- Jhonny Peralta’s timeline to return to the Cardinals after thumb surgery is set at 10 to 12 weeks, writes ESPN’s Mark Saxon. That was the initial timeline came with his injury, though reports at the time of his surgical procedure speculated that a return closer to the All-Star break was possible. Rather, the 10- to 12-week period would set Peralta up for a return in late May or mid June, barring setbacks in his recovery. Peralta tells Saxon that he’s listening to advice from teammate Yadier Molina, who had a similar injury in each of the past two seasons. Speaking of Molina, Saxon notes that he took batting practice for the first time on Monday, though his Opening Day status remains uncertain.
Cardinals Rumors
Quick Hits: Chacin, Morneau, Wright, Fowler, Cardinals
Jhoulys Chacin has pitched well for the Braves in his Spring Training outings and, perhaps most importantly for the righty, his troublesome shoulder is feeling good. “When I signed, my mindset was just to come to Spring Training as strong as I could be and to just pitch the only way I know how to pitch….I just want to go through all of this year and the rest of my career with my shoulder strong,” Chacin tells MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. It would be a nice bargain for Atlanta if Chacin returned to the form he showed when he was a healthy and productive member of the Rockies staff, as Chacin is only signed to a minor league deal. Here’s some more from around baseball…
- “Nothing has materialized” for Justin Morneau this offseason, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes, though the veteran first baseman isn’t announcing his retirement. Morneau said in November that he was adamant about continuing his career after working to come back from concussion and neck issues, though those same injuries limited him to just 49 games in 2015. Health questions notwithstanding, Morneau did hit .316/.363/.487 with 20 homers in 732 PA over the last two seasons and he won the NL batting title in 2014, so it’s rather surprising that his market has been almost entirely quiet. The Indians were the only club known to have interest and they went with Mike Napoli instead due to Napoli’s right-handed bat. Morneau is the last member of MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents still looking for a new team.
- Also from Cafardo, he notes that Red Sox right-hander Steven Wright is out of options and “a few teams are watching Wright’s camp with great anticipation.” Wright, a knuckleballer, could still make Boston’s big league roster as a reliever or possibly as the team’s fifth starter if Eduardo Rodriguez is not healthy to start the year.
- Dexter Fowler spoke to Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com about the surprising turn of events that saw the outfielder re-sign with the Cubs. Despite media reports that had Fowler all but officially signed with the Orioles, Fowler said he and Baltimore “never really were close” to an agreement. “They wanted me to pay them what they said the draft choice I was costing them was valued at. They wanted me to pay them for the pick. So we said, OK, then give me an opt-out after one year, and they said that’s something they won’t do,” Fowler said. Casey Close, Fowler’s agent, also commented on the situation last month and had some harsh words for both the Orioles and the media.
- Also from Gammons, he notes that it isn’t the Cardinals’ style to make rash moves, so the club is likely to be cautious in gauging their response to Jhonny Peralta’s injury absence. St. Louis was linked to Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed earlier today, though Gammons thinks Arizona wouldn’t settle for anything less than a top minor leaguer like righty Luke Weaver (ranked by Baseball America as the Cards’ fourth-best prospect).
- Matthew Bowman is “more likely than not” to make the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster as a reliever, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com writes. Bowman was plucked off of the Mets’ roster in December’s Rule 5 draft. The 24-year-old has pitched mostly as a starter in his minor league career and it would be somewhat of a surprise to see him pass several veteran options to lock down a bullpen job. As a Rule 5 pick, of course, Bowman has to stay on the St. Louis 25-man roster all season or else be offered back to the Mets.
Cardinals Considering Nick Ahmed
The Cardinals will be without shortstop Jhonny Peralta for up to three months and they are exploring options to help replace him at shortstop. One player that the organization is considering is Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.
