The Cardinals announced this morning that they’ve placed infielder Yairo Munoz on unconditional release waivers. The move leaves an opening on the 40-man roster.
In an important detail, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that Munoz “left the team, flew home” without notifying the Cardinals. Manager Mike Shildt told Goold and other reporters that Munoz frequently complained about playing time last season. That’s certainly an interesting twist to the story, and it seems clear that Munoz wasn’t released for any baseball reason, but rather as a result of his own decision to excuse himself from camp.
As a matter of fact, Shildt stated that Munoz “had an inside track to a roster spot” as the team’s utilityman, according to Mark Saxon of The Athletic. Munoz, 25, has fulfilled a similar role for the Cardinals in each of the last two years, and he’s by no means been an unplayable Major Leaguer. There’s value in a player who can capably man six positions on the diamond, and Munoz has been just that over his first two big league seasons. That said, it would be hard to argue that Munoz, who owns a .273/.331/.391 career slash line over roughly a season’s worth of plate appearances, is deserving of the expanded role that he apparently coveted.
That’s especially true given the presence of established veterans in the St. Louis infield, which is where Munoz fits best. He had little chance of unseating either Matt Carpenter or Paul DeJong, the incumbent starters at Munoz’s two best positions. That starting combination has garnered four All-Star selections between them. The path to playing time in an outfield corner was perhaps less crowded, but even so: the team surely prefers Tommy Edman to Munoz after the former’s standout rookie performance; Dexter Fowler showed signs of life last year, and top prospect Dylan Carlson is waiting in the wings.
Munoz has five years of team control remaining, and that youth coupled with his positional versatility could make him an attractive free-agent option for several teams. It seems unlikely that Munoz is widely viewed as a starter in the short-term, so he may have to settle for a role similar to the one he played with St. Louis. It’s also fair to ask whether teams will hesitate given the circumstances surrounding Munoz’s release.
Thanks for Piscotty
still have Max Schrock
So, what you’re saying is the Cardinals still may receive Maximum Schrock Value…
Schrock the monkey
Wasn’t he played by Christopher Walken in Batman Returns?
Stop Trolling
Yes – the rest of the AL West thanks you for Piscotty. 1 WAR OFs are hard to find.
1 war is better than 0 war.
Especially if you are a defence contractor.
+1
Too soon, too soon!
@Down with OBP
Picscotty was 2.8/3.1 b/fWAR player in 2018, and was injured in 2019. The A’s made the postseason both years Piscotty has been there, and is signed to a 3/23 deal from 2020-22.
Might want to actually know things about baseball before posting but then again your username kind of shows you don’t know what good baseball looks like.
I know he’s a solidly average player! You won the trade so kudos! 1.7 WAR players are hard to come by. Good salary too for a team that doesn’t spend things.
Also, someone who knows things about baseball wouldn’t comment on how many times his team made the post season as if that means anything.
Sounds like a recipe for the Texas Rangers if they are willing to deal with his aberrant behavior.
I wish it’d been Matt Carpenter who had run off. Munoz is better both offensively and defensively than Matt Carpenter is currently—- at this point in his career. I could definitely see where Munoz would think that too.
That remains to be seen. Carpenter could easily bounce back. Besides, while 2018 Muñoz was probably better than 2019 Carpenter, Muñoz had an even worse 2019 than Carpenter did!
carp doesn’t have an attitude,. it’s crazy how some fans have no loyalty to a guy who loves St Louis.
well…Carp is a great guy but he is being paid on his past performance, sadly he is now a liability in the field and at the plate. We want championships and a lot of fans not convinced he’s up to the task. It seems he is a great guy but there are better options for our team.
Munoz didn’t get as many as at bats as Carpenter.
Wasn’t the primary motivation for that trade to get Piscotty closer to home so he could be near his terminally ill mother?… It is kinda difficult to knock the Cardinals for not getting a better return.
You are correct
The Cardinals had no choice but to grant Piscotty wishes to be traded close to home and take whatever they can get for him.
Lol
They had a choice, they decided to do the humane thing by granting him his wish.
