1:00pm: Fermín has been officially recalled with Edman placed on the 10-day IL in a corresponding move due to right wrist inflammation. It’s unclear how long Edman is expected to be out but next week’s All-Star break could mean he only misses a handful of games.
9:13am: Infielder José Fermín is expected to join the Cardinals in Chicago ahead of their series against the White Sox this weekend, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Fermín is already on the 40-man roster but will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Now 24, Fermín was an international signing of the Guardians but came over to the Cardinals in November. The Guards had a roster crunch prior to the Rule 5 draft last year and made a few trades that month, sending Nolan Jones to the Rockies, Carlos Vargas to the Diamondbacks and Fermín to the Cards.
Fermín’s reputation as a prospect is generally one of a high-contact, low-power infielder. He’s only struck out in 10.7% of his minor league plate appearances, a rate less than half of the 22.7% major league average here in 2023. But he’s also only hit 24 home runs in his 1,758 trips to the plate. He’s generally considered a strong enough defender to play shortstop while also spending some time at second and third base.
Coming into this season, Fermin would have competed for a bench spot for the Cards but he suffered a strained quadriceps during Spring Training and was shut down, eliminating his chances of cracking the Opening Day roster. He didn’t get into a minor league game until early June and has only suited up for 17 contests so far this year, hitting .180/.296/.328 in that small sample.
The Cardinals are known to value versatility in their players and are likely attracted to his ability to provide quality defense at multiple infield positions, especially since the club has been dealing with a few injuries related to their infield depth of late. Tommy Edman has been dealing with wrist soreness lately and though an MRI showed no structural damage, per Goold, Edman didn’t start the past two games. Brendan Donovan also missed some time recently with arm soreness and has been serving as the designated hitter since then. Both of those players have been bumped to the outfield as Paul DeJong and Nolan Gorman handle the middle infield most days, but their nagging injuries could be enough to compel the Cards to add another bench player with some infield capabilities. The corresponding move will perhaps shed some more light on the situation later today.
Why not promote Masyn Winn?
Because they are not in a Winn now situation.
Bravo!
2 reasons.
#1 Wynn needs to play every day. He won’t get that opportunity. Only look for Wynn to come up this year if dejong and Donovan get traded or at roster expansion time.
#2 Wynn won’t be getting traded. Fermin, on the other hand, is holding a 40 man spit and could very well get dealt in some kind of deL. Could be a way for teams to see him in action
The smart move would be trade dejong to the dodgers with flaherty . bring wynn up to get his feet wet before depending on him next year. The only reason to keep Wynn down is you are trying to win this year.
probably an OF gets traded , tommy will stay in CF with flexibility to play anywhere when needed.. Walker and Wynn need to play everyday now that the cards are out of it..
Fermin is padding and has no trade value.
And what makes you think the Dodgers want either DeJong or Flaherty, let alone both? And what are the Dodgers sending back in return?
The Dodgers could use a starting pitcher and a shortstop. The Cardinals should kick in some money to help with DeJong’s salary, and the return would be one or two okay prospects.
DeJong is making a little over $9 million while giving league average offense at a premium defensive position. The only way the Cardinals send money with DeJong is if the Dodgers up the return in exchange for staying under the CBT.
The only thing the Cardinals should be getting back is pitching, pitching and more pitching. The Dodgers have some good pitching prospects. They won’t send Miller. They may send Stone or Sheehan.
Fermin has no trade value. Definitely not showcasing him. He’s there for depth.
No need to start Winn’s arbitration clock. I don’t expect him to reach the majors until at least mid-April next season.
the cardinals are a mindless team
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
Edman has either been hurt for a little while or is simply fatigued, but in either case he needs a break. He’s offering very little at the plate.
playing thru sore wrist
He’s never offered a whole lot at the plate
Edman has to be totally exhausted. I think the Cardinals have forgotten just how much mental plays into your game when your placed into a different defensive position, especially center field. It definitely has played a role in his diminished offense. He has played the position admirably but does not have a center field arm. As long as the Cardinals keep playing players out of position they can expect this outcome. We have only two center fielders, in Carlson & Nootbar.
Thanks Mike! Gotta love those World Series Titles the Devil Rays have in their trophy case.
Ready to play out of position, Jose? Well you’ve come to the right place! Go ahead and put on the equipment. You’ll be catching tonight. Never caught before? Hey, you’re a bright guy – you’ll figure it out!
So true. You can however prepare them to play a different position before reaching the bigs.
I see no reason for this move unless DeJong is being traded.
If Donovan can’t throw, who else in the roster can play short stop if Dejong gets hurt?
