinals would not have won the 2011 World Series if they did not have David Freese and for that, I will always be grateful. But, unfortunately, professional sports is all about "what have you done for me lately" and lately, it could be argued, Freese may have cost the Cards the 2013 WS. It seemed like every game, sometimes multiple times in a game, Freese would get up to bat against the Red Sox with the bases loaded, only to weakly pop out or strike out. As I have stated previously, I function on the smell test (that is, I am not Sabermetrics guy), so it's possible that Freese may not have been in that situation every game (and I think Pete Kozma is also guilty of the same baseball crime). But it sure felt like it to me.
Freese was an All-Star in 2012, but struggled in 2013. Why? Well, he did start the season on the Disabled List with back problems, so it is certainly possible that he was suffering through that all season. If that's the case, then I give him props for fighting through it.
Having said all that, I am going to miss Freese. I love the idea of a boyhood Cardinals fan growing up to play for his favorite team. There is something poetic about that. The fact of the matter is, however, that on paper this trade improves the Cardinals for 2014.
Now they just need to get a short stop.
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Friday, November 22, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Well, There's Always Next Season...
By JP
It's been a few days since the St. Louis Cardinals lost the World Series in 6 games to the Boston Red Sox. Frustrating? Yep. But, unlike the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals have a bright future ahead of them and will likely be right back in the thick of things next season.
The Cardinals lost the WS because they failed at the one thing they did better than anyone else all season and better than any team for the last 30 SEASONS; they failed to score with runners in scoring position. It seemed like almost every game the Cards, at least once, had the bases loaded with one out or no outs and failed to score. The Red Sox pitched well, but the Cards were not facing Greg Maddox, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine (future Hall of Famers). Several times I saw David Freese get up to bat with runners in scoring position only to pop out on the infield or to strike out. Same with Pete Kozma and Kozma's defense cost the Cardinals several runs. Now, it was NOT their fault that the Cardinals lost the world series, but they certainly didn't help. At all.
So, what was the point of mentioning that about Freese and Kozma? Simply, I doubt they will be on the Cardinals Opening Day roster in 2014. Honestly, Freese hasn't done much of anything since the NLCS and WS in 2011 and Kozma hasn't lived up to the hype he had when he was in the Minor Leagues. I like David Freese and I appreciate what he did in 2011, but, unfortunately, professional sports is a "what have you done for me lately" business and Freese and Kozma haven't done anything for the Cardinals lately.
Now, the free agents are Carlos Beltran, Chris Carpenter, Rafael Furcal, and Edward Mujica. The Cards already decline their part of Jake Westbrook's mutual option making him a free agent as well. I suspect that Carp will retire and Furcal and Mujica are gone. I would love to see Beltran stay, but I don't think the Cardinals are going to want to pay him what he's going to want. He has been very healthy the last two seasons (something that he hadn't been previously and scared off many teams two seasons ago when he was previously a free agent) and he has been very productive. The Cards can offer him a one year qualifying offer of $14.1 million, but to be honest I think Beltran will seek more money elsewhere. He has had interest in the Yankees in the past and it could be mutual this off season. Also, the Cardinals could use Allen Craig in right and Matt Adams at first base.
With Furcal, Carp, and (possibly?) Beltran off the books, the Cardinals are going to have quite a bit of money coming off the books. If Freese and Kozma are both gone, then it's possible for Matt Carpenter to move back to 3rd base and the Cards could go after a free agent or make a trade for a short stop and a 2nd baseman.
The Cardinals will have Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Shelby Miller, Joe Kelly, Lance Lynn and (maybe) Jaime Garcia. I know that's six names, so it's possible that Garcia could start in the bullpen coming off a season ending injury early in the 2013 season. So, Spring Training will have some stiff competition among the starting rotation.
This off season is going to be very interesting, but the Cardinals look to be in pretty good shape, save for a couple of holes to fill and decisions to make. I will keep you updated as I learn more.
It's been a few days since the St. Louis Cardinals lost the World Series in 6 games to the Boston Red Sox. Frustrating? Yep. But, unlike the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals have a bright future ahead of them and will likely be right back in the thick of things next season.
The Cardinals lost the WS because they failed at the one thing they did better than anyone else all season and better than any team for the last 30 SEASONS; they failed to score with runners in scoring position. It seemed like almost every game the Cards, at least once, had the bases loaded with one out or no outs and failed to score. The Red Sox pitched well, but the Cards were not facing Greg Maddox, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine (future Hall of Famers). Several times I saw David Freese get up to bat with runners in scoring position only to pop out on the infield or to strike out. Same with Pete Kozma and Kozma's defense cost the Cardinals several runs. Now, it was NOT their fault that the Cardinals lost the world series, but they certainly didn't help. At all.
So, what was the point of mentioning that about Freese and Kozma? Simply, I doubt they will be on the Cardinals Opening Day roster in 2014. Honestly, Freese hasn't done much of anything since the NLCS and WS in 2011 and Kozma hasn't lived up to the hype he had when he was in the Minor Leagues. I like David Freese and I appreciate what he did in 2011, but, unfortunately, professional sports is a "what have you done for me lately" business and Freese and Kozma haven't done anything for the Cardinals lately.
Now, the free agents are Carlos Beltran, Chris Carpenter, Rafael Furcal, and Edward Mujica. The Cards already decline their part of Jake Westbrook's mutual option making him a free agent as well. I suspect that Carp will retire and Furcal and Mujica are gone. I would love to see Beltran stay, but I don't think the Cardinals are going to want to pay him what he's going to want. He has been very healthy the last two seasons (something that he hadn't been previously and scared off many teams two seasons ago when he was previously a free agent) and he has been very productive. The Cards can offer him a one year qualifying offer of $14.1 million, but to be honest I think Beltran will seek more money elsewhere. He has had interest in the Yankees in the past and it could be mutual this off season. Also, the Cardinals could use Allen Craig in right and Matt Adams at first base.
With Furcal, Carp, and (possibly?) Beltran off the books, the Cardinals are going to have quite a bit of money coming off the books. If Freese and Kozma are both gone, then it's possible for Matt Carpenter to move back to 3rd base and the Cards could go after a free agent or make a trade for a short stop and a 2nd baseman.
The Cardinals will have Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Shelby Miller, Joe Kelly, Lance Lynn and (maybe) Jaime Garcia. I know that's six names, so it's possible that Garcia could start in the bullpen coming off a season ending injury early in the 2013 season. So, Spring Training will have some stiff competition among the starting rotation.
This off season is going to be very interesting, but the Cardinals look to be in pretty good shape, save for a couple of holes to fill and decisions to make. I will keep you updated as I learn more.
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