They had plenty of choices though. They could have traded him to SF or kept him and let him use family emergency leave to go back to the Bay Area.
They did the “right thing” and kudos to them, but they absolutely did not have “no choice” in the matter.
They wanted tondo the right thing and what they did was the right thing … hence no other choice.
Piscotty hasnt exactly bren killing it in OAK anyway. bit of a bust for his previous prospect regard.
Not really. Piscotty was never an Uber prospect. He was a near bottom top 100 guy when he was on the doorsteps of the majors. With an average to above average ML starter grade on him. That’s roughly what he’s been. Typically when you see a guy in the 80-100 range on a top 100 list who are in AAA— Their projections have them as an average to above average starter at their ceiling.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2014-top-100-prospects/
There’s a link to the 2014 top 100 prospects.
He was playing in one of the best franchise if not the best and disrespect my cards that way. What a shame, I know that he is injured but still he needed to stay with the team. Good luck Muñoz hopefully he can find the playing times that he is looking for. Max schrock has impressed in this spring training so he has a chance to make the team.
Dude shut up lol , you cardinal fans operate like a cult
The Cardinals are cheating trash who battle to get all the “small market” benefits but operate like a large market team in an area of America where there’s not much to do other than go watch baseball games.
Worst fans in baseball by a mile though, yall need to seek emotional help because its clear yall are using baseball to hide from reality.
Max Shrock is terrible and Beane won another trade by a million miles.
The fact that the Cardinals get extra draft picks and extra international bonus pool money for being a “small market team” is beyond ridiculous. MLB really needs to change these rules as it creates a real competitive advantage for St Louis; a team that has the means and fan support to be in the Top 10 in total salary every season.
@strike four…cry a little more buddy lol jealous much
Laughing out loud at Strike Four – People trolling Cards fans always makes for a fun read.
Dorothy is not smart enough to understand what makes a small market team. You are literally too dumb to insult.
Lmao. Jealousy looks good on you.
Card81, back to idiocy i see. Loser
LOL – By Metropolitan Statistical size, St. Louis is smaller than Minneapolis, Tampa, San Diego and Denver.
By television market size, St. Louis is smaller than Tampa, Detroit, Minneapolis, Denver and Cleveland.
You are whining because they consistently put a good product on the field, not because of market size.
He said they “need to change the rules”…where do you get that he doesn’t understand what makes a small market team? Perhaps he means they need to change how they determine that. Learn what literally means.
That’s true, but it’s not like the Cardinals ever asked for those ridiculous benefits, and no team is simply going to refuse them.
STL is NOT small market when it comes to baseball. Missouri touches 8 states. The Cardinals draw sheeple from 500 miles away. They have such delusional fans they plan vacations to STL just to watch boring baseball games and look at animals at a zoo.
Lol Clepto your obsession with me is getting embarrassing for you… let it go man…lol
your bashing fandom dude.. sad
@dvogt,
Is that even a sentence? So many things wrong with just 5 words. That is sad.
What you said about the Cardinals and the St Louis metro is pure unadulterated ignorance.
I’m from St Louie and have lived in FL for 15 years and everyone I’ve brought there raves about how much fun it is yet everyone is friendly and laid back plus the food is slamming. There is so much fun free stuff to do … and before you get smart about that … it takes a lot of local support to make that free fun stuff happen … don’t be a hater talking about some ish you don’t know and couldn’t understand
The organization built what they have from the bottom up with the support of a great fan base. They are a small market team … but unlike most others St Louis sustains support. I would say even in years they don’t win, but they always have a winning record … however even when they miss the playoffs or fall flat on their faces in the NLCS and then make no big off season moves … you can bet the fans will still be there and they will still win more games than they lose.
I get it, peeps are jealous of one of the few true winning cultures in pro sports … especially one that doesn’t just win with the pocket book … now go cry in your mother’s bossum
That deal was more about allowing piscotty time with his family if I remember correctly. Mozeliak has still left me scratching my head about signing Dexter Fowler and then trading away players like Mercado, Garcia, Arozarena, in similar fashion, but keeping Tyler O’Niel and Lane Thomas. Wonder if one day he’ll look back and say we coulda had an outfield of Mercado, Arozarena, and Garcia.