Cafardo cautions that the Cardinals are “just starting” their search process for shortstops, but Ahmed is, at the very least, on the list of potential trade targets for St. Louis. As it stands, the Cardinals’ internal candidates to fill in at short are Jedd Gyorko, Aledmys Diaz, and Greg Garcia. For different reasons, none of those three players are ideal for the role. Gyorko was ID’d by some as the main candidate to fill-in for Peralta early on, but he has limited experience at the shortstop position.
It’s not hard to imagine the Diamondbacks parting with the defensively-gifted Ahmed for the right price. The D’Backs could start Chris Owings at second base and Jean Segura at shortstop, making Ahmed somewhat expendable. On Sunday morning, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that one Diamondbacks official indicated that he would be comfortable seeing Ahmed relegated to a utility role or made into a trade candidate.
Peralta’s timetable on his left thumb injury could theoretically line him up for a return in early June, but Mark Saxon of ESPN reported that his return would more likely be around the All-Star break in July. Last week, MLBTR’s Steve Adams ran down possible replacements the Cardinals could bring in for the injured Peralta. Steve listed Ahmed as a trade possibility, along with D’Backs teammate Chris Owings and several other interesting names.
Central Notes: Cardinals, White Sox, Holaday
The Cardinals haven’t called the Braves about shortstop Erick Aybar, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. St. Louis is looking to fill a void at shortstop left by injured veteran Jhonny Peralta. As we heard a few days ago, the Braves have a high asking price for Aybar. Given that he’s under contract for just one more season and declined last year, it’s no surprise St. Louis is exploring other options. Heyman mentions Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada as a cheaper alternative. For their part, the Mets are willing to trade Tejada despite an injury to Asdrubal Cabrera that could cause him to begin the season on the disabled list, per Adam Rubin of ESPN. The club is confident in less experienced depth pieces like Matt Reynolds and Gavin Cecchini.
- Earlier tonight, we heard the Rangers made an offer to Austin Jackson prior to signing Ian Desmond. In an interesting bit of symmetry, the White Sox tried to sign Desmond to play shortstop for north of $4MM, tweets Heyman. The nonspecific nature of the report makes it hard for us to compare the White Sox offer with Desmond’s eventual $8MM payday with Texas. As Heyman notes, the White Sox went on to spend $10MM on Jackson, Mat Latos, and Jimmy Rollins.
- The Tigers are considering rostering three catchers to start the season, writes Aaron McMann of MLive.com. Third string catcher Bryan Holaday is off to a 7-for-11 start to the spring with three home runs, but he’s firmly behind James McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia on the depth chart. The club has always liked Holaday per GM Al Avila and may want to avoid exposing him to waivers. The availability of Cameron Maybin for the start of the season will affect Holaday’s bid for a roster spot. Maybin is currently sidelined for three to five weeks with a broken wrist.
Asdrubal Cabrera Shut Down For Two Weeks With Knee Injury
12:10pm: The Cardinals are indeed interested in Tejada, reports ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin, but the injury to Cabrera decreases the likelihood that the Mets will trade Tejada, he adds.
10:43am: The Mets announced that shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera has been shut down from all baseball activity for the next two weeks with a strained patellar tendon in his left knee. Cabrera is traveling to New York City today to receive a platelet-rich plasma injection in the injured knee. Per the Mets’ release, Cabrera will ease back into baseball activity “as tolerated” by his knee even when he returns to action. Cabrera initially suffered the injury while tagging up from first base in yesterday’s Spring Training contest, as he explained to reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo).
Suffice it to say, that puts Opening Day in doubt for the 30-year-old Cabrera, who signed a two-year, $18.5MM contract to serve as the Mets’ everyday shortstop this offseason. While it does appear that Cabrera has avoided a serious injury that would cost him a significant chunk of the regular season, the injury nevertheless comes with some potential roster ramifications. Ruben Tejada, for instance, has been rumored to be on the bubble of the 25-man roster this spring, but in the event that Cabrera will require a stint on the disabled list to open the season, his odds to make the Opening Day roster would seem to increase, as the Mets would likely deploy Wilmer Flores at shortstop and rely upon Tejada as their primary backup around the infield. The Mets had previously seemed like a logical trade partner for the Cardinals, should they seek an external replacement option at shortstop in the absence of Jhonny Peralta, but this injury would seem to diminish the chance of such a match.
