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Giants Have Shown Interest In Paul DeJong, Nicky Lopez

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The Giants are known to be in search of middle infield help. Two names under consideration: Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong and Royals second baseman Nicky Lopez, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

DeJong seems very likely to be dealt within the next few days. The Cards are preparing to move a number of short-term pieces as they regroup for 2024. DeJong is in the final guaranteed season of his contract; the club holds a $12.5MM option for next season but seems unlikely to exercise it.

After a pair of dismal offensive seasons, DeJong has had something of a return to form in 2023. The right-handed hitter owns a .237/.303/.422 line over 297 plate appearances. He’s striking out at a lofty 29% clip but has connected on 13 home runs in roughly half a season of playing time.

That’s exactly league average offense by measure of wRC+. The scope of the production could lend itself particularly well to more matchup usage. DeJong entered play tonight hitting only .227/.279/.411 against same-handed pitching, but he’s teed off on lefties at a .274/.378/.468 clip.

The Giants are as aggressive as any team in leveraging platoon matchups. They haven’t had to do so at shortstop in recent years. Brandon Crawford has had a hold on the everyday job there. Yet the lefty-swinging Crawford is hitting only .207/.285/.333 in 65 contests this season. He’s not hitting well against pitchers of either handedness. He also landed on the injured list with left knee inflammation 10 days ago, his second IL stint of the year.

Crawford joined Thairo Estrada on the shelf. San Francisco’s second baseman has been down for three weeks after breaking his hand on a hit-by-pitch. Estrada recently began baseball activities and could make it back before too long, but the Giants are presently relying on a rookie rotation of Brett Wisely, Marco Luciano and Casey Schmitt up the middle without much success.

DeJong would bring above-average shortstop defense and some pop against left-handed pitching. Lopez would strictly be a defensive target. The lefty-swinging infielder hasn’t hit a home run in two years and carries a .223/.292/.276 batting line since the start of 2022. Yet he has drawn strong marks for his second base defense and is capable of manning shortstop or third base effectively as well.

Lopez would be easier to accommodate financially. The 28-year-old is playing this season on a $3.7MM arbitration salary, around $1.3MM of which is still to be paid out. He’s controllable for another two years after this but seems to be trending towards a non-tender. DeJong is making $9MM this year and still due around $3.2MM in salary, plus a $2MM buyout on next year’s option.

Both Kansas City and St. Louis have alternatives who could take on a larger middle infield role if they were to push across a deal with San Francisco. The Royals have already curtailed Lopez’s playing time in favor of a longer look at Michael Massey. DeJong is playing every day in St. Louis, but the Cards have Tommy Edman as a potential immediate replacement and top shortstop prospect Masyn Winn in Triple-A.

St. Louis also has depth on the other side of the second base bag. Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman are quality bat-first second basemen with extended control windows. With that middle infield strength in mind, Feinsand writes that St. Louis has also gotten interest from various clubs (not necessarily San Francisco) on Donovan and Edman.

Of course, the asking price on Edman or Donovan would be far higher. They’re a lot less likely to move than DeJong. Not only do they have extended control windows (Edman through 2025, Donovan past ’28), neither is fully healthy right now.

Edman is on the injured list with wrist inflammation. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat relayed this afternoon (on Twitter) that he’ll begin a minor league rehab stint over the weekend. Donovan is healthy enough to hit but playing through a flexor tendon injury in his right arm. He’s unable to throw and relegated to DH duty for now. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote earlier in the week that Donovan was hoping to avoid surgery and return to defensive work at some point this season. Even if that proves to be the case, he wouldn’t be a middle infield option for anyone in the immediate future.

Dodgers Have Discussed Nolan Arenado Trade With Cardinals

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The Dodgers have engaged the Cardinals in trade talks for Nolan Arenado, reports Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. The third baseman has a full no-trade clause but Castillo reports that Arenado, a Southern California native, is willing to waive that right only if it means going to the Dodgers. It’s unclear if those talks made any progress or if a deal is close but the Cardinals are under no obligation to move Arenado, since he has four more years on his contract and they plan on contending again next year, but the Dodgers do have young pitching that they need. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com relays word from Arenado’s agent Joel Wolfe, who says that the report Arenado is only willing to waive his no-trade for the Dodgers is “inaccurate.”