He was in the Piscotty trade right?
Yes.
Good riddance
Do you have to be a productive player to get more playing time in baseball?
As a Cubs fan he will be missed
Jason Heyward?
Good put Carlson on the 40
Odd that they didn’t put him on their restricted list.
I think the putting him on the redistricted list means that they would want him back. I think team feel that Munoz deserted his teammates & don’t want him with the franchise anymore.
So trade him…
Kinda hard to trade a guy that goes AWOL lol
almost every team in baseball doesn’t have the INF depth that the cards do. im sure someone would’ve at least given you a few bonus slots for him.
Yeah and they gained that depth by lying about being a “small market” team when they absolutely are not and have never once operated that way.
MLB allowing the Cardinals to cheat the league by stacking their draft picks but not allowing the Rays and Oakland to even get them anymore, is an absolute farce, just like the Cardinals fanbase.
The Cardinals are historically a good team though, I can’t hate on their rings, but their fans are beyond nightmare people and act the exact opposite to how baseball fans should act.
@ Strike Four
Why, because of what you read on here and other sites? Don’t put all Cardinals fans into some category you made up because you have a problem with how the league operates and its loop holes.. Sounds like there is a deeper issue there. I am a born and bred St Louis Cardinals fan and now live in the bay area. I would never put A’s fans down like that, what is the point. They love their team. I am betting you have had contact with less than a half % of Cardinals fans but you go ahead and jump to conclusions.
Dark horse he is like this on all Cardinals post
Troll lol, it sounds like a Cardinals fan stole your girlfriend
Strike four must have been to the head. Because that was some severe idiocy you just spouted.
Read above – St. Louis is smaller than Tampa, Minneapolis, Denver and San Diego.
They also have a smaller television market than Cleveland.
Are you mad that those are considered small market teams?
While benefits for small market teams should indeed be decided purely by revenue, that’s MLB’s fault, not the Cardinals’ fault. If someone offered your team extra draft picks that you didn’t deserve, would you turn them down?
Cardinals fans horrible? What other fan base applauds when the opposing team takes out their pitcher in the 8th after giving up no runs? They just must not be good baseball people or know good baseball when they see it clapping for the other team like that.
Yeah,no other fans do that. Roll eyes here. Cards fans are so pompous and arrogant to think they are the ONLY fans who appreciate good baseball.
Listen to you … you’re the nightmare ya whiny lil skirt get the sand out of your va jay jay
Not the only fans, no. But it is pretty clear a larger percentage of our fan base are the appreciative type in comparison. The Cards have so many more die hard baseball fans and way fewer casual fans than a majority of MLB teams … this is known
hilarious!!!
huh wow. Klentak get this man a bench spot. he can certainly hit.
He had a 73 wRC+, .653 OPS, and -0.2 WAR. What are you talking about?
its not a high bar on this team, ans he does have room to grow and options unlike the rest of our bench hopefulls
That doesn’t mean “he can certainly hit” lol. He’s not very good.
That was last season. The season before he hit 10% above the league average. The guy doesn’t even have a full season of ABS under his belt in the big leagues. So I certainly wouldn’t be drawing definite conclusions here. He projects as a utility man—if he hits closer to 2018 a team will have a slot for him.
Check the corresponding BABIP vs the statcast data and you’ll see why he sucks.
Not really. Looks like he threw a tantrum. The Cardinals front office has little to no patience for players like that.
I don’t think any major league club is going to put up with that. There are too many talented AAA players who would give their right arm for an opportunity like that.
You have seen ZERO reasons other than an anecdote from over a year ago where a pro ballplayer asked for more playing time in baseball (yknow, the game that requires guys get regular PAs to get good?) – yet you go direct to “throw a tantrum”. Pathetic. Coward-level take and all 7 upvoters are massive cowards too. Grow up.
@stikefour…the way you talk on here is also pretty cowardly…so chew in that buddy
Don’t disrespect him like that. The dude is a baseball genius. He knows more than anyone, especially those dumb cardinals fans. Most people don’t spend time on things they hate, so it’s weird he feels the need to comment on every cardinals post.