Edman. Fermin can’t hit a lick in the minors. I don’t see him hitting at all in the majors.
They just updated the article. Makes sense except Fermín looks like the 2022 version of DeJong.
This guy’s bat is awful. Must be a helluva defensive player to deserve a promotion to the show.
Well, they made Marmol the manager, soooo…
Now that I’ve looked up how Fermin is doing at Memphis, I don’t understand the move at all.
Why promote someone failing at AAA? Querecuto isn’t tearing up the place but he’s doing much better than Fermin.
More important, how can the Cardinals front office and manager continue to fumble? You guys never draft high which means development and scouting seems to be doing their job.
Didn’t get the pitching they needed. It’s showing.
The front office and manager are the main problem. Flores does the scouting and drafting. He and his group are the only front office people I would keep. There will have to be a purge either after this year or after an equally disasterous 2024. The mass exodus of coaches this past offseason should have let everyone know that something is rotten in St. Louis.
Unfortunately many “fans” seem to not be smart.
Yes MO likes a yes man as a GM although him and the FO never learned a damn thing from TLR who always told them what he needed to win and if you got him something he made it work.
But the FO is all aligned too, Dewitt seems to like YES men himself, he’s an owner who’s making bank off of us supporting the team for many years, yes I love that we are spoiled for 20 years without a losing season but the signs have been apparent we have lacked an ace and #2 for a while. Some awful trades such as the Ozuna trade you know the ones fans wanted look how that backfired. We lost two young aces who are tearing it up now Gallen and Sandy. I know we have some talent in the minors but we no longer sign guys like a Lohse or Carpenter. Our pitching development seems to be lacking too. I also wonder how much losing Chris Carpenter to the Angels hurt as he’s been a great mentor to many.
Let’s hope we can get a 2nd half streak or make some smart roster clearing moves to make way for Walker, Gorman, Wynn everyday roles.
Nah, but let’s fire Schildt after winning seasons. Mozeliak is starting to act like Jerry Jones – just making terrible calls because he knows St Louisans will buy tickets no matter who he puts on the field.
I don’t see a second half streak after offloading Montgomery, Flaherty, Hicks, Stratton, and likely DeJong. I look for the record to get worse.
Alcantara currently has an ERA over 4 and is walking a career high number of batters. He isn’t tearing anything up but his hopes at another extension.
“THE CARDINALS ARE BACK BABY!!!”
What a bleep show.
I’m sure this move has underlying implications, because like most have said, on the surface it doesn’t make sense. Cards have been heavily linked to Seattle past few days but it seems like Seattle is making George Kirby untouchable which makes some sense. But, at least we know that the Cards minds are on the right track by pursuing young controllable pitching that is not only MLB ready, but is a solid #2 or #3 type. Another Seattle pitcher they’ll probably pivot to would be Logan Gilbert, he doesn’t have as much control left, but is still in the same make up as Kirby. Seattle needs young position players with upside, and we are deep there. I look for the Cardinals to strike a deal with Seattle pretty soon for one of their MLB ready arms. Gilbert, Woo ,and maybe even Kirby but to a lesser degree. Unfortunately, these deals are gonna hurt. Look for Edman, Carlson, O,Neill, Burleson, Baker, and possibly Nootbaar to be heavily discussed. Of course it is Mo and DeWitt we’re talking about here, so I’m sure whatever they do will require “patience” on the fans part and make zero sense. LOL
Absolutely nothing about trading Edman, Carlson, O’Neil, Burleson, Baker, or Nootbar would hurt.
Nootbaar and Tommy aren’t going anywhere. Tommy was one of the best players in baseball last year with years of control, and Nootbaar has far too high of a ceiling and popularity to trade. You don’t trade your key position players for pitchers. Especially when you don’t have anyone that can replace them. You just create more holes.
This is exactly why I think they should trade Nootbar. I don’t get how he’s linked to Jordan Walker as “ untouchable”. He’s valuable as a good 4th OF. Replacement level CF, and slightly above average corner OF. If he does have this superstar value he’s one of the few Cards who could bring back a major league ready controllable starting pitcher. It’s the whole Cardinals nostalgia thing, keep batting a guy 3rd and putting him in CF because he has a cool name. Not sure what this sky high ceiling is. Scouting report I saw put his future value at 35 on the 20-80 scale. That’s poor-below avg. I’ll admit he’s probably beat that, but I don’t think he grade above a 50 personally. Out of O’Neill, Carlson, Burleson, Yepez, and Gomez, Noot probably is the only one any team would give something up for at this point in the season.