It’s hardly surprising that the Dodgers would be interested in Arenado, who has been one of the game’s premier players for quite some time. He’s launched 321 home runs in his career and has produced a batting line of .288/.345/.534 for a wRC+ of 122, dating back to his 2013 debut. He’s done that while providing elite defense at the hot corner, having racked up 151 Defensive Runs Saved in his career, as well as 90 Outs Above Average and a 73.7 grade from Ultimate Zone Rating. He already has a career tally of 48.3 wins above replacement from FanGraphs and 54.1 from Baseball Reference.

The Cardinals are having a disappointing season, having fallen to 46-57 and 9.5 games back of a playoff spot. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak admitted a couple of weeks ago that the club would have to make moves aimed at improving the 2024 club. However, he also maintained that moving a key player like Arenado or Paul Goldschmidt wasn’t in their plans. “I don’t have any intentions of trading anybody like them,” he said, before leaving the door open to an offer that could change his mind. “If you’re willing to listen on anything, you have to understand (anything’s possible), but I doubt that would happen.”

To be clear, the Dodgers having interest in Arenado doesn’t mean the Cards are under any obligation to make a deal. As Mozeliak mentioned, they are willing to listen on anything. All indications have pointed to the Cardinals planning on moving short-term pieces and reloading for 2024 around a similar position player core but with a retooled pitching staff. Perhaps the Dodgers have enough young pitching talent to make a deal happen, but that’s still not clear at this point.

The Dodgers are 58-43, holding a three-game lead in the West and are clearly in buyer position. They’ve already added a couple of complementary pieces in Enrique Hernández and Amed Rosario but a big push for Arenado would obviously be a move in a different stratosphere.

The club has used players like Max Muncy and Chris Taylor at third base for much of this year, though both players are also capable of playing other positions and Castillo reports it’s possible that one or both of them could end up going to St. Louis in the potential deal. Muncy has long been a three-true-outcomes leader, hitting plenty of home runs while frequently walking and striking out. He’s continuing that this year, hitting 25 home runs while slashing .197/.329/.478 for a wRC+ of 118. However, he’s more of a bat-first option at third, having produced subpar defensive grades this year. The Dodgers hold a club option for his services in 2024 set at $10MM with no buyout.

Taylor spent many years as an above-average hitter who could play just about anywhere on the diamond. He reached free agency after 2021 and re-signed with the Dodgers on a four-year, $60MM contract but has seen his offensive performance slip. He hit .265/.343/.461 from 2017 to 2021 but just .219/.297/.399 since the start of last year. Despite the diminished production, he’s still been able to slot into every position except for first base and the battery. He still has two years and $26MM remaining on his deal after this year.

Arenado would undoubtedly be an upgrade over either of those two players, though the Dodgers would have to part with something to make it happen. The Cardinals have long been known to be in need of long-term starting pitching since Adam Wainwright is set to retire while both Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery are impending free agents and likely to wind up traded in the coming days. Steven Matz is a question mark after getting bumped to the bullpen earlier in the year, only recently retaking a starting job. Depth options like Dakota Hudson, Matthew Liberatore, Zack Thompson and Connor Thomas haven’t had great years either, leaving Miles Mikolas as the sole building block in next year’s rotation.

Young and controllable pitching is the something the Dodgers could offer, even some with some major league experience. Multiple injuries to their starting staff this year have forced them up push prospects up to the majors, including Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan and Michael Grove. That group would have also included Ryan Pepiot, though he suffered an oblique strain on the verge of Opening Day and has been on the injured list since, only beginning a rehab assignment this month.

Miller, 24, has a 4.28 ERA through 10 starts, striking out 23.2% of hitters while walking 7% and getting grounders at a 45.5% clip. Sheehan, 23, has a 6.75 ERA through his six outings while Grove, 26, is at 6.19 this year. Each of those three and Pepiot were generally considered among the club’s 30 best prospects coming into the season and they all come with years of cheap control. Castillo’s report suggests the Cardinals have interest in all four.  Moving them would leave the Dodgers with diminished pitching depth, but perhaps they could patch that over by acquiring veteran rentals for the stretch run, with Clayton Kershaw potentially returning at some point later in the year. The Dodgers reportedly had interest in rental starter Lucas Giolito prior to him being traded to the Angels yesterday, and Castillo’s report speculates they could be interested in getting Flaherty or Montgomery from the Cardinals as well.

