The Cardinals are interested in first baseman Chris Davis and have spoken to agent Scott Boras about the slugger since the onset of free agency, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi adds that one element said to intrigue the Cardinals is the fact that Davis started games at first base, third base and in the corner outfield for Baltimore this past season.
Davis, 30 in March, is coming off a 47-homer season in which he batted .262/.361/.562 and is also the Major League leader in home runs dating back to 2012. He’d be a huge boost to a Cardinals lineup that ranked 25th in the Majors in homers and 24th in runs scored last season, though the price tag will likely be steep. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected a six-year, $144MM contract for Davis in his free agent profile (and picked him to land in St. Louis on MLBTR’s Top 50 list), and it’d be a surprise to me if Boras wasn’t eyeing at least a seven-year contract given Davis’ prodigious power.
The Cardinals do have a left-handed option with some power at first base in the form of Matt Adams, but a severe tear in Adams’ quadriceps sidelined him for the final four months of the 2015 campaign. And Adams, while serving as a productive hitter in his big league career to date (.276/.316/.451 in 337 games) isn’t on the same level as Davis in terms of offensive potential. A Davis signing could make Adams into a trade candidate or a bench piece that fills in at first place should Davis start at a different position on a given day.
St. Louis is exploring multiple avenues this offseason as it looks to replace not only free agents Jason Heyward and John Lackey but also right-hander Lance Lynn, who will miss the 2016 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. The Cardinals figure to be one of the most oft-speculated-about teams this winter, as they’re one of just a few clubs that is being linked to top-of-the-market position players and pitchers alike. As Morosi notes, St. Louis appears poised to spend aggressively given needs around the roster and a new television contract that will funnel in additional revenue in the near future.
I doubt they actually come through with it. Hed be an improvement in power, but they also have Heyward to consider as well as starter to fill in for Lynn.
I think Chris Davis would be a replacement to Heyward. Talks for Davis would not interfere with talks for a SP. The Cardinals can afford to upgrade both.
Yes, but im hearing talks about them pursuing Price or Greinke. So they cant afford Heyward and Davis, then Id assume the same for Price/Greinke and Davis. Theyll need to choose wisely as they have always
No but Davis and a lower tier starter, someone like Scott Kazmir, is a possibility
That would be excellent.
Yeah. I’m not a jerk. It just gets old seeing posts from daily board users with ‘sources’. If board members had sources their lifestyle would be too hectic to post online. Sorry winners associate with winners not Joe Schmoe.
Price or Greinke will not be Cards… People need to get that…. Just like Cole Hamels was never gonna be a Cardinal.
Boy, you’re negative.
I think I’m speaking for my fellow NL fans when I say, I hope you’re right
That last sentence was spot on.
Replace Hayward, God no
Wont Adam Wainwright be back next year? He can fill Lynn’s spot in the rotation.
They need someone to fill Lackey’s spot too.
True but I think they will try and re-sign Lackey. If he gets too pricy they can always turn to a lower cost option like Scott Kazmir, J.A. Happ, Hisashi Iwakuma, Mike Leake or Jeff Samardzija. There is a much larger and more varied group of starters available this off season.
Wainwright, Martinez, Wacha, Garcia, Cooney, Lyons, Gonzales is still a pretty good rotation. I don’t think the rotation is as big of a need as some are making ut out to be. I wouldn’t be surprised if they dabble in the pitching market, but I think they’ll come up short. The need is just not big enough to hand out a huge contract.
It’s a pretty risky rotation for a world series contender.
Cards don’t need to overpay for defense.. Id love for the Redbirds to sign Crush Davis and maybe a Zimmerman before spending 200 million (which they won’t) on a young “assuming” superstar. Sounds like a Carl Crawford deal to me.. Let the Yankees or better yet the cubbies overpay for him.
What do guys want for Matt Adams? Padres fan here.
Would you happen to take Moss? haha
For Melvin Upton
Wil Myers… But I’m not the GM so I’m allowed to make such audacious requests. :)
Keeping Myers on the field and off the DL has been a problem.
Seems like an even trade then.
Id take Myers for Adams straight up
Adams is strictly a platoon guy. He’s less than a .200 hitter against LHP.
Adams OPS+ vs LH is beyond bad.. 43 OPS+ vs LH
They would probably want to start with Tyson Ross.
Adams for Ross and a $50 gift card to Petco.. Make it happen SixFags
A $50 gift card to Petco?
Cards need middle infield depth and a good left handed reliever, have either of those available.
If not we’ll take the best prospect we can get. David Freese for Jim Edmonds worked out for us, we’ll take a similar type of prospect.
Davis did not start or play any games at 3B this past season, he did start 19 games at 3B in 2014 but none in 2015.
I say sign Davis Heyward and Mark Burelee
Who’s “Mark Burelee”?
High priced restaurant food
I would love to see the Mariners go and trade for Adams if the Cards sign Davis. Actually, the Mariners should trade for Adams and sign Heyward.
Doubt we’ll see a big money FA signing by Dipoto, he made it pretty clear he would much rather stick to the trade market.