He left camp and flew home because he didn’t like being a platoon player. How is that anything but a tantrum
@ strike four: come on man! We’re all baseball fans, some huge fans who know a lot, some casual fans who know less. I went to grad- school in STL and had a lot of fun going to Cards games. It’s a great baseball town with a lot of cool and knowledgeable fans. And yes, like any team, they have some “overly enthusiastic” fans too. But let’s all do our best on this site to have respectful dialogue and discourse. “Can’t we all just get along……..??????”
Strike four … you are a fool. These guys spend their whole lives building toward becoming a pro ball player.
So I don’t care what team it is they walk away from you better have a damn good reason to walk away. That doesn’t affect his standing with just the Cardinals but with the entire league. It was a foolish thing to do.
You don’t burn bridges like that for nothing. Period.
That’s pretty funny that he just straight up left, who does that lol?
Someone who has psychiatric issues? The man might need medical help.
I thought the exact same thing when I read the article.
bit extreme, dont you think?
Antonio Brown didn’t even do that.
True. I wonder if this is also Ben’s fault.
There’s so many reasons and only a peabrain would make a comment on this with zero info available. Wait until you hear his side of the story.
Comments should be off on this post until more info is available.
Yes, please, let’s turn off comments so Strike Four no longer can spew his ignorance about how market sizes are determined.
Lol his side of the story has been told…he told his agent he saw the writing in the wall and he wasn’t going to play so he left…so yea we do know his side of the story lmao cry some more and lol you want the comments turned off lmao
@cards81, do you have a source for this explanation?
“Last week, he hopped on a plane and flew to the Dominican Republic, unbeknownst to us,” said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations. “Trying to determine what is the next, best step, we just decided based on what we’re hearing from his agent maybe cutting ties make the most sense. He just wasn’t happy here, and was frustrated with how he was used last year. Didn’t like the writing on the wall that he was seeing this year.”
St. Louis post dispatch
Yeah, the St. Louis Post Dispatch is a reliable source. NOT! Those dorks are all on the Cardinals payroll. Hell, Goold is Mozeliak’s butler and Gordon used to mow Jon Jay’s lawn.
@cards81, thanks. It’s the Cardinals’ side of the story, but it’s something. It would be good to hear directly from Munoz and/or his agent.
Lol yea I mean let’s not trust anyone but Maurice Lock on MLB trade rumors comment section lol pathetic
Is there anyway to turn your comments off on cardinals posts? I think a lot of other readers would appreciate it.
Would love to see Cards81 get his comments turned off. I’m with you on that.
Yes, let’s just muzzle everyone we disagree with. You’re better than that Maurice.
Obviously he has another skill that will garner as much as the major league minimum.
So a bench player, who knows he’s not going to play every day complains about playing time and his solution is to take his toys and go home?.
Some playing time is better than no playing time Yairo…
@Rsox way to have a take with only anecdotal info available. Grow up.
Strike Four is secretly Munoz lol
How many negative paragraphs have you wrote on this article today ? Sheesh
Seeing as how I read the article on MLB.com and Mozeliak even said from what they were hearing from his agents it was best to cut bait with him my take based on anecdotal information seems spot on.
Only people that have yet to grow up comment grow up.
Yes. He’s going to go home and find a job that pays him $600K/yr. where he is actually valued by his bosses. Great career move!
And don’t forget all the dead presidents he foolishly casts away.
The pressure of playing for the best fans of anything in the history of everything can crush a man.
Good joke
Card fans are the best. My gardener is a Cards fan and he is the best Gardiner and he tells me he can do anything and everything the best.
Don’t you have anything better to do than troll with your lame comments?
Maybe the fanbase shouldn’t make annoying declarations obviously intended to make other fanbases roll their eyes.
The majority of the fan base does not do that. That entire moniker was given by the media, the fan base has nothing to do with it.
Yeah! That sort of behavior has no place in professional sports! 🙂
Stan you may be right
There are no “best fans in baseball” – if you are a baseball fan you are a baseball fan. Cardinals fans need electro shock.
