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Jordan Walden To Miss Start Of Season

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Cardinals reliever Jordan Walden experienced shoulder soreness while pitching in a Spring Training game today and will not be ready for the start of the season, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes. Walden will visit a doctor instead of going north with the team. Walden missed most of 2015 due to a rotator cuff injury, but was reportedly healthy coming into camp.

When healthy, Walden can be a difference-maker out of the bullpen — in 2014, before heading to St. Louis in the Jason Heyward / Shelby Miller trade, he posted a 2.88 ERA, 11.2 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 50 innings with the Braves. He was only able to pitch 10 1/3 innings in his first season with the Cardinals, however, not appearing in a game again after April 29.

With Walden out, the Cardinals will have an additional spot open in their bullpen. Goold names Matt Bowman (a Rule 5 pick from the Mets organization who worked as a starter in Triple-A last year) and Juan Gonzalez as pitchers who now might be on the roster bubble.

Rule 5 Pick Bowman On Roster Bobble; Oquendo May Miss Season

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  • Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo will be taking a medical leave of absence to recover from offseason knee surgery, the club told reporters today (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).  Manager Mike Matheny said the Cards are preparing as if Oquendo will miss the entire season, and several members of the St. Louis coaching staff have shuffled positions.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says that the team’s decision on Rule 5 right-hander Matt Bowman “could come down to the final hour,” as Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes.  The Cardinals selected Bowman off of the Mets’ roster in December, making him their first Rule 5 selection in four years.  Roughly two weeks ago, ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin reported that Bowman was “more likely than not” to make the cut in St. Louis.
  • Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo will be taking a medical leave of absence to recover from offseason knee surgery, the club told reporters today (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).  Manager Mike Matheny said the Cards are preparing as if Oquendo will miss the entire season, and several members of the St. Louis coaching staff have shuffled positions.

Trevor Rosenthal Still Wants A Chance To Start

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  • Trevor Rosenthal of the Cardinals, meanwhile, has established himself as one of the game’s best relievers, but still hopes to have a chance to return at some point to the rotation, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Rosenthal mostly pitched as a starter in the brief time he spent in the minors, but has operated exclusively in relief at the major league level. Though he didn’t take issue with his 9th-inning role, Rosenthal said he “would definitely like to have [a starting] opportunity,” preferably “sooner rather than later.” Of course, his role is highly unlikely to change this spring or over the season to come, and it remains to be seen whether the organization will be willing to tinker next spring. Rosenthal’s work as a closer has already earned him a $5.6MM payday in his first of three years of arbitration.

Cardinals Right Not To Lean On Aledmys Diaz Yet

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Signing Ruben Tejada to be their starting shortstop, rather than promoting Aledmys Diaz to the job, was the right move for the Cardinals, Bernie Miklasz writes for 101Sports.com. Diaz went 4-for-4 with two doubles in the Spring Training game after Jhonny Peralta went down with a thumb injury. But his production has since slowed, and Diaz has very little experience in Triple-A (where he was optioned Sunday after Tejada’s signing became official). It’s best for him to begin his season there to see if he can build on the success he enjoyed in the second half of last season, Miklasz argues. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

Ruben Tejada Provides Cardinals With Flexibility

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  • GM John Mozeliak says the Cardinals’ signing of Ruben Tejada increases the team’s flexibility, MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince writes. “There is a level of fatigue in this game that was not discussed 10, 15, 20 years ago,” says Mozeliak, whose Cardinals were the victims of what seemed like an unusually long list of injuries last year (although Castrovince notes that they were lucky to have four players, including Peralta, appear in at least 150 games). “One of the things we wanted to do was just make sure, as the season turns to July, August and September, is just make sure our guys are fresh.” Tejada presumably will take over for Jhonny Peralta at shortstop while Peralta recovers from a thumb injury, with Jedd Gyorko returning to the utility role the Cards originally planned for him. But Tejada doesn’t seem to be taking a starting job for granted. “I just came here to play, to do my best,” he says through an interpreter. “Whatever my performance is on the field, there’s going to be a decision made [off of that].”

Matt Holliday Working On Learning First Base

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  • Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday is taking well to learning first base, writes MLB.com’s Richard Justice. “I think having played third base for a few seasons in the Minor Leagues definitely helped,” says Holliday. “There’s definitely a little bit of an adjustment period being that close in. But I feel like I’ve played a long time and I’m athletic enough that with the proper training and work, I can do it.” Holliday has never played first in the regular season in his long big-league career, but he’s appeared there in five games this spring. Once the season starts, Holliday still figures to take his share of time in the outfield. Two young outfielders, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty, already are in line for everyday at-bats, but playing Holliday at first on occasion would potentially allow another younger player, Tommy Pham, more playing time. Brandon Moss will also figure into the Cardinals’ first base and outfield mix.

Cardinals Sign Ruben Tejada

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The Cardinals have announced that they’ve signed shortstop Ruben Tejada to a one-year, big-league contract. Tejada will receive $1.5MM, Jon Heyman tweets. MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch was first to report that a deal was imminent (Twitter links). Tejada is a client of the Legacy Agency.

Feb 26, 2016; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada (11) is seen during spring training work out drills at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets released Tejada earlier this week. He reportedly rejected a minor-league deal with the Yankees in hopes of finding a big-league deal with another team, and it appears he’s found one. Jhonny Peralta is out ten to 12 weeks after having thumb surgery, which had left the Cardinals without a legitimate starting shortstop — Jedd Gyorko, Greg Garcia and Aledmys Diaz topped the team’s list of internal options.

