Cardinals off season rumor thread

[Todd4State]

They are saying that the Redbirds could have a major roster make over this off season.

Beltran is going to leave it looks like. They'll make a qualifying offer to him so that they can get a draft pick. The Cardinals are going to start Matt Adams at first base and Allen Craig in RF.

They are going to get a new SS- the question is whom and how many players? Some names I've heard floated around- Starlin Castro :(, Elvis Andrus :), and the guy I really want- Troy Tulowitzki :D. If they can't work out a trade, they may go after Jhonny Peralta or Stephen Drew. They're going to shop Lance Lynn :D, Joe Kelly, and Shelby Miller as possible trade chips. I hope they don't move Miller- the other two can take a hike as far as I am concerned.

Don't be surprised if David Freese is gone. That would mean Kolten Wong at second base and Matt Carpenter at third base.

Oscar Taveras will likely be in CF next year at some point. Probably sooner than later. That would mean Jon Jay would be the fourth outfielder, which I think would suit him well.

I'm hearing that Jamie Garcia is looking good and they expect him back in March. Carlos Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal are also going to audition for the rotation as well. Westbrook is already gone, and they are going to let Axford and Mujica walk.

[Will James]

Tulo would be a nice addition even for only the 120 games he'll give you.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

So if they were to make a play for Andrus, how would you feel about trying to get Moreland thrown into the deal?

[War Machine Dawg]

I think you'd be insane to let Beltran walk. Guy has recaptured the magic there in StL. He'd make a helluva LF for you.

I'd shop Garcia over Miller or Kelly. Don't know if he'd have the same trade value, though. Lynn is solid and has cut way down on trying to strike out everyone. I look for him to continue to improve.

You've desperately got to upgrade the middle infield. Tulo may be overpriced. A change of scenery might be good for Castro, but his year should make everyone scared. I should know, he was one of my fantasy keepers and f'n killed me. Andrus might be your best bet. Good glove and gives you a legit leadoff guy. Wong is a good looking prospect. I'd hang on to Freese at 3B. I see Carpenter as a utility guy, not an everyday player.

[Will James]

I see Carpenter as a utility guy, not an everyday player.

Uhhhhhhhh what?

Carp IS the legit leadoff guy.

Andrus is the exact opposite of a leadoff guy.

[Todd4State]

Tulo would be a nice addition even for only the 120 games he'll give you.

Yes, the only downside is his contract being backloaded. He would totally change the lineup in a good way- power, hitting, defense. And he fits the town.

[Todd4State]

So if they were to make a play for Andrus, how would you feel about trying to get Moreland thrown into the deal?

I like Moreland, but he wouldn't make sense for the Cardinals since they have Adams who has a higher upside and Craig is better as well. Basically adding Moreland would mean trading Adams to the Rangers, and that wouldn't be good for the Cardinals.

[Dawg61]

I'd gladly give you Matt Cain for Joe Kelly and Shelby Miller. I am not liking the Giants moves since winning the WS. Sabean must of done too much coke.*

[Todd4State]

I think you'd be insane to let Beltran walk. Guy has recaptured the magic there in StL. He'd make a helluva LF for you.

I'd shop Garcia over Miller or Kelly. Don't know if he'd have the same trade value, though. Lynn is solid and has cut way down on trying to strike out everyone. I look for him to continue to improve.

You've desperately got to upgrade the middle infield. Tulo may be overpriced. A change of scenery might be good for Castro, but his year should make everyone scared. I should know, he was one of my fantasy keepers and f'n killed me. Andrus might be your best bet. Good glove and gives you a legit leadoff guy. Wong is a good looking prospect. I'd hang on to Freese at 3B. I see Carpenter as a utility guy, not an everyday player.

I've heard that Beltran wants to leave St. Louis. It's best to just cut bait and get the draft pick. I'm not exactly sure why he wants to leave- but he is heavily involved in his baseball academy in Puerto Rico. He may want to be somewhere that he can catch direct flights to Puerto Rico- like New York.

No GM is going to take Garcia since he is coming off of an injury. That's rule number one of being a GM. Plus, he is the Cardinals only left handed starter. The Cardinals have had to have a couple of come to Jesus meetings with Lynn this past year. His stats appear better than he is because he gets a ton of run support and is usually better than most teams 4 or 5. He also showed up his teammates at times last year.