You’ve commented on this thread like 6 times just to s*** on the cardinals and their fans. On a Saturday. Go make a friend or something
Then tell Red Sox fans to stop calling themselves a “Nation” or Cowboys fans to stop calling themselves “America’s Team.” It’s just media hyperbole.
Don’t you have anything better to do than troll lame comments with more lame comments?
So you’re saying that our President is a Card’s fan?
I thought George Steinbrenner was president.
If only!
What a little diva!!!!!!
I would not complain if I was getting a MLB pay check and sitting on the bench.
Maybe he thought St Louis was a boring town !
Huh, well let’s drop off your pasty a$$ in Walnut or Fairgrounds Park & see the outcome. I guarantee you boredom won’t be an emotion you’ll experience.
Or if getting decimated by the locals doesn’t flip your wig, you can be transported to one of “Western Illinois” fine establishments & have the time of your life!
Just remember though, the “Lovely Raven” doesn’t peddle her wares for free cause after all, tuition is expensive as is books for that she’s just a student despite being 37 but again, you’ll have a blast & bring some $crilla.
The Lou has a lot to offer and in many cases, too much, lol…
Yeah, like you’re not there every night helping her through year 5 of her Associate’s. We might as well call you Claiborne Pell! 😉
What the hell was all that? Lol
Yeah, the Arch, the MUNY, the Science Center, Six Flags, an excellent zoo, etc.
With all the spying technology the Cardinals have, they did not see this coming !
Ouch!
We were listening for Houston’s confirmation.
We got “*bang* *bang*” but we were expecting “*bang* *bang* *bang*”.
That’s not Houston you are hearing. That’s Gorky Park’s “Bang.”
DA!
Chris Correa says hello from his jail cell.
He was saying hi to Jeff Luhnow and asked him how the propriety information he had stolen worked out for him.
Nagua D.R. have more to offer than St Louis !
Wow, that is not good… He’s still a young guy and he has had a little bit of success. Hopefully he can get things straightened-out.
He’s immature. He was always the best player as a kid and talented enough to make a major league roster. He can’t handle the fact that other players on the team are just better than he is.
immature or did he let the pressure of possibly taking care of his whole family that might live in poverty get to him. Let’s try to remember we arent in their shoes and we dont know their lives. Yes it may be as simple as him being young and cocky or it could be something completely different I’m just saying
You’re just saying alright…
@stubby66. It’s possible, I suppose. But the Cardinals just flat out released him when he absconded . That tells me that they’re done with him. They are coming off a division championship and don’t need this kind of nonsense going into the season.
Clubs have been known to work with players experiencing the types of issues you mentioned. I personally doubt that his leaving was related to anything like that.
@stubby66 – Great take, you get it. Please post more (for real – need more voices like yours here).
I’m just saying and the only reason I say that is because right before Jonathan Lucroy got his chance with the Brewers there was a catcher Angel Salome who was going to be there catcher in the majors. He couldnt take being away from his family and walked away which forced the Brewers to go with Lucroy 2 years earlier.
Cardinal just didn’t treat him right.
He wasn’t good enough to start and he still got several opportunities/AB’s.
Instead of playing better or making his $500 K a year,he decided to just quit.
Hey……..Addison Russell looking for a job !
does this mean teams have 10 days to claim him? I could see a team wanting to trade almost nothing to get him.
He’s been given his release so I think any team could sign him for the league minimum.
Reminds me a bit of Tommy LaStella refusing to go to AAA after being optioned down.
Except LaStella didn’t refuse…instead contemplated retiring. But…facts.
Welcome to the active roster Edmund Sosa.
Not necessarily. The extra roster spot could go to someone like Ravelo or even Carlson.
I could see why he was whining when they were trotting Matt Carpenter out there on most nights.
I think he finds a home on an MLB roster again but he’s not exactly a wiz with the glove at any of the 6 positions he played. So that limits his value.
Muñoz sucked even compared to Carpenter last year, and he certainly didn’t deserve extra playing time over Edman.
What an idiot. You get paid over half a million dollars just for sitting on an MLB bench. You get paid zero when you throw a hissy fit and take your ball and go home. It’s not like he’s a big bonus baby who’s already set financially. So stupid. I hope no other team signs him. Teams don’t need that type of diva attitude in a clubhouse.
