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Cardinals Notes: Offseason, Closers, Hitting, Fowler, Lynn

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Some items from the Cardinals’ season-end press conference, as per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (link one, link two)…

  • The Cards will be looking for a middle-of-the-lineup slugger this winter to boost the lineup.  “For us, we have a talented team, but when you look at our club, no one stood out as an All-Star, that threat,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said.  Seven Cards regulars were above-average run-creators in 2017 as per the wRC+ metric, though injuries and a lack of regular playing time impacted that group.  Josh Donaldson has been rumored to be one of the Cardinals’ offseason targets, and would certainly fit the bill as a big lineup upgrade if St. Louis is able to pry him away from the Blue Jays.
  • With Trevor Rosenthal sidelined by Tommy John surgery, the Cards will look into adding ninth-inning help, even if they’re wary of shopping at the high end of the free agent closer market. “Ideally, you don’t pay retail for closers if you can avoid it, and we’ve been lucky for the last long period of not having to dip into that end of the market.  But we don’t have an heir apparent at the moment, so we will have to evaluate what our options are,” GM Michael Girsch said.
  • Flexibility seems to be the key word for this Cardinals’ offseason, as with so many multi-positional players on the roster, the club has several options in deciding who could potentially stay or go.  (And who could be added, in regards to acquiring that big bat.)  Mozeliak said that catcher Yadier Molina is the only position player who has his spot on the field firmly established for 2018.  This means that Dexter Fowler could potentially move out of center field, which Mozeliak said will likely be discussed in the coming weeks.  2016 was the only season of Fowler’s career that saw him post positive numbers in the Defensive Runs Saved and UZR/150 categories, as he struggled to minus-18 DRS and -9.9 UZR/150 last year over 933 1/3 IP in center field.
  • The Cardinals have yet to decide whether or not to issue a qualifying offer to free agent starter Lance Lynn.  If Lynn rejected the QO, the Cards would be in line for compensation (an extra draft pick just prior to the third round) if he signed elsewhere.  If he accepted, then he’d return to St. Louis on a one-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $18.1MM.  After missing all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery, Lynn returned to post very solid numbers this season and pitched 186 1/3 innings, which could quiet concerns about his post-surgery durability.  Even with such a major recent injury on his record, Lynn is likely to find a good multi-year deal on the open market, so one would think he’d reject a QO.

Cardinals Fire Derek Lilliquist, Blaise Ilsley

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  • Derek Lilliquist has been informed that he will not be the Cardinals’ pitching coach next year, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). The search for his replacement is ongoing, but Goold adds in a separate tweet that Cardinals’ Triple-A pitching coach Bryan Eversgerd is a potential candidate. In yet a third tweet, Goold mentions that bullpe coach Blaise Ilsley also did not have his contract renewed, but that president of baseball ops John Mozeliak expects that all other coaches will return.

Dexter Fowler Expects To Stay With Cardinals

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  • The Cardinals may deal from their surplus of outfielders this offseason, but the highest-paid member of the bunch, Dexter Fowler, seems unlikely to go anywhere. When the Cardinals signed Fowler to a five-year, $82.5MM contract last winter, they included a no-trade clause in the deal. Now, Fowler tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he and his family love their new city. He also enjoys being part of the Cardinals organization. “I see myself being here for a long time. It’s what I signed up for,” the center fielder said. “That’s what my contract says. I’m looking to build a legacy with my teammates.” Fowler had a terrific offensive season to kick off his Redbirds tenure, hitting .264/.363/.488 with 18 home runs in 491 plate appearances, but injuries limited him to 118 games and advanced metrics indicate he had a rough time in the field (minus-18 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-5.9 Ultimate Zone Rating).

Cardinals Notes: Outfield, Tuivailala, Pitching Staff

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Outfielder Randal Grichuk ended not only his 2017 season but possibly his Cardinals career with a solo home run on Sunday, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards have an oft-discussed glut of outfielders with Grichuk, Dexter Fowler, Stephen Piscotty, Tommy Pham, Harrison Bader and Magneuris Sierra all on the big league roster, plus prospect Tyler O’Neill in Triple-A Memphis. St. Louis will look to reduce its redundancies on the roster this winter, and Goold points out that the arbitration-eligible Grichuk carries a similar profile to the powerful-but-strikeout-prone O’Neill. Controllable through 2020, the 26-year-old Grichuk brings significant power (career .239 ISO) and a center-field-capable glove to the table but has also continually struggled to make contact. Through 1386 MLB plate appearances, Grichuk has a 29.9 percent strikeout rate. In 442 PAs in 2017, he hit .238/.285/.473 with 22 long balls and a 30.1 percent strikeout rate.