Nootbaar has a much higher floor than walker. Walker is a historically bad defensive player. His future is likely at first base or DH. High chance he turns into a Josh Bell type player which isn’t exactly exciting be any stretch. You’re using scouting reports before he made major adjustments to his game. They mean nothing. Every team wants Nootbaar for a reason. He’s a 5 tool player that could be a special player if he puts it all together, but at worse Nootbaar is a slightly above average starting outfielder with his great defense, great base running and excellent eye. He easily has one of the highest trade values on the team and is too important of a player to move for pitching. Especially when they can just look for guys in free agency. If the cardinals were smart they would move walker for a top pitching prospect or package for a top young starter in the majors.
I think great might be a bit of an overstatement. He was the third best defensive CF on the team and if you count O’Neill he’s probably the 4th best defensive outfielder. I know there’s more to base running than just SB’s, but he hasn’t gotten to double digits once in his career. He does have a good eye, but that just pushes his .250ish avg up to a .350ish OBP. His 2022 season is starting to look like just as much as an outlier as O’Neill and Carlsons 2021 seasons except with only above average and not gold glove caliber defense.
“High chance” that the previous #1 prospect Jordan Walker turns into Josh Bell?? Based on what, your video games and couch scouting? GTFO
He’s rocking a solid -1 WAR right now. He’s been absolutely unplayable. How many players are that bad in their rookie season and turn out to be great players? Between his historically bad defense and launch angle problems josh bell might be best case scenario.
He’s the best defensive centerfielder on the team outside of Tommy who should be at second, and he is inarguably the best defensive right fielder on the team. His 2022 season and 2023 are almost identical so I have no idea what you’re talking about. He’s had some injury problems that have stalled his performance this year but there is no reason not to be optimistic about his future performance. Cardinal fans aren’t happy unless every player turns out to be a superstar immediately. He’s a solid player with upside for a lot more.
Most players in their rookie season aren’t put in a position that they have under a year of experience playing. He probably is the 1B of the future if we’re being honest, assuming his bat continues to develop. I don’t think Josh Bell is a fair comparison, I think he will be much more consistent of a hitter. However, I think you’re also right that Nootbar has a much higher floor. Very high on Noot here, but also high on Walker. I think they’re both worthy of being excited about.
Seattle is not trading starters at this point in the season. They’re only 4 games out of the wildcard.
Edman and either Flaherty or Montgomery for Gilbert and taking Wong and his contract might move the needle? Woo and Wong? But anybody trading with Seattle would have to send pitching and take on Wong.
I think the deals the Cards are going to make are for the pitchers we have (Monty, Hicks, and Jack) I think they are going to go after prospects only with very little service time. The Cards have four pitchers ranked in their top 5 prospects already.
I don’t think this is foreshadowing. With Tommy on the shelf and Donovan unable to throw, we need another infielder. Pretty straight forward. Nothing I’ve seen or heard from the Cardinals makes me think there is big roster turnover coming in the next few weeks. This regime seems pretty committed to their plan. They believe this season is a one off caused by growing pains. I think they will largely stay the course because they obviously aren’t feeling any pressure from above to make changes. They don’t feel pressure from below. We are pawns in their game. DeWitt hasn’t even bothered to issue the obligatory “vote of confidence” to indicate the seats are getting hot.
Yes, they didn’t have the info about Edman going on the IL originally.
I know it seems unlikely, but what if this move is about preserving Tommy for a trade? I never really bought into some of the theories he would be traded, and of course I don’t think it’s a good idea, but the Cards have really messed with my head this season. Now I’m full blown conspiracy theorist that he’s as good as gone now. LOL. Could they be desperate enough for long term pitching that he gets moved?
Trading DeJong makes more sense to me. Then again, the return for Edman would be much better. I think one of them will be traded.
That makes sense to me too, which is why I’m afraid they will trade Tommy.
I’m not a pawn in their game anymore. I wouldn’t go to the stadium even if tickets were free, unless it’s a playoff game (for free). No more hats, shirts, or memorabilia of any sort. Little by little, year after year, I’m disconnecting from the game, but it’s hard giving up on something I love.
I could have seen STL pushing hard for Bieber, but they are now too far out of it to make that worthwhile unless they want to solely focus on 2024. Bieber has one year of control left. Guardians need a couple OFs with pop, but they’re definitely not gonna take the always injured O’Neill, though Yepez may intrigue them. They don’t need any INFs, so beyond Yepez I’m not sure what the Cards have that CLE would find attractive.
Bieber isn’t all that attractive. You should probably look at his advanced stats. I’d not be giving up a ton for him at this point.
He can sit next Baker.
The Jose Fermin era has begun……