The Cardinals surely have some level of interest in each of those, given their dire need for pitching, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re willing to move on from Arenado in order to acquire them. The two sides have long seen committed to each other, with Arenado even forgoing an opt-out opportunity at the end of last season. He likely could have topped the five years and $144MM remaining on his deal but decided to stay in St. Louis instead. He will still have four more years and $109MM left on that deal at the end of this year.

That would be a hefty salary for the Dodgers to take on as they are already over the competitive balance tax and will likely be trying to sign Shohei Ohtani to a record-breaking deal this winter, like many other teams. Perhaps they could balance some of that out by including Muncy or Taylor in the deal, though that would depend how much the Cardinals value those veteran players compared to the younger starters.

Arenado departing St. Louis would leave a hole at third base in St. Louis going forward, though Muncy or Taylor could theoretically help fill that. Leaving those two aside, the Cardinals have many multi-positional players like Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman, who have each played some third this year. Tommy Edman hasn’t played there this year but has in the past. He might be needed at shortstop if Paul DeJong winds up traded this week, though prospect Masyn Winn is in Triple-A and could slot in there in the near future.

It’s worth reiterating that teams often discuss all kinds of trade scenarios and there’s been nothing to suggest anything is close to completion here. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat straight up denies that Arenado is being traded and, as mentioned up top, Arenado’s agent has denied the report about his no-trade clause. The Cardinals and Dodgers make sense as potential trade partners since one has short-term pitching but needs long-term, and the other the opposite. It would be natural for the Dodgers to at least ask about other players in those talks. Mozeliak has said in the past that the Cardinals, despite doing some selling, weren’t looking to move key players like Arenado. He did say they are willing to listen on anything, so perhaps the Dodgers have enough young pitching to make them think about it, but time will tell.

Extension Talks Have Not Progressed Between Cardinals, Jordan Hicks

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The Cardinals are going into the deadline looking to make moves that help the 2024 club. That’s likely to involve trading impending free agents like Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery. Though Jordan Hicks is also an impending free agent, it was reported earlier this week that he and the club were discussing an extension, perhaps keeping him in St. Louis. However, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today that those talks have not progressed and he is garnering trade interest.

Hicks, 26, has long been one of the hardest throwers in the league, averaging north of 100 mph on his fastball since he debuted back in 2018. Oddly, he wasn’t about to translate that velocity into elite strikeout stuff. He came into this season having punched out 23% of batters faced, a mark that’s roughly around typical league averages. He did get grounders at an excellent 61.1% clip but also issued walks to 13.4% of batters. His 4.05 ERA prior to this season was fine but not especially exciting.

This year, he finally seems to have had a breakout. He’s thrown 41 2/3 innings for the season, striking out 31.2% of opponents in the process. His 12.7% walk rate is still on the high side, but he’s also still getting grounders on 58.3% of balls in play. That combination is difficult to come by, as among pitchers with at least a 30% strikeout rate in at least 40 innings this year, only Jhoan Durán of the Twins has a higher ground ball rate. Hicks has a 3.67 ERA for the year but may have deserved better, since his .366 batting average on balls in play is above his career rate and the league average, leading to a 3.02 FIP and 3.40 SIERA. Those results have come with Hicks taking over the closing role while Ryan Helsley is on the injured list, racking up eight saves in the past six weeks.

Since Hicks debuted when he was 21, cracking the Opening Day roster in 2018, he’s now just a few months from qualifying for free agency. He’s in his final year of arbitration, making a salary of $1.838M. The Cardinals are 46-57 and have been outside contention for quite a while now. Since they seem to be more focused on the future than the present, it makes sense to move on from Hicks and exchange him for more controllable players, especially now that extension talks haven’t found much traction.

