This is the latest entry in MLBTR’s 2017-18 Offseason In Review series. Click here to read the other completed reviews from around the league.
The Cardinals brass made a concerted effort to improve their roster through retooling and talent consolidation this offseason. They’ll hope those tweaks can help them get back to the playoffs after missing them in back-to-back seasons.
Major League Signings
- Miles Mikolas, RHP: two years, $15.5MM
- Greg Holland, RHP: one year, $14MM
- Luke Gregerson, RHP: two years, $11MM (plus vesting option for 2020)
- Bud Norris, RHP: one year, $3MM
- Total spend: $43.5MM
Trades and Claims
- Acquired OF Marcell Ozuna from Marlins in exchange for OF Magneuris Sierra, RHP Sandy Alcantara, RHP Zac Gallen, LHP Daniel Castano
- Acquired INF Yairo Munoz & INF Max Schrock from Athletics in exchange for OF Stephen Piscotty
- Acquired RHP Dominic Leone & RHP Conner Greene from Blue Jays in exchange for OF Randal Grichuk
- Acquired OF J.B. Woodman from Blue Jays in exchange for SS Aledmys Diaz
Notable Minor League Signings
Notable Losses
Cardinals 25-Man Roster & Minor League Depth Chart; Cardinals Payroll Overview
Needs Addressed
The Cards entered the offseason facing the pressure of a roster crunch; myriad players would soon become vulnerable to the Rule 5 Draft, and spots on the 40-man were already prime real estate. They lost right-hander Luis Perdomo two years prior, and would need to navigate the process carefully to prevent losing valuable players such as Alcantara, Tyler O’Neill, Oscar Mercado, Derian Gonzalez and Austin Gomber.
Through some clever maneuvering, the Cardinals managed to entirely avoid being targeted during the draft’s major league phase. Alcantara, along with a pair of pitching prospects, went to the Marlins in exchange for Ozuna, while the latter four players of concern earned protection by way of addition to the expanded roster. Ozuna’s acquisition gave the Redbirds a formidable outfield trio, making Piscotty and Grichuk more luxury than necessity. Because of that, and with the safety net of outfield prospects Harrison Bader and O’Neill, they were able to flip Piscotty and Grichuk to fill a need in the bullpen and pad their farm depth.
It’s worth mentioning that while Ozuna was certainly a high-profile addition who should prove a marked improvement over Piscotty or Grichuk, he’s somewhat of a consolation prize in the Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes. The birds made a strong run at Stanton over the offseason, and indeed seemed to have made an offer the Marlins liked. Unfortunately for both clubs, the reigning NL MVP and MLB homer champ had no interest in going to St. Louis; he chose not to approve a deal to the Cardinals and ultimately found his way to the Yankees instead.
As the now-infamous free agent freeze continued through December, the most daunting task for St. Louis was to find stability for the back end of a bullpen that had lost Trevor Rosenthal midseason to Tommy John surgery, and saw three more relievers depart in free agency. Part of this was addressed relatively early on with the Gregerson signing, and with the acquisition of Leone from the Blue Jays for Grichuk in mid-January. When Bud Norris’ price tag had fallen far enough, the team seized yet another opportunity by nabbing him on the cheap.
But even at this point, the club’s job of patching up its relief corps could only be given a B grade at best. The Birds still lacked a truly reliable shutdown presence; this only became more glaring when Gregerson began to deal with injuries during spring training. Leone didn’t exactly have an extensive MLB resume, and it would be fair to describe Norris’ 2017 season as up-and-down.
The result of these circumstances was a game of free-agent chicken with free agent closer Greg Holland. Though the two seemed to be an obvious match throughout the majority of the offseason (which I briefly mentioned in both Holland’s Free Agent Profile and our Offseason Outlook for the club), the Cardinals went on record multiple times saying that they weren’t interested in a lengthy commitment to a reliever. Holland’s market failed to develop as he and agent Scott Boras had hoped after he declined both a $15MM player option and a $17.4MM qualifying offer, and subsequently turned up his nose at a Rockies offer reportedly in the range of the three-year, $52MM deal Wade Davis ended up signing. Ultimately the Cardinals won the stare-down, as they ended up locking Holland into a one-year, $14MM deal that was less than all three of the pacts he’d rejected across the previous months.