Tejada now looks like the Cardinals’ presumptive starter at the position until Peralta returns. Tejada’s sudden appearance on the free agent market at this late date provided the Cardinals with the opportunity to acquire something resembling a proven shortstop, albeit one with some drawbacks. The 26-year-old batted a reasonable .261/.338/.350 with New York last season and generally does a good job reaching base, thanks to a good batting eye. He has little power, however and has yet to have a truly strong offensive season, with a .696 OPS as a 21-year-old rating as his finest season at the plate. Metrics rate his defense as about average over the course of his career, though both DRS and UZR were down on his work in 2015. He also irked the Mets at times with his lack of physical conditioning.

Nonetheless, given Tejada’s experience and his ability to keep his head above water as a big-league shortstop, it’s not surprising that the Cardinals pursued him. He can become a free agent after the season due to a clause in his arbitration agreement with the Mets that awarded him an extra day of service time. (I previously wrote, incorrectly, that there was a possibility the Cardinals could take him through arbitration next winter.)

Tejada and the Mets avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3MM deal last offseason, although the Mets’ plans changed when they acquired middle infielders Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera, and they ultimately owed Tejada only $491K of that $3MM contract after they decided to release him. The Mets’ $3MM deal will therefore have no particular impact on his deal with the Cardinals.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Former Cardinals Minor Leaguer Says He Retired Due To Homophobic Comments

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Former Cardinals minor leaguer Tyler Dunnington, who retired from the game during Spring Training 2015, tells Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com that he chose to leave the game due to homophobic comments and clubhouse culture that made him “miserable in a sport that used to give him life.” Dunnington, who kept his sexual orientation private throughout his baseball career but has come out since retiring, explained that a college coach made a detestable joke about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, and such talk didn’t dissipate upon his arrival in pro ball. A minor league teammate mentioned having a gay brother, and a pair of teammates questioned, in earnest, how anyone could have a homosexual friend, let alone brother. Some went so far as to discuss killing homosexuals, Zeigler writes. The inexcusable behavior isn’t lost on GM John Mozeliak, who told the Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold and Ben Frederickson: “This is very disappointing and our hope is that every player, staff member, and employee feels they are treated equally and fairly. Given the nature of these allegations I will certainly look into this further as well as speak with [MLB Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean] for further assistance on this matter…we will take this very seriously.”

Dunnington hopes to return to the game in a front office role, where he could help to take measures to prevent this type of culture and behavior. “After gaining acceptance from my friends and family I realized I didn’t have to quit baseball to find happiness,” Dunnington said. “I not only wanted to share my story but also apologize for not using the stage I had to help change the game.” Indeed, disturbing as Dunnington’s stories are, the sad reality is that the appalling comments he encountered are almost certainly not unique to the clubhouse he was in nor to the Cardinals organization.

Cardinals Unlikely To Take On Ruben Tejada's Salary Via Claim

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  • ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon looks at the Cardinals’ decision on shortstop Ruben Tejada, whom the Mets just placed on waivers. It appears that St. Louis is more likely to make a play for Tejada if he clears waivers than it is to claim him, though, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

Central Notes: Gee, Tigers, Wacha

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Right-hander Dillon Gee has an opt-out clause in his contract that will allow him to become a free agent if he is not added to the 40-man roster tomorrow, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. (FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reported the March 15 date back in December.) According to Flanagan, the Royals have been impressed by Gee’s early results as well as his bullpen sessions, making him a good bet to land with the club. Gee, 29, has yielded a run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts thus far in camp and could be in line for a bullpen role, where he’d also serve as rotation depth, per Flanagan. The 29-year-old’s contract contains a $2MM base salary and contains $700K worth of incentives based on relief appearances and $3.3MM worth of incentives tied to rotation work. Though he struggled through a down season last year in the Majors and at Triple-A, Gee has a track record as a dependable starter, having pitched to a 3.91 ERA in 639 2/3 innings with the Mets from 2010-14. As Flanagan points out, the Royals have an easy 40-man move to accommodate Gee, should they choose, as lefty Mike Minor can be transferred to the 60-day DL. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

  • The transition from Dave Dombrowski to Al Avila in the Tigers’ front office last year was completed in secret, but that hasn’t stopped Dombrowski from remaining friends, Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes. In early August, Avila received a phone call from owner Mike Ilitch, and Avila (after receiving a host of assurances that the Tigers would be able to commit more heavily to analytics, scouting and the international market) agreed to take the Tigers’ GM job during that conversation, three days before Ilitch fired Dombrowski. The situation was “awkward,”as both Dombrowski and Avila describe it — Avila had been Dombrowski’s assistant GM, and the two had worked together for decades in both the Tigers and Marlins organizations. Still, the two remain friendly. “I’€™m really happy for him,” Dombrowski says. “He’€™s always worked hard, very knowledgeable, and has been very loyal. I know it was awkward, but I’™m glad he got this opportunity.”
  • Cardinals starter Michael Wacha makes an interesting extension candidate, writes Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Frederickson quotes Wacha saying that he isn’t aware of any extension discussions. It’s easy to imagine why there might be mutual interest in a deal, though — an extension could potentially keep Wacha in St. Louis longer, and, as Frederickson implies, would begin to increase in cost just as the Lance Lynn and Jaime Garcia deals are set to expire. Of course, long-term deals for pitchers can be risky (Garcia’s long-term deal, for example, hasn’t gone perfectly), and Wacha has been in the league long enough that an extension would likely require a fairly significant commitment. The last starting pitcher with between two and three years of service time to receive an extension was Corey Kluber, who got $38.5MM guaranteed from the Indians following his 2014 Cy Young season.
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