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By Jeff Todd | at
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Gballer
Plz do not trade Michael wacha for ozuna
Trade him for Blackmon or Gonzalez
thadimus
At least with ozuna you get youth. Also, with the Cory Dickerson trade last year you saw what getting out of the Rockies does to a player.
stryk3istrukuout
There is no guarantee they would even do that. Wacha was awful last year. The last thing the Rockies want to do is bring him to Coors. Makes far more sense for him to go to Miama, which favors pitchers, and gives him the possibility of a change of scenery. Plus, the Cardinals have notably wanted defense, therefore I think Ozuna or even Carlos Gomez fits the bill. Gomez would make more sense in my opinion as you don’t have to trade anyone and he shouldn’t demand an earth shattering salary
stryk3istrukuout
There is no guarantee they would even do that. Wacha was awful last year. The last thing the Rockies want to do is bring him to Coors. Makes far more sense for him to go to Miami, which favors pitchers and gives him the possibility of a change of scenery. Plus, the Cardinals have notably wanted defense, therefore I think Ozuna or even Carlos Gomez fits the bill. Gomez would make more sense in my opinion as you don’t have to trade anyone and he shouldn’t demand an earth shattering salary.
sox91
Not sure Colorado would do that. Or Miami for that matter.
badco44
You guys missed the boat… Marlins had him offered pretty cheap last year
astrosfan4life
I wish I was left handed and could throw the ball 90 mph for strikes. That’s all it takes to get a mlb team to beg you to take millions as a LOOGY. I’m praying my 19 month old turns out to be left handed (it’s looking that way). He can strike it rich in baseball because of the outdated theory of righty/lefty matchups. Yes yes, please enlighten me on all of these outlandish statistics that show blah blah blah. At the end of the day, all mlb hitters should be efficient at hitting someone pitching from either side and all pitchers should be effective regardless of which side of the plate the hitter is on.
24TheKid
When you teach him to throw teach him to do it left handed even if he’s a righty. That’s what Robinson Cano’s dad did but with opposite hands. Might as well make him throw with both.
astrosfan4life
Shamefully I have encouraged both of my boys to try to use their left hand dominantly. My older boy is definitely a righty, however the toddler eats with his left and generally throws objects in anger with his left. Crossing my fingers!
JFactor
Ambidextrey can be taught
jd396
Have you ever played baseball before
24TheKid
Yeah I actually have. It would be hard for a 14 year old to re learn to throw but a 3,4 or 5 year old that has never thrown before is a different story.
JFactor
Teach them to kick a ball with both feet first. That goes a long way later in that development
astrosfan4life
If you were asking me, then yes, and at 43 I still play in a competitive men’s amateur league.
hersch
Cecil is not a LOOGY. Handles both lefties and righties. Would not have gotten that kind of contract if he was only one out guy.
Cam
Since when are righty/lefty splits outlandish statistics? You say all should be able to hit all and vice versa. Well, that doesn’t happen – so acknowledge it and get on with it.
It would be ignorant to not accept the reality.
badco44
Yeah it doesn’t matter … ask John Lester that throws that cut fast ball in on the right handers hands that eat them up… he has gotten rich off that pitch.. breaks away from the leftys also….so it’s not so much righty or lefty as it is the arsenal and command
stormie
The fact is, most LHHs can’t hit LHPs well; whether they should be able to in your opinion is irrelevant. Most LHPs throw across their body, which makes them harder to pick up and hang in against for a LHH than most RHPs are for RHHs, which is why you see more severe splits. As it makes sense why that’s more difficult, there’s no reason to suspect severe splits will ever go away.
cardsfan1988
Ozuna would be interesting on two fronts…how much are the marlins asking in return and what Ozuna would you be getting return. Ozuna is extremely streaky but looks really good during stretches so it’s almost like you are gambling with him that he will become more consistent. But the question is do you part with prospects on a hope he puts it together for an entire year
baseballjunkie68
They don’t want prospects for ozuna lol. They want young big league starters.
cardsfan1988
Is it bad to have a dream scenario where they could get rid of wacha, Garcia, and Adams in a deal. There is their core players but let’s face it, the rest are question marks and a team could benefit if they broke out with a change of scenery…bc there is a ton of potential that isn’t working in St. Louis
relic
I’d be careful about giving up *too* much starting depth in a trade.