Just about every contending club can use bullpen upgrades at this time of year, so Hicks should get plenty of interest. His previous track record isn’t as dominant as this season and he’s had some health concerns, including a Tommy John surgery in 2019, but acquiring clubs wouldn’t be making long-term commitments to him. They would simply be hoping to catch lightning in a bottle for a few months to help with a postseason push. The trade deadline is August 1.

Cardinals Release Ryan Tepera

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The Cardinals have released right-hander Ryan Tepera, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment last week and would have had the right to reject an outright assignment, making this a fairly expected development.

Tepera, 35, has a long track record of being an effective reliever. He came into this year with a career earned run average of 3.50 over 361 appearances, striking out 24.5% of opponents while walking 8.8% of them and keeping the ball on the ground at a 43.5% clip. That included the first season of a two-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Angels prior to 2022.

But it’s been a trying season for him here in 2023. He posted a 7.27 ERA through his first 10 appearances with the Angels this year, leading to him getting designated for assignment and then released. He secured a minor league deal with the Rangers and tossed eight scoreless innings in Triple-A, striking out 37.9% of batters faced at that level. He was able to opt out of that deal when the Rangers wouldn’t give him a roster spot, but he got one with the Cardinals. Unfortunately, they bounced him off after just two appearances when Tyler O’Neill came off the injured list.

Tepera will now be free to sign with any club. The Angels are still on the hook for what’s left of his contract, meaning any other team could sign him and pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Halos owe. With the trade deadline a few days away, plenty of clubs will be trading away relievers and likely opening up new jobs. With Tepera’s track record and minimal acquisition cost, it’s possible some club looks to plug him in as a veteran presence.

Cardinals, Jordan Hicks Discussing Extension

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The Cardinals are exploring a multi-year contract extension with closer Jordan Hicks, reports Katie Woo of the Athletic. Woo suggests there’s a good chance a deal can be finalized within the next day. An impending free agent, the hard-throwing righty profiles as one of the top bullpen trade candidates this summer. Obviously, an extension in advance of next Tuesday’s trade deadline would take him off the market.

Hicks, 27 in September, is amidst one of the better seasons of his career. He owns a 3.67 ERA across 41 2/3 innings in 40 appearances. He’s striking hitters out at a personal-best 31.2% rate while inducing grounders on a huge 58.2% of batted balls. Hicks and Twins’ star Jhoan Durán are the only relievers (minimum 30 innings) with a strikeout rate north of 30% and a ground-ball rate exceeding 55%.

That outlier combination of whiffs and grounders is built on velocity almost unmatched around the league. Hicks averages an eye-popping 100.5 MPH on the sinker that serves as his go-to offering. Only Durán and Aroldis Chapman throw harder.

Hicks hasn’t found the same level of success that Durán and Chapman have managed at their best, however. The St. Louis hurler has allowed just under four earned runs per nine innings over 219 1/3 career frames. That’s mostly a reflection of well below-average control. He’s walking just under 13% of opponents this season and has dished out free passes at a 13.2% clip for his career.

Various health concerns also undercut him for a while after a promising debut. Hicks combined for just 38 2/3 innings between 2019-21. He underwent Tommy John surgery midway through the ’19 season. Unlikely to return until the tail end of 2020 regardless, Hicks (who has Type 1 diabetes) opted out of playing that year because of COVID-19 concerns. He battled renewed elbow discomfort the next season and was limited to just 10 appearances. He missed a month between May and June last year because of a flexor issue in his forearm but has avoided the injured list this season.

Even with the health history and bouts of wildness, Hicks would be a sensible trade target for contenders seeking bullpen help. He’s a high-octane arm who has stepped back into a high-leverage role for St. Louis, picking up eight saves and six holds. The Cards clearly value him enough to consider keeping him around beyond this season, though it remains to be seen if a deal will get across the finish line. Woo unsurprisingly notes that the 45-56 club would very likely trade Hicks if they don’t reach an extension in the coming days.

To be clear, the dialogue with Hicks’ camp is not a sign that St. Louis is walking back its forthcoming sell off. Woo reiterates that the Cards plan to trade Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote this morning. The Cardinals had not had any extension dialogue with Montgomery’s or Flaherty’s camps before the All-Star Break, Woo writes. Both starters are impending free agents.