More out of St. Louis…

  • Right-hander Sam Tuivailala will be out of options in 2018, and his strong finish to the season looks to have earned him a spot in next year’s bullpen, writes Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch. “He’s continued to move his way up in how we viewed him,” said manager Mike Matheny. The 24-year-old Tuivailala was optioned to the minors on three different occasions in 2017, his final option year, but wound up totaling 42 1/3 innings with a 2.55 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, a 48.8 percent ground-ball rate and a strong 23.4 percent weak-contact rate. President of baseball ops John Mozeliak tells Hummel that he’s long been excited about “Tui,” but the righty simply hasn’t had consistent opportunities until late in the year. “I think he finished strong, and I think he helped himself,” said Mozeliak.
  • While the Cardinals’ bullpen gets much of the blame for the team missing the postseason, Bernie Miklasz of ESPN 101 points out that St. Louis relievers ranked well in both ERA and Win Probability Added — even late in the year after the loss of Trevor Rosenthal. However, the starting rotation faltered significantly, Miklasz writes, failing to make it to the fifth inning in six of the team’s final 13 games and posting an ERA just shy of 5.00 over the Cardinals’ final 42 games of the year. While there’s undoubtedly work to be done in the ’pen this winter, the rotation indeed looks like an area in need of reinforcements as well. Lance Lynn is set to hit the open market, and Adam Wainwright is undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery tomorrow — further creating uncertainty on the starting staff.

Matt Carpenter Won't Require Shoulder Surgery

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  • Matt Carpenter won’t require surgery on his right shoulder, he tells MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (Twitter link).  An MRI revealed only inflammation in the shoulder, which has been a nagging concern for the Cardinals infielder.  Possibly due to the injury, Carpenter saw drops in his batting average and slugging percentage from his previous two seasons, though he was still quite productive, hitting .241/.384/.451 with 23 home runs over 622 plate appearances for St. Louis.
  • Earlier today on MLBTR, we checked in with more notes from both Central divisions, including items on the Royals, Indians, Cardinals and Tigers.

Adam Wainwright To Undergo Arthroscopic Elbow Surgery

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  • Cardinals righty Adam Wainwright will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his pitching elbow on Tuesday, per Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The procedure won’t jeopardize Wainwright’s spring training availability or his spot in the Redbirds’ rotation next year, according to manager Mike Matheny. Wainwright went on the disabled list with an elbow impingement Aug. 18 and only pitched one more time in 2017, on Sept. 23. The former ace finished the season with a career-worst ERA and walk rate (5.11 and 3.28, respectively) over 123 1/3 innings.

Jose Martinez Could Be Cards' Regular First Baseman In 2018

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  • Jose Martinez will have an opportunity to win the Cardinals’ first base job in 2018, manager Mike Matheny suggested to reporters, including Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, on Saturday. “He’s going to fight for it. I don’t know why he couldn’t (be the regular first baseman),” said Matheny, who also named Luke Voit as a candidate for the role. The majority of the work at first this year has gone to franchise linchpin Matt Carpenter, but he could shift back to second/third base next season. Like Carpenter, Martinez has been one of the Cards’ top offensive players in 2017. In his first extensive action in the majors, the 29-year-old rookie has batted an excellent .306/.377/.517 with 14 home runs in 306 PAs. Voit, a 26-year-old rookie, has hit .252/.308/.441 in 120 PAs.

Juan Nicasio Wants To Re-Sign With Cardinals

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  • The Cardinals have discussed a new contract with impending free agent reliever Juan Nicasio, who made it clear Saturday that he’d like to re-sign with the club. “Try and make a good deal. I want to stay here,” Nicasio told his agent (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, on Twitter). Acquired in a trade with Philadelphia on Sept. 6, Nicasio has served as the Cardinals’ closer down the stretch and thrown 10 innings of two-run ball with the team. In 71 1/3 innings divided among Pittsburgh, Philly and St. Louis this season, the 31-year-old has put up a 2.61 ERA and logged 8.69 K/9 against 2.49 BB/9.

Cardinals Notes: Lynn, Nicasio

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  • The Cardinals don’t expect extensions with any of their upcoming free agents before the season is over, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.  This includes Lance Lynn, whose representatives haven’t had any in-depth talks with the club about a new deal.  When asked if Thursday’s start could be his last with the Cardinals, Lynn said it “certainly looks that way.”  Lynn looks to be one of the top pitchers available in this year’s free agent market, and it appears he’ll be departing a Cards rotation that will mostly be relying on promising younger arms in 2018.
  • Also from Goold’s article, he reports that the Cardinals have been in touch with Juan Nicasio about a new deal.  Nicasio came to St. Louis after a rather surprising series of transactions that saw the right-hander waived by the Pirates, claimed by the Phillies and then dealt to the Cards all within a week’s time at the end of August and in early September.  No matter the uniform, Nicasio pitched well, posting a 2.65 ERA, 3.55 K/BB rate and 71 strikeouts over 71 1/3 innings for his three teams, making a league-high 75 appearances.  The Cardinals have clearly liked what they’ve seen in their short time with Nicasio on the roster and may be trying to lock Nicasio up before he hits the open market.

Cardinals Expected To Pursue Josh Donaldson In Trade Talks

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  • The Cardinals “are expected to strongly pursue” a trade for Josh Donaldson during the offseason, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (via Twitter).  The Cards’ internal interest in Donaldson was initially reported last July though at that time, no offers had been made.  Jedd Gyorko saw the bulk of action at third base for St. Louis last season (with Greg Garcia getting a fair amount of action as a left-handed hitting complement) and Gyorko could be a possible candidate to be headed back to the Blue Jays as part of a deal.  The Cardinals have a surplus of both outfielders and multi-positional infielders, so they’re a fit for Toronto’s needs as potential trade partners.  Of course, there hasn’t been any indication that the Jays are actually shopping their star third baseman.  Donaldson is a free agent after the 2018 season, though with the Jays planning to contend next year, it would take a massive offer to get them to part ways with the former AL MVP.
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