Mozeliak: Cardinals Will Look At Internal Shortstop Options
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’s not necessarily in a rush to add a shortstop in the wake of Jhonny Peralta’s injury. “Everybody is sort of pounding on this — what are we going to do?” says Mozeliak. “I think I’d like to see what we have first and then determine what’s next. Our goal is to be competitive this year and if we feel we need to go outside the organization to improve on those odds then we will.” The top internal candidates to fill in for Peralta are Jedd Gyorko, Aledmys Diaz and Greg Garcia, though each comes with some questions. Should the Cardinals ultimately decide to look for outside help, the Cabrera injury mentioned above could potentially impact the trade market, as any notable absence for the Mets’ starter would likely make the club less willing to part with a shortstop (e.g. Ruben Tejada).
Jhonny Peralta Undergoes Thumb Surgery
MARCH 10: Peralta did indeed undergo thumb surgery this morning, Mozeliak confirmed to reporters, including Goold (Twitter link). Mozeliak added that clubs have called to gauge his interest in acquiring a shortstop, which he likened to “ambulance chasing.”
The aforementioned 10- to 12-week absence would point to a possible return in early June, but Mark Saxon of ESPN tweets that Peralta’s return will more likely be around the All-Star break. Peralta will be in a cast for at least the next four weeks, Saxon notes.
MARCH 8: Peralta says that he hasn’t yet decided but could well opt for a surgical route, as Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. That would hopefully avoid lingering issues, but would likely require at least a ten to twelve week absence.
MARCH 7: Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta left camp today with an apparent injury to his left hand, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. General manager John Mozeliak addressed the media minutes ago and told reporters, including MLB.com’s Jen Langosch, that the team’s early read is a torn ligament in Peralta’s left thumb which could result in an absence of two to three months (links to Twitter). Peralta is traveling back to St. Louis to receive a second opinion on the injury.
Any lengthy absence for Peralta would be a blow to a Cardinals club that some pundits felt was already light in terms of power production. The 33-year-old Peralta (34 in late May) appeared in 155 games for the Redbirds last season, batting .275/.334/.411 with 17 home runs. That line, while solid overall, masks what was a miserable second half of the season for the veteran infielder, though. Peralta was batting a robust .288/.345/.465 as late in the season as Aug. 4, and while the nature of that endpoint is entirely arbitrary in nature, admittedly, he slumped to a meek .246/.312/.291 batting line over his final 199 trips to the plate.
The Cardinals picked up Jedd Gyorko in an offseason swap with the Padres in part to help keep Peralta fresh and avoid a similar second-half decline. Gyorko has limited experience at shortstop but could be in line for significant playing time at the position in the event of a prolonged stint on the disabled list for Peralta. St. Louis also has infielder Greg Garcia as an option at short, and Aledmys Diaz, who signed a four-year deal as a free agent in 2014, could surface in the Majors after rebuilding his stock with a strong rebound campaign in 2015.
The timing of Peralta’s injury is terrible for the Cardinals not only in terms of proximity to the season but also because as recently as eight to nine days ago, a viable replacement sat on the free agent market in the form of Ian Desmond. Desmond, however, inked a one-year deal to play left field with the Rangers, removing him as a possible alternative.
Cardinals Not Yet Seeking Outside Options To Replace Peralta
- Despite the fact that the Cardinals will be without Jhonny Peralta for what looks to be a span of two to three months, the team has yet to call other clubs on potentially available shortstops, reports ESPN’s Jayson Stark, as it awaits a final decision on Peralta’s recovery. One exec told Stark that he feels Braves shortstop Erick Aybar “has to be at the top of their list,” adding that “of the guys out there, he’s far and away the best player.” The Braves have shown a willingness to trade virtually anyone other than Freddie Freeman, so it would stand to reason that Aybar, a free agent at season’s end, could be had despite sitting atop Atlanta’s depth chart at shortstop. I took a look at a number of speculative shortstop options for the Redbirds shortly after Peralta’s injury.
