Headlines

  • Blue Jays To Sign Marcus Semien
  • Tigers To Sign Wilson Ramos
  • Twins To Sign Andrelton Simmons
  • Giants Nearing Agreement With Tommy La Stella
  • Orioles Sign Freddy Galvis
  • No Players Elected To Hall Of Fame
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Cards Set Roles For Kwang Hyun Kim, Carlos Martinez

By Jeff Todd | July 20, 2020 at 9:01pm CDT

The Cardinals have settled upon some pitching roles for the outset of the season, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was among those to cover on Twitter. Newly inked southpaw Kwang-Hyun Kim is headed to a high-leverage relief role, while right-hander Carlos Martinez will step back into the rotation.

This represented one of those good problems in need of resolution. Lacking any health issues to drive a decision, the Cards had to take their pick between two rather appealing choices to round out the starting staff.

Kim inked a two-year, $8MM deal under which the club also posted a $1.6MM fee to his former KBO outfit. Kim was sharp in Spring Training, throwing eight scoreless frames with 11 strikeouts and just one walk. While he made his mark as a starter in Korea, Kim will have to earn his way back into the rotation in St. Louis. Alternatively, he could etch out a prominent gig at the back of the pen, perhaps as a closer.

There’s a model to follow in Martinez himself, who was a high-quality MLB starter for years before health issues intervened. He ended up being shifted back into the pen, where he rung up saves in half of his 48 appearances in 2019. Now, the talented 28-year-old will get a chance to reestablish himself as a starter. It makes sense that the club elected to give him another crack at the rotation. Beyond his established ceiling in that role, Martinez is owed $11.5MM in 2021 with two high-priced club options to follow.

Share 0 Retweet 5 Send via email0

Carlos Martinez Kwang-Hyun Kim St. Louis Cardinals

Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria To Open Season On Injured List
Main
Stevie Wilkerson Suffers Broken Finger
29 comments
newest oldest

Comments

  1. throwinched10

    6 months ago

    Kim would be filthy as the 5th starter.

    3 Like
    Reply
    • 17dizzy

      6 months ago

      Kim would be the better starter between
      Martinez and himself. Martinez’s head fills up with toys in his head after the first jam he gets in. Yadi would appreciate having Kim over Martinez as a starter. Yadi wouldn’t have to go to the mound to chew but to get Martinez back into reality.

      Like
      Reply
  2. Peart of the game

    6 months ago

    Honestly, I’d rather have both Kim and Martinez in the rotation and use Dakota Hudson as a long reliever.

    1 Like
    Reply
    • DarkSide830

      6 months ago

      Hudson was great last year. i wouldn’t mess with that.

      4 Like
      Reply
    • CowboysoldierFTW

      6 months ago

      Agree with you 100%

      Like
      Reply
    • tominco

      6 months ago

      Hudson would be wasted in long relief. And with the early roster size this season do you really need a long reliever.

      1 Like
      Reply
    • paddyo875

      6 months ago

      Some of his peripherals(BABIP, strand rate) indicate he’s due for some regression.

      1 Like
      Reply
      • jbigz12

        6 months ago

        .274 BABIP and a 78% strand rate??

        Those aren’t unsustainable. Maintaining that performance while walking nearly 5 per 9 is the larger impediment I see. High GB pitchers like Hudson can erase those walks with double plays though. Certainly possible for a guy like that to have a higher strand rate.

        1 Like
        Reply
    • cards04

      6 months ago

      He is a contact pitcher who is very effective in getting weak contact. He was good last year. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it

      Like
      Reply
  3. troll

    6 months ago

    kim will be ruined
    carlos is ruined already

    Like
    Reply
    • notyourfriend

      6 months ago

      Haha troll go brrr

      Like
      Reply
  4. zpgreen

    6 months ago

    They should just go with a 6 man rotation. That way you don’t blow out arms in a shortened, abnormal season without the proper ramp up period. Then you can maximize the innings splits. Especially with increased roster sizes and the fact that they are missing 2 of their important bullpen pieces in Hicks and Brebbia.