The Cardinals didn’t just need relievers, though. With the subtraction of Lance Lynn (and reported lack of interest in bringing him back), they needed to fill at least one hole in the rotation, or else rely heavily on both the oft-injured Adam Wainwright and unproven prospect Jack Flaherty. They opted for the former, and did so creatively by signing Mikolas, who was fresh off another impressive performance in Japan in 2017.
Though they didn’t need to tinker with their infield much, the Cardinals addressed a long-term need by inking shortstop Paul DeJong to a six-year, $26MM extension. He certainly earned that deal after leading the club in homers last season despite not getting a promotion until mid-May. It didn’t come as much of a surprise; as I mentioned in the offseason outlook for the Cards, they’ve got a track record of extending players before they hit free agency, and DeJong seemed a prime target for one of those pacts.
Questions Remaining
It would be a stretch to claim that the Cardinals have any glaring weakness remaining. But at the same time, it would be tough to make the case that any one area of their roster stands out as a strength. Their outfield, infield and bullpen could all be described as above average, while the rotation seems stable enough. But outside of the Reds, the NL Central is unlikely to be a pushover. The Cardinals have neither the offense to out-slug the Brewers, nor the pitching to out-duel the Cubs.
If they do have a strength, it’s offensive depth. St. Louis has a strong pair of outfield prospects (Bader, O’Neill) and a group of infielders that can play multiple positions, which has already proved useful this season during Jedd Gyorko’s temporary absence. Luke Voit and Yairo Munoz aren’t top-end talent but could certainly step in and perform at least passably if called upon.
Perhaps the most concerning issue facing the Cardinals right now is the club’s starting pitching depth, or lack thereof. With Adam Wainwright back on the shelf, the Cardinals are already being forced to use their most viable depth option in Jack Flaherty. Top prospect Alex Reyes could return from Tommy John surgery in late May or early June, but the Cardinals reportedly plan to use him out of the ’pen for at least part of his first season since going under the knife.
Outside of swingman John Gant, none of their other decent pitching prospects have more than a handful of innings’ worth of experience beyond the Double-A level. If the Cards end up in a position where they’re forced to turn to Gant or Gomber for more than a spot start, there’s likely to be some white-knuckling on the part of the front office and in the club’s dugout.
Overview
In essence, the Cardinals were able to check off every item on their to-do list over the course of the offseason. While Ozuna was probably the only acquisition that could be considered splashy, each individual move they made served to solve a problem with a reasonable solution. An outgoing pitcher was replaced with one who projects to do just as well. Four strong bullpen arms were added to replace three free agent relievers and one lost to injury. They began with a surplus of outfielders, which they essentially consolidated to add a more talented one. And while one could argue that they only marginally improved the team this winter, they’re certainly likely to see improvements from a number of talented young players.
How would you grade the Cardinals’ offseason? (Poll link for app users)
I gave the cardinals offseason a B rating. As a cardinal fan I do think we could have made an extra move after signing holland, signing another SP would have been nice whether it was on a minors or cheap major league deal to fill in wainwrights absence since he can’t stay healthy very long, as I’ve stated before I think the cards should consider moving wainwright to the bullpen.
why get another SP….especially one on a minors deal? they have Flaherty, Gomber, Gant, hudson and others who could easily fill in for Wainwright….and most likely fill in better than a SP looking for a minor league deal
Plus Reyes should be back in the bullpen at the break
and as a starter next year. The Cards pitching will be the strength of the team very soon. Quite a few pitchers in the minors system who will contribute to the big club in the next 2 years!
This is a class organization. Even though, Heyward, Price, Pujols’ contracts, were disasters averted, I’ve always admired Cardinals’ willingness to spend, despite their market.
The Cardinals deserve every bit of that TV deal, that covers the 2018-2032 seasons, pays $1 billion, & included 30% equity stake in Fox Sports MidWest.