Not to mention over 80K USD if you are on the 40-man roster and playing in AAA – plus whatever benefits apply. Strange decision. He will likely regret it unless some team snaps him up to play as a starter…which seems unlikely…
I understand when players refuse an AAA assignment after being removed from the 40-man roster – but it isn’t often that a player in Munoz’ position just quits…he still had a shot at the MLB roster – and AAA is better than nothing…
We don’t know his side of the story. But, to say he’s an idiot and stupid is callous. Would you want to live a life of unhappiness away from your family and friends just for money? He’s not hurting anyone, let the kid live his life the way he wants to. WTH is wrong with all of you
No, I wouldn’t want to live a life of unhappiness away from my family just for the money. However, if I decided to quit my job and get on a plane home, I would notify my employer. If this article is accurate, he didn’t. Unless there’s an extraordinary reason that prevented him from telling the Cardinals of his decision, I think criticism of his behavior is very appropriate.
Money is the creator of wealth. I’d say it wasn’t the intention of his family for him to skulk away and end his talent that gave him the opportunity to lift his family from poverty. The family probably prayed for him to stay and extend their good fortune in all likelihood. And it was the adult thing to do. Munoz is neither a child nor victim. He was blessed with physical gifts that most of do not possess. Homesickness is a temporary feeling.and one isn’t designated a victim for having the symptoms of such. Hey Bob…your post is sophomoric and, like Yairo, does a disservice to men who provide.
Ohh, recreational entertainment for an ungrateful country is his purpose in life? Thanks for the sanctimony! What a complete revelation! This whole time I thought Yairo was blessed with free choice and to live a life not governed by our direction. Lead the way Mishimacool !
What a dolt…Self loathe to your hearts content. Leave the rest of the free thinkers out of the equation. Munoz determines his own purpose, not you. As for your pathetic whining about an “ungrateful country,” I am grateful I do not reside in the Dominican Republic. America suits me just fine.. It appears you think you can live anywhere while going nowhere. You stumble over your own narcissism. May Munoz make the right decision. You? Just another lost soul.
@clrogers only one idiot here and its you. You came to all those conclusions by yourself with only an anecdote from last season to base your hate-filled, disgusting comments on.
You do know that taxes exist right? And agent fees? And supporting entire families? Its not “half a million dollars”, only a cretin would think that. Perhaps you are one.
@BobSanamano – you said the only thing that should be said in this thread. So many posters on here are dumpster-brains.
More crying by strike four – Munoz’s best friend
Bigbadjohnny no joke! They did do this cheating scheme one year specifically. I was constantly reading on how unusual the Cardinals where hitting around 100 points higher then the next best team in baseball with men on base. Reading this article saying that success rate was having teams be suspicious. 2012 was the year I believe and to make matters worse for Card backers who will bark at my conspiracy theory, Carlos Beltran was on the Cards. So you have a washed-up Carlos Beltran and berkman crushing the ball on the 2012 Cardinals. Teams cheat and not just the Cardinals, Sox and Astros. I believe the Cards got lucky they didn’t get cought. I think teams don’t let stats get inflatable because it brings on attention they don’t want but Astros and Sox just got greedy
Lame accusations with no proof whatsoever.
You’re frothing from the tips of your fingers incessantly yet you’re off by 3 years in your conspiracy & long after Beltran was gone!
But nice try though…
If Beltran was doing that stuff his whole career, you’d think he would’ve known that Wainwright curveball was coming back in 2006.
Nastiest curveball ever right there.
Or maybe that was the moment when he decided he needed a system?
Its a shame he was let go. Some ball club will try to sign him with or without his mental instability. Beware buyer.
Cubs better kick the tires on him
Theres place on a team for a player that can “capably man” 6 positions? This guy has a worse range factor than castellanos at third and the outfield and you guys called him unplayable in the field.
There’s more to defense than range, you know
“There’s more to defense than range, you know”
Please explain that to Jeff Todd and Steve Adams.