Speculative Jhonny Peralta Replacements For The Cardinals
The Cardinals are still reeling from the loss of Jhonny Peralta, perhaps for as long as three months, due to what is believed to be a torn ligament in his left thumb. While the book isn’t closed on Peralta’s recovery timeline just yet — he’s still headed to St. Louis to receive a second opinion on the injured digit — it would appear that Jedd Gyorko will step into the vacancy. Acquired in an offseason swap with the Padres that was made in part to keep Peralta fresh and in part to subtract Jon Jay (and his remaining salary) from a crowded outfield picture, Gyorko is the favorite to absorb Peralta’s at-bats, with Greg Garcia and Aledmys Diaz also representing internal options.
The problem with that scenario, of course, is that Gyorko isn’t a shortstop. He played some short out of necessity for the Padres last year after their widely panned platoon of Alexi Amarista and Clint Barmes failed to yield dividends. Gyorko was about three to four runs below average in 220 innings at the position in the estimation of Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved, and UZR pro-rated his defensive contributions to -17.6 runs over a 150-game spell. Clearly, there’s danger in extrapolating a small sample of 220 innings in that manner and treating it as fact, but Gyorko wasn’t even perceived as a plus defender at his more natural positions of second and third base, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he graded out very poorly at the most difficult infield position on the defensive spectrum.
Over at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron provided a quick glimpse at the injury and listed Erick Aybar as perhaps the most logical stopgap the Cardinals could pursue in an effort to upgrade. Aybar is a free agent at season’s end on a rebuilding Braves club, so the fit certainly stands out as logical. Cameron also noted that the Mets have a potential infield surplus with both Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada slated to fill reserve roles (the latter of those two is rumored to be on the bubble when it comes to the 25-man roster, anyhow), though he aptly notes that the Mets may not want to help strengthen another National League contender.
As MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes, GM John Mozeliak acknowledged that, depending on the severity of the issue, the club could pursue outside help at the shortstop position. Each of the names suggested by Cameron is indeed a logical fit for the Cardinals. Here’s a look at a few names from around the league that could potentially be looked at if the Cardinals wish to address the unexpected void with a player from outside the organization…
Trade Possibilities
- Erick Aybar, Braves: As noted above, Aybar is one year from free agency on a rebuilding club that has shown a willingness to trade virtually any veteran piece it has (Freddie Freeman excluded). Atlanta has internal options that it could consider long-term pieces (Dansby Swanson, Ozhaino Albies), and while they’re not particularly close to the Majors, the Braves could slot someone like Daniel Castro or a minor pickup of their own in at short in the event of an Aybar trade.
- Ruben Tejada/Wilmer Flores, Mets: Tejada was recently awarded an extra day of service time, making him a free agent following the season. He’s said to be on the fringe of New York’s 25-man roster this spring, and Flores could serve as the club’s primary backup all over the infield even if Tejada were to be traded. It seems far less likely that the Mets would move Flores, who has a fairly productive season last year and offers more offense in a reserve capacity with multiple years of club control remaining, but the team was famously open to trading him last summer.
- Nick Ahmed/Chris Owings, D-backs: As recently as last spring, this combination looked like a potential long-term alignment for the Diamondbacks, but that’s less the case this spring. For one, Arizona went out and acquired Jean Segura to field one of the spots — likely shortstop — thus displacing the defensively gifted Ahmed from an everyday role. Beyond that, Brandon Drury had a strong season and worked his way onto multiple top 100 prospect rankings, giving the D-backs another potential option at second. Drury could play third base as well, though Arizona has Jake Lamb as a big-league-ready option at third base — one that could handle the spot long-term. With Segura, Ahmed, Owings, Drury and Lamb, the Snakes seemingly have five infielders for three spots.