    3 Like
    Reply
    • Lanidrac

      6 months ago

      That’s why they’ll have stricter pitch counts at the beginning of the season. Besides, you don’t want limit how often Flaherty pitches.

      Also, with those missing bullpen pieces, why would you then thin out the bullpen even further by taking away another reliever to be an extra starter?

      Like
      Reply
      • clayram83

        6 months ago

        Because the extra starter means each starter gets more rest and can pitch deeper into games. That’s the idea, at least. It depends if you think that giving your starters an extra day of rest will let you squeeze an extra inning or two out of them.

        Like
        Reply
        • Lanidrac

          6 months ago

          There’s not going to be much of an effect there, and what little effect there is there is more than made up by having an extra arm in the bullpen.

          Like
          Reply
    • cards04

      6 months ago

      This means Flaherty gets less starts. Hate it

      Like
      Reply
  5. Eephus11

    6 months ago

    Kim doesn’t have much of a scouting report yet in MLB. After the short season in a relief role he can join the rotation next season and force teams to learn his stuff again in the new role. Martinez starting in a short sprint will be the perfect way for him to stay focused and prove he belongs in the rotation. If it doesn’t work out it can always be altered.

    2 Like
    Reply
  6. DarkSide830

    6 months ago

    still no defined closer?

    Like
    Reply
    • JFactor

      6 months ago

      Do they need one or something?

      Like
      Reply
    • stan lee the manly

      6 months ago

      Shildt said that Kim has first crack at closer.

      2 Like
      Reply
    • cards04

      6 months ago

      Who said there has to be a closer named. Clubs have used multiple depending on rest in the past years

      Like
      Reply
  7. AZPat

    6 months ago

    Both players will be traded before the end of August.

    Like
    Reply
  8. Four4fore

    6 months ago

    Kim will be ready when we see if Mikolas elbow is truly healed.

    Like
    Reply
    • stan lee the manly

      6 months ago

      Mikolas didn’t have an elbow problem, it was tendonitis in his forearm.

      Like
      Reply
      • Peart of the game

        6 months ago

        Forearm issues tends to be a symptom of a torn UCL

        Like
        Reply
        • stan lee the manly

          6 months ago

          That does not mean that he had an elbow injury. He didn’t, the MRI was clean. Hence the tendonitits diagnosis. Every tendonitis case is not a UCL problem

          Like
          Reply
    • n2thecards

      6 months ago

      I hope his arm is okay. The limited rampup has us all concerned, right?

      Like
      Reply
  9. Natecbar

    6 months ago

    Flaherty is too good too only be starting once every 6 days

    Like
    Reply
  10. fannclub6

    6 months ago

    Given the Cards luck and history, there will be an injury and KK will be a starter within 2-3 weeks

    Like
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Blue Jays To Sign Marcus Semien

    Tigers To Sign Wilson Ramos

    Twins To Sign Andrelton Simmons

    Giants Nearing Agreement With Tommy La Stella

    Orioles Sign Freddy Galvis

    No Players Elected To Hall Of Fame

    Phillies To Sign J.T. Realmuto

    Indians, Cesar Hernandez Agree To New Deal

    Nationals Sign Brad Hand

    Mets Have Made Offer To Trevor Bauer

    Recent

    Blue Jays To Sign Marcus Semien

    Infield Notes: Phillies, Simmons, Wong, Tigers, Paredes

    Tigers To Sign Wilson Ramos

    Twins To Sign Andrelton Simmons

    Giants Nearing Agreement With Tommy La Stella

    Updating Our MLB Agency Database

    Orioles Sign Freddy Galvis

    No Players Elected To Hall Of Fame

    Latest On The Issue Of A Delayed Spring Training

    Twins GM Thad Levine Discusses Offseason

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Trevor Bauer Rumors
    • Kris Bryant Rumors
    • J.T. Realmuto Rumors
    • Marcell Ozuna Rumors
    • Masahiro Tanaka Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version