I’m all for the no nonsense approach the team is taking. And what other team is going to jump the free agent line and give anything up for a guy that runs away when he doesnt get his way?!
Hope nobody in MLB signs him. Let him twist in the wind with his decision.
He sucks at baseball.
Regardless of what’s going on in this guy’s life, a sincere question to Cardinals fans… Is this guy an upgrade over Derek Dietrich? Asking for a friend, who is a Reds fan. And by friend I mean me. LOL
Very much an upgrade, yes.
well better id say, especialy given the options and potential to grow.
Personality-wise, pretty much every single player in the MLB is an upgrade.
The guy can hit pretty color, has a cannon … just doesn’t have a good enough glove to take a position over . Every time he was givin an opportunity, he would have several errors and just not okay a position very well.
Back to A’s… Thing is we have a talented young player in Franklin Barreto – and others – vying for playing time…
So….no, not back to the A’s. lol why post that?
He won’t be out there long. I hope the Mets grab him. Cards may have brought him up too quickly initially due to injuries at the mlb level. He certainly held his own but possibly took a step backwards with limited at bats once the big contract boys came back.
He’s a big kid and I believe a natural shortstop, but was athletic enough to hold his own all over the field.
Not sure how waivers work or what the order is, but he can help any team right away, and probably start somewhere for most.
He’s a horrible shortstop, that’s the only position the Cardinals wouldn’t play him at because he couldn’t manage even average defense there.
Correct – he is a poor mans Jed Jerko offensive wise, and defensively he isn’t really good anywhere
breaking news: random keyboard warriors claim to know more about Yairo Munoz’s life then he himself does
Boy, I thought I was a loner. People are acting like Yairo found the cure of corona virus and is refusing to tell!
Yep, pretty disgusting comments section in here, no surprise it’s the worst fans in baseball leading the way in lowering the bar for how terrible you can be to people you don’t know or have any idea about any situation about them.
I’d ban everyone namecalling Munoz in this thread if I ran MLBTR, they are never going to add anything to any conversation, only cause gutter-level interactions. I at least will throw down with 100% baseball talk when unprovoked. But there’s too much provoking from a lot of posters on here, and therefore I sink to their level, which even I don’t want to do. All I want to do is talk baseball, not defend a guy I’ve never met from an attack by a very biased homer who knows less about him than I do.
You’ve attacked the Cards’ market size twice in this comment section without knowing how the calculations work, so don’t act like you’re better than everyone else.
More crying by this guy
You’re a Cub fan right Strike Four?
Ever heard of the First Amendment, Mr. Puritan?
We haven’t heard his side, so I’ll withhold judgment on who’s right or who’s wrong here. For all we know the Cards refused to let him go home to be with his dying mother, or something equally offensive.
But, assuming he really just quit on the team, is the team’s only remedy to cut him or trade him? If they cut him, he’s a FA and can sign with another team? For really good players, that sounds like there’s no real negative consequence. One of the 29 teams will sign you if you’re good enough, so if you don’t like your current team just quit? That seems wrong.
Are you joking? You want to float the idea the team didn’t let him see his dying mother? Stop streaming so many movies and tv shows.
I’m not floating any idea. I’m saying we don’t know his side. I’m don’t see any reason to just take the team’s word for it until we hear what he has to say. Maybe he’s a whiny quitter. Maybe he reported cheating to management and they retaliated to shut him up. There are 1001 possibilities, and until we hear what he has to say, we can’t be sure the team is on the up-and-up.
Every pro sports team is under the microscope right now for numerous reasons like cheating and player abuse…and you think the Cards organization is going to be stupid enough to risk anything with this scrub? He was basically fired with cause. If they did something wrong he wouldnt be flying out of the country, he’d be staying put and going public asap. Lawsuits and grievances would be initiated right away. That’s not happening.
you really need to lay off this kid. Bcjd is right, we dont know.
I agree with you that people should lay off the critiques of Muñoz, and I get that Bcjd was just giving an example – but to be fair, the Cards did trade Piscotty so he could be close to his mother, so I think the organization deserves the benefit of the doubt as much as Muñoz does.