- Eduardo Nunez/Danny Santana, Twins: While Nunez isn’t known for his glovework himself, he’s more experienced than Gyorko at the position and is coming off a solid season with the bat, having slashed .282/.327/.431 in 204 plate appearances with Minnesota. Santana is out options and has yet to proven himself in the field or at the plate. After a BABIP-fueled rookie season, Santana cratered in 2015 and now looks like a utility player for the Twins. Neither player is a definitive upgrade, but both would deepen the club’s infield mix and provide greater shortstop experience than the Cards’ incumbent options. Minnesota wouldn’t be anxious to shed either player, but doing so could create a utility role for top prospect Jorge Polanco. Their preference, though, could be to get him everyday at-bats in the minors.
- Chris Taylor/Luis Sardinas, Mariners: Both infielders are competing for the right to back up Ketel Marte at shortstop. Taylor, a career .313/.394/.460 hitter at Triple-A, struggled badly in the Majors this past season but offers more offensive upside than Sardinas. On the other hand, Sardinas is probably a more sure-handed defensive option despite his own big league struggles at the plate and a more pedestrian .285/.315/.365 batting line in his Triple-A career.
- Freddy Galvis, Phillies: Galvis doesn’t bring much to the table from an offensive standpoint, and the returns on his defensive work at shortstop are mixed. Ultimate Zone Rating feels that Galvis has been about average over the life of his 1567 career innings there, whereas Defensive Runs Saved feels he’s cost his team 10 runs there. If Cardinals scouts feel that Galvis is a passable shortstop, then perhaps they’ll overlook last year’s .263/.302/.343 batting line, which rated more than 20 percent worse than the league average after adjusting for his home park (76 wRC+, 77 OPS+). For what it’s worth, he did homer seven times and swipe 10 bases in his 603 plate appearances.
- Nick Franklin, Rays: Considering how long Franklin’s name has been bounced around, it almost feels like he should be in his late 20s. That comes with the territory for a player who made his big league debut and played a whole season before he even turned 23 years old, though. Franklin only turned 25 last week, and while he hasn’t developed into the everyday infielder that he was projected to, he hit .266/.353/.500 in 221 PAs at Triple-A Durham last year. The presence of Brad Miller and Tim Beckham could effectively block Franklin in Tampa Bay.
Free Agents
- Everth Cabrera: The former NL stolen base champ barely played in 2015, hitting .208/.250/.229 in 105 plate appearances with the Orioles. He wasn’t much better in the minors, batting just .230/.302/.259 in 150 PAs between the Orioles and Giants. Cabrera is nearly three years and a PED suspension removed from providing value at the Major League level, but the Cards could take a look on a minor league deal and hope to benefit from a resurgence.
- Willie Bloomquist: At 38 years old with a .238/.262/.287 batting line across his previous two seasons in Seattle, Bloomquist probably isn’t on radars as anything more than a veteran on which to take a minor league flier with a utility role in mind.
Suffice it to say, there aren’t any enticing options currently on the free agent market, though the Cardinals could find some options late in camp as veterans on minor league deals with out clauses begin to exercise those provisions.
Cards Believed To Have Offered Heyward $200MM Over 10 Years
The Cubs have several players, including Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, Dexter Fowler and Trevor Cahill that turned down more money elsewhere to sign in Chicago, tweets Jon Heyman. The Cardinals’ best offer is to Heyward is “thought to [have been]” $200MM over 10 years, while the Nationals, as previously reported, offered the outfielder $200MM+ over 10 years, albeit with significant deferrals, Heyman tweets. The three bids between the two teams were pretty much comparable (link), but Heyward simply preferred the Cubs over the other clubs. The outfielder, he adds, liked the team’s nucleus and, personally, he has a good history of playing at Wrigley. Heyman also notes that the other teams would have been willing to give him an opt-out as well.