Alot of fans bag on Mo and ownership about spending or lack of but they are actually smart. In the last 20yrs STL fans have been treated to multiple pennants, a great stadium and overall great baseball. Ownership makes the St Louis experience top notch.
It was a quietly perfect off-season for the organization.
They are sort of stuck in the middle and in a difficult place. Basically a 85 win team, with no glaring weaknesses, and no major strengths.
They went after a nice outfield upgrade in Ozuna, turned Piscotty and Grichuk into useful other pieces and have a strong, but not spectacular farm system.
They operated this off-season much like you would hope they would. They have given themselves another 2 years of being basically a 85ish win team. Pretty much the entire roster is under control for 2019, and they have payroll room to expand after 2018. They avoided pricey free agent acquisitions and remained lean and smart, and will give these next two years as a wait and see while remaining competitive.
There wasn’t going to be anything they do this off-season to catch the Cubs or be better than them. I think they are better than the Brewers, who I expect their pitching to collapse by mid summer. And they have prospects like Weaver, Flaherty, Reyes, O’Neill, Kelly and young players like DeJong that they want to see their development. That will determine what this organization looks like in 2020.
While some fans are unhappy they didn’t do more, what they did was not limit their future flexibility to make large moves where necessary.
They should compete for a wild card spot, and have the ability to pounce if the Cubs or Brewers start to show weaknesses.
Well, according to Themed, a well known and respected expert on these boards, this is the greatest team of all time, in all sports. He would completely disagree with you, while they are in first place.
A fine quality fan he is.
Yea
and you all the other know-it-all loud mouthed Cub fans think the baby bears were gonna be a dynasty
too
and win the WS the next 10 years huh? They will be lucky to get a wild card this year!
Stop these posts Bruce, you come off childish and illogical.
Cubs are a great organization that are gonna be a real problem for awhile, and we aren’t even done with April yet.
Chill.
Cardinals always seem to do it right. Productive system that regularly produces 25-man guys, and quality but not overzealous signings to supplement the rest of the roster… Kudos from a Rangers fan.
I gave them a C.
The Cardinals should have ponied up for Yelich instead of letting him wind up with the Brewers. They had the necessary pieces to do so.
They could have easily built a package around Flaherty and Bader to send the marlins plus other pieces to get the deal done.
Ozuna hasn’t exactly panned out thus far. If he can correct things my grade will change, but definitely should of pushed harder for Yelich.
lol give up Flaherty….glad youre not the GM
What youre getting from Ozuna .233/.256/.326 60 wrc 3% walk 25% k
What Brewers are getting from Yelich .319./.407/.532 155 wrc with 11% walk 20% k
You get what you pay for. 5 years of Yelich didn’t come cheap.
I would MUCH rather have Ozuna than Yelich, the Cardinals needed a big hat not a slightly above average mlb hitter.
According to his bbref
12, 15, 18, 35, 18 above 100 OPS+
That’s not slightly above average. When you’re pushing 20% above league average youre a great hitter.
Also- the big bat is going extinct. Teams are favoring obp driven players more than slugging. Which yelich has never had an obp below .360 ever.
Ozuna has only topped .330 once in his career. He’s proven to be more obp challeneged.
Over the course of their careers Yelich has had the better bat
I’m not saying that Yelich wouldn’t have been great to get…but I wouldn’t give up Flaherty for him…good pitching is hard to find and yea flaherty isn’t proven…but he is also tearing triple A apart and has one good start already this season…I don’t give up that talent I don’t care if it is Yelich…and that is especially true if I could give up less for what is also a great bat….the weather is just starting to warm up so imo we shouldn’t be comparing numbers yet…especially when Yelich is playing in a hitter friendly dome and Ozuna plays in, hope the weather is decent, Busch stadium
Every stat in the world shows that hitters are trying to hit more home runs despite strikeouts, MLB is on pace to kill the strike out record and no one cares as long as they are hitting home runs. Yelich may be a slight improvement in over fowler but no way give up Bader and Flarety. The cards are clearly trying to stay competitive until they get the rotation they want (C Mart, Reyes, Weaver, Flarety, Hicks) ready, no way they deal any of those guys and they shouldn’t
voted an F. didn’t fire matheny