If both Wacha and Jaime Garcia left via trade, that would thin out the rotation behind the starting 5; Waino, C-Mart, Leake, Reyes and Lynn. Reyes is coming off the most innings he’s pitched as a major leaguer and Lynn is coming back from major surgery. With the departure of Cooney and with Tyler Lyons most likely starting the season on the DL, that only leaves Luke Weaver as the No. 6 starter and back-up.
guinnesspelican
The only consistent stat I see in Ozuna is that he doesn’t get on base.
stryk3istrukuout
This looks like a great fit. I think STL has soured on Wacha becoming that ace they thought he would. He’s exactly the kind of player Miami seems to covet and may or may not benefit from a change of scenery. They have a huge hole now without Fernandez. I could see something like Wacha and Peralta and a pitching plus another prospect for Ozuna and a hitting prospect.
thetruth 2
No need for Peralta, Wacha, Garcia and a prospect for Ozuna and a prospect.
stryk3istrukuout
I didn’t say Garcia.
RedFeather
That package is absurd for just Ozuna. The Cardinals could just sign Carlos Gomez who was at his best in the NL Central. Pretty much the same player too.
stryk3istrukuout
I envision them signing Carlos Gomez in reality, but it’s not that absurd of a trade. Wacha was that bad last year and still has control issues. Ozuna is young, a good fielder who has a gold glove, is signed through 2020 I believe, and has multiple 20 homer seasons to his name. They are looking to trade Peralta anyway as his contract is almost up. Can’t tell if you view it as unfair to the Cards or Marlins, but this is all subjective to whether or not a person views him as the 20+ homer guy or closer to what he showed in 2015.
cardfan2011
It looks like a fit, but I don’t know how interested the Marlins would be in Wacha and/or Garcia, both have their own issues
moe 3
I think if the cards wanted a backup catcher they wouldn’t have released Pena who they still owe money to
Lanidrac
It was a roster crunch move. They filled up the 40-man roster with prospects they wanted to protect from the Rule 5 draft, but then they needed to clear a spot for Cecil. It would’ve been nice to keep Hazelbaker too, but these guys are apparently more expendable than the others.
stl_cards16 2
And if they sign another catcher theyhave to clear another spot on the 40 man roster.
daddyprime
The play that Mo and the front office should be making is for Eaton and Sale. The Sox are looking to rebuild and are shopping pretty much everyone. This move answers both the center field and left handed starter problem. We have enough young talent to make the deal. Use Kelly as backup catcher and spot start Yadi at first to get him more time behind the plate.
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
Except there’s not enough elite talent on the farm without significantly damaging the major league team as a result. Especially in terms of bats in which the White Soxs are in need of. Eaton is also an amazing RF not really a great CF.
Lanidrac
Nobody actually needs a left-handed starter. If Garcia doesn’t make the rotation or is traded, then the Cardinals will be fine with an all right-handed rotation just as they have been several times in recent years.
Eaton is a good target, though.
J.M. Hall
That contract for Cecil was ASININE. 4 years 30 mil for a average (at best) reliever. Plus a No-Trade? Are ya’ kidding me. Someone in the Cards front office needs to be drug-tested…immediately
aff10
It’s kinda high, I agree, but Cecil’s most certainly above-average. I probably wouldn’t have gone 4 years, but Cecil’s a much better player than most people (including myself until he signed) realize
JFactor
Cecil is well above average
League average relievers since 2013
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all
nastynateSTL
Cecil is definitely above average. Look at the ballparks and lineups he has had to pitch in. Coming to the national league where not many have seen you, let alone for several years, and I think it strengthens the pen big time. With Rosenthal getting a shot at starting or long relief, I think it’s only a matter of time before a bigger deal gets done to move some of the pitching depth. Start the season with Wacha making spot starts to keep Reyes’ innings down and hope value is built up in Garcia or Wacha, then go get the bigger need. Plenty of talent for Cardinals to stay in the hunt until closer to trade deadline.
kingofmacomb
At this point, I think it’s crazy to move Wacha. Other teams see the same thing we all see – great pitcher when his mechanics are right and he’s healthy, but mediocre when he is not right. The Cardinals need to keep him and let him pitch – if he’s healthy and getting guys out, he’s a controllable young arm that’s worth a great deal. If you move him now, he’s just not worth very much (someone else’s questionable player.)
kingofmacomb
Does anyone think the Cardinals would consider a minor league deal with Tony Cruz with an invitation to Spring Training? If Kelly needs a couple more months in Memphis, Cruz could certainly fill that void.
tbone0816
Tony Cruz would be a solid depth and backup signing. I wouldn’t discourage that at all.