The Angels asked the Cardinals about second baseman Kolten Wong this week, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The Cardinals, though, greatly prefer to keep Wong, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch explained earlier this week. They see Wong’s defensive ability as a plus, manager Mike Matheny says.
“None of us have shied away from the fact that this should be a top-tier defender at second base,” says Matheny. “And we’re never going to back off that, and neither should he.”
The Cardinals would trade any player if offered the right deal. But, GM John Mozeliak says, “We’re not actively shopping him.”
Still, it’s easy to see why the Angels asked. They have an acute need at second base, and with Jedd Gyorko also in the Cardinals’ fold, St. Louis theoretically could afford to part with Wong. Wong’s big-league career thus far has been uneven, but his combination of defense and modest pop still make him an asset overall, particularly at the relatively low price $24.25MM over four years — that’s the guaranteed money he has remaining on the five-year extension he signed with the Cardinals in March.
I wouldn’t be sad if the Cardinals traded Wong.
I would be sad if the Angels traded Wong.
unless he is in a package with Reyes and weaver for trout. I don’t see what they would have to offer
that wouldn’t be enough to even be talking about Trout
And Martinez and bader and rosenthal and so on
Yeah, it’ll take elite talent to acquire a 26 year old second baseman who’s slashed .248/.309/.370 during his four year career, is coming off his worst season yet, and is owed a lot more money than what he’s been worth.
Dumb comment on the trade for trout,
By that logic I’ll give the halos JHay, Chad Kuhl and Jared Hughes.
You’re an idiot.
Definitely an idiot. I think he’s trying to cleverly say the Angels have no other talent but he failed. I’m a Cards fan and Angel hating became a thing for quite a few fans the day Pujols agreed to sign. I think I hated them for awhile. But why now? It’s regarded as one of the worst contracts in baseball and the Angels are bad with him and Trout. Leave them alone
OK… What about Gyorko? I also think Greg Garcia could be sneaky good if given playing time. Could be a cheap acquisition for the Angels.
I don’t see why the Cardinals would want to trade Wong to the Angels, the only players the Cards would have interest in is Trout or Calhoun
And Simmons.
I’d trade him in a deal for Simmons shifting Diaz to 2B.
yeah most people would as long as there part of the cardinals front office. nobody else is trading simmons for wong
Hey Angels, if you want him, give us Calhoun.
lol
Otherwise, scamper along.
Lol
That’s funny
Wonder if it got to the point where an offer was made. Halos have a nice bullpen piece in Bedrosian (though I wouldn’t give him up for Wong) and some young controllable SPs but St Louis seems to be set on the starting front. Calhoun for Wong wouldn’t be fair and neither would Simba. Don’t really see a fit between the two.
The dire state of the slegnA farm makes it hard to see a fit between them and any team.
Dodgers will come calling shortly, Cards.
I’m still baffled by that extension he was given, cuz up until that point he hadn’t earned one.
im baffled why MM plays Wong in little spurts.. Wong has the talent to be an all star. But Wong isnt one of Mikes guys..
If he had “earned” it, he wouldn’t have come so cheap.
It’s called locking people up before they get expensive. There’s risk involved.
This is the biggest news for the Cardinals to come out of the Winter Meeting. Well done MO.
hopefully we sign Fowler or trade for Cutch
McCutchen aint happening
I don’t think Fowler is either, or he would be signed by now
I think the Cards have to go big, and WILL, via blockbuster trade
I could see the Cardinals having to pony up on Fowler and overpay for him and possible go sign Justin Turner. I wouldn’t be opposed to it either. I can also see the Cardinals stay put and starting Grichuk, Pham, and Piscotty in the OF next year too.
I could see that too. But I think the Cubbies have def put the pressure on Cards GM to make a couple of big moves
Mo doesnt male knee jerk moves because of other teams. Thats exactly why he has built playoff teams without tanking.
I don’t want Cutch, but would settle for Fowler.
Pham is in no way an everyday outfielder. Bench bat/4th outfielder, that’s it.
Mike Leake
Rumor is Fowler doesn’t want to play for the Cardinals. This explains why he hasn’t been signed.
