Doug Armstrong doesn't like to give up assets just to ditch a contract, but, yeah, something like that might work. But a corresponding move would have to add a proven defender to the blue line.
No, fans will whine incessantly if the Cardinals trade a good long-term asset for near-term help that doesn't really move the needle. As for this team, where is the stagnation? There has been a wholesale influx of productive talent on the fly. How many teams have made this many upgrades during the course of this season?
No, but that has to be a serious concern. Russian athletes have been facing bans in other sports, so it's not hard to imagine Putin doing something like that.
I didn't mind the Tortorella hire for the Flyers because that team needs a butt-kicking. As for Chuck Fletcher, he has made big mistakes to put that team in the spot that it's in.
Fans dismissed the value of these prospects before the season. They demanded that Cardinals block them by signing free-agents to long-term deals instead. Right now those fans look stupid. We'll know more about these guys in a few years, just as we learned that Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson can really play.
I've always considered it wasteful for team to spend a draft pick to get negotiating rights to an impending free agent. Just tell the agent not to agree to anything before talking to you. It has to be an extraordinary case, IMO, like a superstar with a more challenging contract to resolve, to do that. Husso, to me, is not such an extraordinary case.
As for the Carlton trade, that stung because it's not like the Cardinals made a bunch of great other trades that kept the team in the playoffs year after year without him. It took Whiteyball to clean up from that.
Who knows if he will be able pitch at a high level again? I imagine the Cardinals will just let him go after the season and Alex will have to try his comeback somewhere else. What a shame. Like I wrote about this week, you never know which course a pitching will take.
The Big Ten could get so big that UCLA may seldom see Maryland in football and USC may seldom travel to New Jersey to face Rutgers.
That's the sort of trade package that could make sense. Joshua Baez would be the one tough guy to trade there, since he is a high-ceiling player so early in his adjustment to the pro game. There's a chance, anyway, that he could be special. But what is the percentage on that? And how many years will pass before anybody can hazard a guess on that?
I agree. Ideally, the Blues can find a way to settle the Top 4. I am not sure that Nick Leddy is that guy, as well as he played for this team.
Tyler O'Neill did modify his training to be more baseball-friendly, but his injury history is what it is. Fans keep proposing various trade packages including him, but it's hard to trade a player who can't stay on the field. Right now he is a "sell low" case unless there is a team willing to completely overlook what happened this season.
Mozeliak style is his style. What's interesting is that Oliver Marmol has a much different style. He offers direct responses to all questions and he makes it very clear why he did something and how he assesses a player's performance. There is no hedging with him, no holding back.
Of the guys who are not already here, I'd Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn are on the do-not-move list. Gordon Graceffo would be the one pitcher I wouldn't keep under lock and key. He has developed so quickly that he could actually move to the cusp this summer.
My guy BenFred raised this point and I agree, Why not? There would be no downside to giving him a good look.
Since the Cardinals are currently well short of my target of six high-leverage relievers -- that standard any contender should meet in today's game -- I agree. The Brewers have a lockdown bullpen and they can make defensive subs. This bullpen is nowhere near lockdown. So, yeah, keep that bat in the lineup.
I assume those contracts would not count against the salary.
Like I said earlier, I'm guessing he'll end up a Dodger. But at this point he has to prove he can pitch well again. He hasn't been THAT Jack Flaherty since 2019.
The Cardinals consider signing pricey free agent the absolute last resort. In reality, this team seldom shops for such a player. That is not the business model. You can judge him on that model, but Bill DeWitt Jr. judges his baseball operation on its player development success or failure. He made that points most clearly when he turned the page on Walt Jocketty, whose strength was trade-making, not player development.
If Kyle Schwarber were here making huge dollars for multiple years, that would block Juan Yepez and Nolan Gorman for the long-haul DH work. This batting order, when healthy, is impressive. But it hasn't been together much.
