Cards Sour On Anthony Reyes?

The fine Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos pieces together the latest info about hotshot pitching prospect Anthony Reyes.  Sidney Ponson has won the fifth starter competition, and Reyes will be optioned to Memphis soon.

Furthermore, Larry gets the impression that the organization is not committed to Reyes and is priming things for a trade.  Even with a less than stellar spring, Reyes’s stock is high coming off a 3.64 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in Triple A last year.  He’s a 24 year-old Major League-ready starting pitcher with #2 starter potential within a year or two.  How many of those are floating around?  If he can even manage league-average pitching and stay healthy, he’d provide incredible bang for the buck.

Now, it’s possible the Cards truly just want Reyes to work on his sinker and start regularly before a permanent May callup.  As was pointed out at Viva, payroll concerns for next year indicate that the club should retain Reyes.

But who doesn’t love trade speculation?  A favorite over at Viva El Birdos is a Reyes for Carlos Quentin swap.  The D’Backs need young starters, the Cards need a quality left fielder – that’s the idea.  That’s probably just wishful thinking, as stud prospects are typically not dealt for each other.

Let’s consider a few other possibilities.  Perhaps Jocketty sends Reyes to Washington for Alfonso Soriano?  No doubt Bowden would pull the trigger on that one (or at least I hope he would) but Jocketty can probably do better.  Reyes could be used as some sort of Miguel Cabrera package, as the Cards are known to have expressed interest.

As for a more down-to-Earth Reyes trade, we turn to a post from early March.  A few names the Cardinals might go for include Luis Gonzalez, Kevin Mench, and Craig Wilson.