(And I really hate the Cardinals as a long-time Dodger fan FWIW)
Right, so lets all lay off before we know exactly what happened. I absolutely hate this side of 2020’s media. Not everything is instantaneous and requires an immediate take, yet social media requires it.
Yet you spend post after post trashing Cards fans, this board is a type of social media too darling.
Munoz threw away his opportunity, IDK whats wrong with him, it doesnt matter now. Teams will likely be weary of a guy who just leaves country without explanation and abandons the team. Most employers across the world will cut bait with an employee who no call no shows or walks out during shift.
So stop gate keeping like you give two poops about Munoz, cause we know you dont.
Poops!!
Had a wasted year in 2019. Not saying walking out on his team was justified (never is), but Cards game him 50 starts worth about 150 at bats. Pretty tough for a young player to be productive like that. I’m sure he was looking at a similar year or sent to the minors after 2 years at the highest level.
Better ways to handle it, but the pressure is on him, now.
Tough or not, you still need to earn your way into getting more playing time (like Edman did last year) when you play for a contending team.
Haiti Munoz was a very good bench player!
Yairo
agreed, im quite a big fan of him off the bench. haters wolnt let you argue that though.
Well can he play short? ( I have a very inquisitive friend….same guy again! )Lol
doesnt seem to be the metrics like his defense overall, but it might be best there. still not great last year, but seemingly improved from 2018.
He won’t be unsigned for long.
Munoz knows this is best for him to get himself away from the clown Mozeliak and his ilk.
You should no call no show your job if you have one and see what happens. Esp one where your minimum wage at ML level is 560k..
You talk crap about Mo, but you would polish his knob to have a chance at 560k, after all you do take after your mom.
Cool comment. After all, you got both your patented homophobic and Mom comment in there. The daily double. Good for you, Timmy Teufel.
so why did that jackwaggon shildt jerk him around last year. As a rookie he was a super sub.
As a rookie, he played better and had more opportunities for playing time. In 2019, the Cardinals brought in Goldschmidt to stabilize 1B, Wong had his best season to date, Fowler had a bounce back year, and Edman outplayed him when Carpenter faltered and while Ozuna was injured.
Read the article on mlb dot com if you want some more info on the situation
Wouldn’t be surprised to hear that he signs with a Korean or Japanese team. If he goes over there and rakes, he could easily revive his MLB career after a couple of plus seasons abroad. So he still has plenty of options even if he has burnt his MLB bridges with this recent decision.
Oakland should sign him
one forgets that Munoz injured his hamstring about a week ago as well
He would probably be the starter in Detroit. I see no reason why they wouldn’t take a chance. He is cheap and has enough control that they might still have him when they decide to try again.
I would clean Porto Potties by hand for $550K a year – and like it !
Considering you probably do it now for $12.50/hour, of course you would for 550K.
You do it for minimum wage, what’s your point?
Willie, come up with some creativity instead of piggybacking off me.
Yes, your incessant whining about the cardinals and their fans is certainly much more creative. My apologies.
I wish I got paid for it 🙁
He might be able to play more for Miami, Baltimore or the Pittsburg.
The Pittsburgh lol
@Strikefour, I am so sorry this is happening to you. By the way the BFIB wanted me to tell u that on a scale of 1-10, ur troll game is an 11.
Not really, thats just how many WS trophies reside with the best organization in baseball.
Um that would be 27 by the Yankees. Come on I’m a white Sox fan and even I know the Cardinals don’t compare. Maybe second if anything
Prediction: Munoz will never be a major league regular at any point for the rest of his career.
Would be a great pickup for the O’s or Marlins
Chicagoan living in STL and must say that Cardinal fans are loyal and knowledgeable. That being said they will turn on their team quickly if it under performs and the jury is still out on the GM and Manager right now.
What a dolt…Self loathe to your hearts content. Leave the rest of the free thinkers out of the equation. Munoz determines his own purpose, not you. As for your pathetic whining about an “ungrateful country,” I am grateful I do not reside in the Dominican Republic. America suits me just fine.. It appears you think you can live anywhere while going nowhere. You stumble over your own narcissism. May Munoz make the right decision. You? Just another lost soul.