Money usually talks, but maybe not in this case.
No, rumor is Fowler doesn’t want to play for Matheny. Not an issue with the organization, but a RUMORED issue with the manager. However, I’m fine if that keeps Fowler away…I don’t want the Cardinals to have that contract or to give up a draft pick for him.
Yep. If it’s true Fowler doesn’t want to play for Matheny, that is a big win! Not only does it keep then from handing out a bad contract, it may start to make Mozeliak realize Matheny could be a problem.
How do you even hear of a rumor like this? If you are on the verge of making possibly 20 Million a year, you keep your mouth shut.
I heard that rumor too. But I’ve heard about 5000 rumors since last all star break. So who knows.
Guess he didnt hate Matheny that much http://www.ksdk.com/sports/mlb/cardinals/dexter-fowler-heading-to-st-louis-for-physical1/366599601
So much for rumors. Fowler just signed with the Cardinals.
Hahahaha if it’s true. I heard so many rumors surrounding the Cardinals for players like Eaton, Fowler, Blackmon, etc. and I don’t know if any of those were true
Well said
Unless Trout is in the discussion, then forget it. Granted it would take quite a package to get him but the Cards do have assets. Wong, Reyes, Peralta, Gomber, Baden, Weaver, and Kelly might be enough. The Cards could sign Turner, or maybe even absorb some of Pujols’ contract and take him on too. Quite the reunion.
Geeze. Trout is nearly as valuable as Eaton and Sale combined. So unless you have the top position player prospect, the top pitching prospect, two more solid top 100 guys and a few others from your organizations top 30 don’t ask….
spud, let me help you out here a bit, as every fan of the other 29 teams ends up doing the same thing in these threads. Angels come up in some rumor with your team and visions of sugarplums and Trouts start dancing in your heads.
It usually goes along the lines of: “The Angels farm is so bad, we can trade our #3 + #4 + #7 prospects, plus a young guy from our MLB roster who isn’t panning out but once was a high end prospect.”
Basically, every fan of the other 29 teams out there hoping to vastly underpay the Angels thinking we’re either rebuilding or that utterly desperate for young talent.
Neither is true.
I will give you credit for including most of the top prospects in your system, without saying “but so-and-so prospect is untouchable.”
But the reality is, unless you have the farm system of the Cubs/Red Sox a week ago/White Sox today….to get Trout you have to give up several established young MLB talents to go along with most/all of a farm system. So unfortunately for the Cards, that would mean something like 3 or 4 of Diaz, C.Martinez, Piscotty, Wacha, Grichuk, PLUS you’d have to give the Angels “x” number of players out of the minor league system with no restrictions, including Reyes and Weaver. And even that might get a “no”.
Yes, that price sounds insanely high. But that’s the only realistic possibility to get Trout.
lazorko–nicely said. Not that it will stop the next guy from emptying out his team’s wastebasket as an “offer” for Trout (with Player X untouchable).
I agree with you. But the reason you get the exact same thing from 29 teams, is because the Angels don’t really gave anything desirable besides Trout.
Honestly, how do you think they could line up on a trade for Wong? I’m not saying Wong is super valuable, but I’d rather keep his upside than trade for anything besides Simmons and Trout.
Salary dump that could be allocated to a free agent would be the only reason. The Cards have Greg Garcia that can play 2B and he’s cheaper, but other than that the Angels and the Cards don’t really match up
Do you guys know about a guy named Jerko that also plays second base in St Louis?
I agree the package would have to be something like wacha, Wong, Grichuk, Bader, Weaver, and Reyes/Diaz/
That doesn’t do the deal.
That just ensures the phone doesn’t hang up in your ear.
I don’t see anything with upside the slegnA could offer in trade, I mean, their #1 prospect had a .601 ops and 24% K-rate in A-ball last year. They could deal Bedrosian which would be a good get for the Cards but that’s just another addition via subtraction move for the slegnA.
