Another Option For St. Louis

My Mets source has sent an update regarding the recent Victor Diaz information.  Seems the Cards just weren't offering enough in Mark Worrell for Diaz.  Diaz remains widely available, and could be used to acquire a decent second baseman like Mark Grudzielanek.

The Cardinals have another outfielder on the radar - old favorite Reggie Sanders.  Reggie is 38 now, and he's not showing any ability to get on base as a regular for the Royals.  Still, his .259/.301/.476 line (8 home runs) is not far from his work with St. Louis back in '04.  Sanders typically walks about 7-8% of the time, but this year it's been below 6%.  I guess his new club is influencing his style - KC is second to last in the AL in walks this year.

Sanders's .777 OPS is just the 12th best among AL right fielders.  He signed a two-year, $10MM deal with the Royals last offseason.  He'd probably play left field if he returned to St. Louis.  As a group, the Cardinals' left fielders have hit just .243/.305/.321 with one home run.  At the least, Sanders would provide a power threat.

The Cardinals will likely settle for a second tier outfielder in the trade market, as I'm told Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright are being slotted into the 2007 rotation.

Comments

[TheRealErik]

"Seems the Cards just weren't offering enough in Mark Worrell for Diaz."

Well... DUH! :p

[ozziethesaint]

Personally I am very happy the Cards are exploring other options besides Diaz. He's basically just another over valued role player that Mets fans try and turn into the next great superstar

[nom3k]

You're probably thinking of the Yankees, who routinely overrate their prospects. Diaz is what he's always been; a young bat with good power potential. His stock has dropped this year, but even despite that, his value is higher than that of a 24 year old AA reliever with an ERA over 5. If Diaz is traded, it'll be because it impacts the big club.

[purduerowdie]

he's not that bad. if you leave one bad outing off, his ERA is under 3. also, i believe he's 23, not 24.

the kid will be ML reliever at some point, but as a cards fan, i'm not convinced that he was worth giving up diaz for.

[wmk51]

Getting Reggie Sanders back would be so bad it would make me cry. We were unable to win a World Series with him before, and our offense is no more upgraded now than it was when we had him! minus a healthy Rolen of course. For 5 million dollars a year he is overpriced, old, fragile, .260 hitter. Cards should ONLY make a move if they can get an impact player, Diaz is NOT an impact player.

[ozziethesaint]

the Cards aren't going to get a top notch guy. Wainwright and Reyes are the only pieces they have that could land a top OF'er and it's been said already both are slotted for the rotation next season

[wmk51]

I think its a tricky situation the Cardinals are in. Is it possible that Brad Thompson could replace Reyes in the rotation? If not than the best option appears to be to trade Mulder and use him to land the top knotch guy

[TheRealErik]

"Personally I am very happy the Cards are exploring other options besides Diaz. He's basically just another over valued role player that Mets fans try and turn into the next great superstar."

What do you call John Rodriguez? So Taguchi? You have an outfield full of them. Diaz can at least hit with some power, which neither of those guys can do.

And the Cards want to trade their crap for a rather useful player making the league minimum? Please. Jocketty must be going senile. He must think Duquette is still GM.

[ozziethesaint]

WMK51
First off, moving Wainwright and Thompson into the rotation would hurt the Pen too much. Secondly, I could be wrong, but I doubt Mulder is all that valuable right now. He's stinking up the place and would be a rental player only. He's not gonna want to sign an extension. because someone will overpay for him this winter. that will come back to haunt the Cards as one of Walt's biggest mistakes. Haren and Barton were way too much to give up.

and to TheRealErik..
I'd rather have Jrod and So over Diaz any day of the week. So is a good defensive OF'er that helps the pitching. and Jrod is hitting for a solid average this year even if it means not much power. Hitting HR's isn't all that matters

[Jutter]

First of all, I'm a Cubs fan, but more importantly, I'm a BASEBALL fan.

Do you Cardinall fans feel that this could be your last chance for awhile? If so, should Jocketty go all-out for a ring by using Reyes and/or Wainwright as bargaining chips? Or, should Jocketty try to win by acquiring fill-in type players while keeping Wainwright and Reyes? Your GM has some interesting decisions to make, especially since King Albert is out 'til AS break.

My opinion is that if they're going to only trade one of those guys, I'd keep Wainwright. I'd use Reyes to hopefully acquire a CLee or Soriano. Thoughts?

[ozziethesaint]

Justter,

I really can't see Walt trading either of Reyes or Wainwright. Ever since LaRussa has been around the teams have been built on having solid if not good pitching. and I don't see Walt dumping a ton into a couple FA pitchers when he could just keep the young guys and buy a hitter or 2

[wmk51]

Ozziethesaint,

I do NOT think this is our last chance in a while to make a run for it. If Jockety decides to keep Reyes and Wainright, our pitching is SOLID for years to come. Carpenter/Wainright/Reyes is an impressive top 3. Pujols and Rolen are locked up for years and Yadier will only improve. This is not out last hoorah, but to win the World Series THIS year we need one more bat.

[Jutter]

Considering that Rolen isn't getting any younger and that Reyes and Wainright are unproven as starters and that the minor league system isn't bursting with talent, I would consider making a big splash NOW!!

As a Cubs fan, I've learned how NOT to run an organization!! I'd really like for the Cubs to trade commodities like Maddux, Dempster, Pierre, Walker, Williamson, and maybe even ARAM. But they won't because they ain't real bright! Instead, we'll give Dusty a 2-year extension and the misery will continue.

As for the Cards organization, I'm confident (and pissed off!) that they'll make the right decision(s). From my standpoint, I think they need to go for it NOW, especially considering that the NL is weak and the Mets might be the only team standing in their way of another WS appearance.