As a Cardinals fan I believe the Cards should try to get Freddie Freeman even though the Braves have said he will not be traded because Chris Davis will be very expensive to sign. With the money that we could give to Chris Davis we could sign David Price or Heyward.
With 6/118 remaining on his contract Freeman isn’t exactly cheap; and, that is without even considering the prospect cost.
You can probably say goodbye to Carlos Martinez.
You can probably say goodbye to Carlos Martinez.
Braves GM John Coppolella said, “I cannot make it any more clear: We are not trading Freddie Freeman. We are not. I’d give my right arm before we trade Freddie Freeman. It is not happening.”
Not sure what it would take to get Coppolella’s right arm, but the Cardinals should totally go for it.
If for nothing else, the endless fun of being able to wave it at him when they play the Braves would make the whole thing worth it.
That’s a Tomahawk chop I could get into.
And the available farm talent isn’t as robust as a couple years ago. Freeman’s awesome, but it’s rumored he has wrist issues…
Freeman is NOT going to be traded to the Cardinals.. There is absoutely no reason to take on that contract and give up prospects which ATL is looking for..
Davis would realistically cost 120M-130M over six years.. Id rather see the Cards stick Poscotty in 1B than trade for Freddie Freeman.. get real
That sounds good, but check the amount money on the back end of Freeman’s contract. It’s substantial, $20mm , so I don’t see where they could sign top tiered FA’s and do that too.
No thank you. The Cards have money available but can’t afford to give up their cheap, young talent. It’s a huge waste of money to trade for Freeman with a package headlined by either Grichuk or Piscotty when you’d get perfectly adequate production and a MUCH cheaper price by just keeping the young outfielder instead.
Piscotty is not going anywhere o be traded. I think is Cards fans would revolt. We love our home grown talent.
Yeah & as a Braves fan, I want us to get Heyward back in a trade for Michael Bourn, straight up. o_O
No, no and no. Not a long-term solution. After we re-sign Heyward and after we address the pitching. Then yeah, sure 3 years 28 million.
Or, we could not and keep Piscotti as a utility man this year for 1st, OF and even 3B. Holliday won’t be here longer, either will Peralta. Molina sure as he’ll won’t get a deal like he got last time.
2017 OF: Piscotty Grichuk and Heyward. Any other combination is just dumb.
Baseball isn’t about just the upcoming season.
Carp
Heyward
Grichuk
Davis
Piscotty
Looks better than any alternative for years to come. The Jay, Adams and Bourjous experiments are over. They can be used to address bullpen needs. All are you enough for other teams to take a flyer on.
I really think they could pull off Davis and one of the 4 top starters on the free agent list. I’m sure just like so many of us fans we would love to see 2 huge names come into St.Louis.
Yeah, I’m kinda wondering where all the know-it-alls on this thread are getting their information. They obviously didn’t read the part that says the Cardinals just signed a huge TV contract. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cardinals signed a top position player and a top starting pitcher this off-season.
sign justin Morneau instead of chris davis.
Im giving you another “done vote”…
same here
Well now I gave you an up vote.. so we have just evened out.. touché sir
This rumor is total crap…… A Boras client who is gonna reach for top dollar on market… Just not in the Cards model…
Matt Holiday is a Scott Boras client and was considered a top free agent at the time of his signing. It’s not unheard of. It’s just been awhile since they’ve had to.
It’s not because he’s a boras client, it’s because he’s not a cardinals type of hitter. Makes way too little contact. Agents like to claim that the Cardinals are in on players because Mozeilak will not confirm or deny any rumors, which allows agents to use the cardinals as leverage for other teams. Cards do not want Davis.
The Cards want to spend big on a bat, whether its Heyward, Davis, or someone else, but they won’t be going after a frontline starter. (I doubt they’d be able to afford two mega contracts this offseason, anyway.) They already have an ace and one of the best front four in baseball in Wainwright, Garcia, Wacha, and Martinez, along with Lynn returning in 2017 and several promising pitching prospects in the pipeline. It is a brittle rotation, though, so all they really need is a durable innings eater on a one or two year contract. Is 2016 the year Mark Burhle (sp?) finally realizes his dream of pitching for St. Louis?
I love when ordinary commentators say things like “They wont….” or “They’ll never…” as if they know the team’s thinking. Nobody really thought Albert Pujols would sign with the Angels for 10 years…
Maybe they should get online and see what Houston would do in the same situation
I’d love to see the Cardinals spend big Money on some quality, top tiered Free Agents, as would another 3 million Cards fans. But…. We hope for this every year. And every year the Cardinals name is mentioned as interested in a top Free Agent. And every year the Cardinals decide to pick the low hanging fruit. The low hanging fruit spoils by mid-season. Good enough for the regular season, but not strong enough to win a World Series. The core of the team is getting older, but with a couple of top tiered FA’s this core can bring us another ring. Without them, the Cards will be just another better than average team. I sure hope the rumors are true and the owners are sincere about seeking a strong bat, and a #1 pitcher. To go along with our good but suspect to injury pitching staff.