Nice try. Their #1 prospect is Matt Thaiss who had an .824 OPS. Jahmai Jones is the player you’re referring to and his .601 OPS was a 16 game sample divided between two levels where he accumulated an .801 OPS. Wong is not that valuable to begin with so just about any team can land him if the Cards weren’t overvaluing him so much.
NineSips has declared Jones a bust after his first 70 PAs in full season ball at the age of 18.
This board really does have the best talent evaluators. Guess I can drop my BA subscription.
Trout is not going anywhere. Best player in MLB. By far. Angels will not pull a Cardinals and ever let their future HOF walk…trading Trout is not happening. lol
McCutchen or Cain to Cards…make it happen! What could go Wong?
I think letting that future HOFer go did pretty well for the Cardinals
no, he’ll pull a pujols and leave as a free agent
no the Angels are stuck with King Angel and now when Trout’s contract is up he will walk…
Every time I read some homers offer to trade for Trout my eyes glaze over…is pot legal in MO yet?
It clearly isn’t because if it was they would have a clearer train of thought.
True
No
Cards need to focus on either
a) Dozier and Buxton
or
b) Greinke and Pollock
I like a) better
Well B will never happen due to the contract and well its ridiculous to be frank. A) would be great however kiss Reyes, Weaver, and about 2 more prospects goodbye.
Why would the Twins trade Buxton, who still has five years of control left?
What is it about Cardinal fans that makes them so delusional, I use to live there and couldn’t stand it. Kolten Wong isnt that good , dont expect much in return, and Trout will NEVER be a cardinal.
I’m a Cardinals fan, but not delusional. never say never, but I agree, Trout isn’t moving anywhere for a while. It’s nice to dream though.
p.s. thanks for moving away
Lol
Lol
All fans do this, narrowing it down to Cards fans is silly.
What, you think EVERY Cardinal fan thinks that way? I personally was never high on Wong
I’ll second that. I always felt he was over rated.
lol at cardinal fans valuing Wong so high.
i think most Cardinals fans value Wong less than the Cardinals front office does. There was an article in our local paper basically saying they don’t intend to trade Wong. It’s probably why a deal with Kansas City for one of their center fielders hasn’t happened yet.
Diablo – Cards fans don’t value Wong much but we value what the Angels have even less
“Cards fans don’t value Wong much but we value what the Angels have even less”
Nobody values what the angels have except for angels fans lol.
‘Member when the A’s won a World Series? neither can I. I was 1
If the Angels had pitching, the Marlins would gladly trade them Gordon….or at least I would, as a Marlins fan
Someone on halosheaven proposed a Dietrich trade centered around one of the angels recent waiver wire claims. They we’re being serious smh.
Seriously? Matt Shoemaker is all yours. I could even consider Tyler Skaggs for Dee. Both of them will be aces on a rotation fronted by who? Jeff Locke?
Bring back lucho. Cover a lot of positions
Between word that the Pirates were shopping him and both the Angel’s need for a 2B and reported interest in Sean Rodriguez, seems like Josh Harrison to the Angels makes some sense.
I hope that doesn’t happen, between Kang’s status and Bell’s defense, keeping Harrison makes all the sense in the world for the Pirates.
But, if they are shopping him, the Angels seem like a fit. No idea what they’d have to send back.
Give the brew crew a call about scooter. He is expendable to them and is at least average to slightly above.
I’d trade Wong to anyone for a case of Keystone and a pack of Dorals. Absolutely worthless
I bet something will happen here. Mozeliak commented this week how much they value Wong. Something like Wong, and Rosenthal or Diaz for Simmons and cash.
I can’t fathom why St. Louis would want cash in the deal. Or why they’d include Diaz after his impressive rookie year.
We have no idea if Diaz’s performance was a one time thing or not. The Angels think they can contend next years so they’re not trading much from their roster, and they have a bad farm system.
The Angels are not looking to trade Simmons. They are building their pitching staff with ground ball % in mind to use his skills. He is a key part of what they want to build. His bat came around the second half which was a bonus albeit for a losing team.
The Halos can have Wong for a bucket of balls signed by Trout
Protect C Martinez, Piscotty,
Fowler is headed to St. Louis to take a physical
It would be Wong to trade Wong.