Freese actually had a - WAR last year, as did Pete Kozma. Plus Freese has a bad history with alcohol abuse. I suspect he was intoxicated at times during the playoffs- although I have zero proof. I'm just going by the glaze in his eyes. Carpenter's WAR was 6.6 and among the top 10 in all of baseball.

I agree about Castro being a big time risk- I think the Cardinals were trying to see what the market is before they make a move so that they can get some leverage. What I would do is keep Freese and then play Carpenter at second against left handed pitchers and then play Wong at second and Carpenter at third against right handed pitching. Andrus is my number two on the shortstop want list- he adds speed and stolen bases which will make the Cardinals more dynamic.

[Will James]

I don't have to worry about Beane's moves just sit back and enjoy the show. The new interest in the Padres will have me looking into their moves and I will also be keeping tabs on Houston now as well with their GM. Man I hope Renfroe can click and Frazier keeps it up. But especially Renfroe. We need a big time talent to represent us after the Palmeiro stain.

[Todd4State]

Luckily for you, the A's are in the same division as the Angels. The Angels don't get it. Seattle and Houston are both a year or two away at least from being contenders. The Rangers are solid, but they have a couple of holes here and there. Lunhow will build the Astros like the Cardinals- I bet they draft Rondon from NC State to go along with Appel and Correa. I think he needs to get rid of Cecil Cooper as his manager though.

Renfroe will make it soon enough. He'll either be in A ball or AA this year. Frazier is going to have to hit at every level to make it to MLB. He has the work ethic to do it. Believe it or not, Devin Jones is one of the Orioles top prospects as well, and then there's Stratton who will be either in high A ball or AA. And in 2014, Woodruff, Lindgren, and Rea will join those guys and I think those three all have very good shots at making it up in due time. And then the guys coming behind them- Robson, Garner, Hudson, Humphries, Collins- we are going to be well represented in MLB before too long.

[Todd4State]

I'd gladly give you Matt Cain for Joe Kelly and Shelby Miller. I am not liking the Giants moves since winning the WS. Sabean must of done too much coke.*

Based on what I've seen- I think the Giants had a couple of bad drafts because almost all of their top prospects are in A ball and will just now being getting up to AA. That's the only thing I can figure. Plus, after you win the World Series, the next season is the hangover year. Whomever wins it all can't do anything wrong for the next year. It happens to everyone.

[biscuit]

We have to replace the MIF. They killed us. Pitching is fine, I just hope the closers continue to develop instead of that "one good year, fall apart the next" that we have gotten out of those guys. If any team can keep it going, it's the Cards. The front office gets it.

[bully99]

Woa Todd on predicting all these players making it to the bigs. Most won't ever make it. I've seen way too many so-called "great " players at State never make it. Mike Kelly,Nat Showalter, Mark Gallespie, Ricky Joe Redd, Conner Powers, Brad Corley and many others. Gallespie was one of the best hitters I ever saw at State and he spent 7or8 years in the minors(roommate was John Kruk) and never made it up. He has one son in the bigs (white sox) and another at Wichita State who may be a first rounder next summer.

Many of those you mentioned can't even be Drafted until 2015 or 2016 and it would be til the end of the decade even if they ever did make it's to the bigs. State had 4 pitchers drafted in the first round in the ninties and one in the second round and most never made the majors or had a cup of coffee. Too unpredictable.

I hope Frazier and Renfroe. I think Frazier can be a second baseman or a utility player in the bigs. Renfroe is an interesting guy. As somebody recently said Hunter took six good weeks out of three years at State and parlayed it into a first round draft choice. I thought Renfroe too many times was overmatched especially against the top pitchers. If he makes it and I have my doubts, he could be a guy that hits some homers and strikes out 200 times a season.

I agree we desperately need more star players in the bigs. It brings enormous attention to your program. Look at Wacha and how much publicity he gave to Texas A &M. Local broadcasters talk a lot about players and their backgrounds and where they went to school. And young players watch those games and hear the top college programs being mentioned and that creates interest in your college. During the 90's especially, nobody received more attention than State when Palmeiro and Clark were superstars. Too bad much of that goodwill was wasted on a decade or more of mismanagement of the program.