We've heard for a while now that the Cardinals would love to retain Jake Westbrook, whom they acquired at the trade deadline in a three-team deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that there's more to the situation than just interest now; the Cards are "making a push" to sign Westbrook and discussions are already taking place.
Westbrook, 33, totaled 75 innings over 12 starts with the Redbirds and posted a tidy 3.48 ERA in that span. His strikeouts trended upward and his control improved, while his sinker induced even more groundballs (62% vs. 53.3% with Cleveland) under Dave Duncan. While he would hit free agency for the first time this season, Westbrook has mutual interest in working out a deal with St. Louis and forgoing the process entirely.
Jason Marquis and Joel Pineiro figure to be solid comparisons for Westbrook, meaning he could be in line for a two-year deal in the $16MM range. Locking up Westbrook early would allow the Cardinals to focus on offense this offseason. It would also likely set their 2011 rotation (barring injuries) to feature Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Westbrook, and Kyle Lohse, giving them potential for one of the better rotations in all of baseball, especially if Lohse can rediscover his 2008 form.
i would love this if it was really only 2 years at less than 10million each year. anymore and i would rather let McClellan get a shot and pick up a guy like Zach Duke from the scrap heap.
Zach Duke is interesting. But I can’t see the Cards giving him more than 2/14
I’m assuming you mean 2/14 for Westbrook? (Hit post too soon, oops)
I don’t see why he couldn’t land a few million more if Marquis received $15MM and Pineiro got $16MM. I think anything from $14-$19M over two years is plausible. Maybe include an option.
i for one pray we resign him. if he has a whole off season work with dave duncan i cant wait to see what he can do next year, he did great in his short stint this season, i imagine he’ll be great
Im a huge Cards fan but I think its kinda stupid that everyone thinks Dave Duncan is God.. Dont get me wrong DD is a great coach and all but if he is as amazing as all Cards fans make him out to be, why isn’t Loshe dominating??
You kind of answered your own question. He’s ‘just’ a great pitching coach. Only God could make Loshe a dominating pitcher.
Because Lohse has been consistently injured the past 2 years.
Loshe is dominating becuase he just returned from the disabled list and for amjor league players it takes a little bit before they return to their top form
Loshe has been injured alot from the past two years and a major league player needs to play on a consistant basis in order to be in top form
i for one hope they resign him. i cant even imagine how great he will be if he has a whole off season worth of work with dave duncan. he was great in his short stint this season with us this year, i cant wait till next year!
first you hope they resign him, they you pray…Which one dawg?
I think it is a mistake for a pitcher who improved under Duncan to leave town too quickly. Duncan actually restored Jeff Weaver to working order, just for Jeff to bolt town and turn back into a crap pitcher.
If it was me, and I believed that Duncan helped me, I’d at least take a 1-Year to try to get that improvement locked in. If I pitched well, I would have a higher market value, and if not, then at least I didn’t throw away the opportunity to have a great pitching coach take me to a higher level.
Your right on the money. In Weaver’s case, it has to do with immaturity. Boras is Weaver’s agent and good ole Scot convinced Jeff to go somewhere else for the money. He did and became the same old pumpkin he was before Duncun worked his magic.
Westbrook is a decent pitcher who knows how to pitch not just throw. He’s played on some mediocre Cleveland teams and has not had too much success. In St Louis, with Duncan, he should improve and open a few eyes.
my bad, it said it didnt post my first one so i did another, ill go with both
Lohse sucks. He will never return to his 2008 form until his next contract year.
Cant we just take our loses on him and put him in a trade for an infielder? WOW BRETT FARVE IS HORRIBLE! Sorry Im watching the Vikings game right now and got a little distracted. Anyways, I think that would be our best bet with Lohse. Trade Lohse and a minor leaguer for Dan Uggla!
That’s a joke, right? Maybe if the minor leaguer was Shelby Miller or something…
No its not a joke, it was an example.
Meh, he had a couple freak injuries, including an elbow injury only common to Motobike riders, so yeah, I think he will be fine.
Seeing his stats, the only thing I can think of is “Dave Duncan strikes again.”
The Cardinals have the personal in the minors to full the 5th spot. Why not give the spot to Lynn or Miller?
Miller is like 19 years old pitching in A- ball – I don’t think he is ready….
Hopefully you’re not referring to Shelby Miller, who has yet to pitch above A ball.
Lynn will get a shot in ST if there’s a spot, but he wasn’t too inspiring during the season in his first major league starts, but if Lohse or someone goes down, he will get the call most likely. Just anyone other than Suppan…
The young guys had plenty of opportunity in 2010 to take over a rotation spot, but none of them stepped up to the plate. That goes to show how important depth is. Lynn, McClellan, Boggs, etc. may still get a chance to start, especially in a rotation with Carpenter(knock on wood) and Lohse and, to an extent, Garcia.
I have seen other players jump up from A ball. There is no rule about if a pitcher pitches in spring training, and pitch very good, that he can not make a team.
Jeremy Bonderman and Rick Porcello have done it, sure, but these things happen very infrequently for a reason. It’s simply not good business. Keep a guy in the minors until he’s fully developed and then you’re not letting him accrue valuable service time in the majors when he’s not ready to be a big contributor.