Montgomery would be a lock to receive and reject a qualifying offer, so the Cards could at least ensure a compensatory draft choice if he departs as a free agent. They’re likely to receive a more compelling prospect package for one of the top starters available within the next few days, though. Flaherty is less likely to receive the QO (which Hicks also wouldn’t get), so the Cards likely wouldn’t get any compensation if those players were neither traded nor extended.

Additionally, Woo reports that the Cardinals are finding trade interest in each of Chris Stratton, Giovanny Gallegos and Ryan Helsley. Stratton is an obvious trade candidate as an impending free agent middle reliever. There’s less urgency to move the latter two arms, as both can stick around beyond this season. Gallegos is under contract for $5.5MM next year, while his deal has a $6.5MM club option for 2025. Helsley is eligible for arbitration through the ’25 season and making a modest $2.15MM this season.

It’s sensible for St. Louis to at least consider offers, although it’d be an odd time to move Helsley. Gallegos has had a sub-4.00 ERA in each of the past five seasons. He carries a 3.92 mark with slightly above-average strikeout and walk numbers in 41 1/3 innings this year.

Helsley, owner of a fastball that sits in the upper 90s, has a 3.20 ERA with a 32% strikeout percentage in 25 frames on the season. He’s been down since June 12 with a forearm strain and was just transferred to the 60-day injured list yesterday, officially ruling him out into the second week of August. Players on the IL can still be traded, so a deal is possible. Still, it stands to reason other clubs will be wary of offering a prospect package commensurate with Helsley’s peak value at a time when there’s notable health uncertainty.

Cardinals Expect To Move DeJong, Several Pitchers; O’Neill Unlikely To Be Traded

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The Cardinals’ logjam in the outfield has been well-documented by now, but one path to alleviating that situation apparently isn’t under consideration at this time; Katie Woo of The Athletic reports that the Cardinals plan to hold onto O’Neill at this year’s deadline.

Elsewhere on the roster, the Cards have made clear to other clubs that they expect to trade starters Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty as well as shortstop Paul DeJong, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. Passan adds Jordan Hicks as a possible trade candidate, and it’s only natural that righty Chris Stratton — another potential free agent — would also be on the block.

Moving the 28-year-old O’Neill at this stage would unequivocally be selling low. The two-time Gold Glove winner and eighth-place finisher in 2021 NL MVP voting has played in just 130 games since Opening Day 2022, batting a paltry (by his standards) .229/.309/.381 in 502 plate appearances along the way. It’s a far cry from O’Neill’s mammoth .286/.352/.560 batting line and 34 homers in 2021.

The Cards control O’Neill through the 2024 season, as he’ll be arbitration-eligible for the final time this offseason. Woo quotes both O’Neill and manager Oli Marmol in a piece that Cards fans, in particular, will want to read. Broadly speaking, the organization believes an emphasis on routine and collaborative communication can help O’Neill remain on the field more regularly (though that makes the decision to buck his routine by placing him in center field early in the season seem particularly curious).

O’Neill is one of several outfielders vying for playing time in St. Louis. Lars Nootbaar has become entrenched in center field, and top prospect Jordan Walker is currently patrolling right field. O’Neill’s return pushed former top prospect Dylan Carlson to a bench role, and there’s been ample reporting and speculation on the possibility of a Carlson trade looming on the horizon. First baseman/outfielder and utilitymen extraordinaire Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman also factor into the outfield mix — at times being pushed there by Nolan Gorman’s presence at second base.

The Cards would also be selling low on Carlson in many ways, though the 24-year-old switch-hitter’s remaining three seasons of club control beyond the current year give him more appeal than O’Neill’s one remaining year. Carlson’s ability to play all three outfield spots — center field, in particular — at a high level could also increase the chances of landing direly needed controllable pitching in a trade. O’Neill certainly isn’t likely to command that type of return on the heels of two injury-plagued seasons; he only just returned from a 60-day IL stint thanks to a back strain.

The likely trades of Montgomery and Flaherty have been discussed ad nauseum by now. Both are free agents at season’s end. Montgomery is the more valuable arm at present, touting a 3.37 ERA, 21.7% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 45.2% grounder rate in 115 innings. He’d be a veritable lock to receive and reject a qualifying offer, so the Cardinals figure to insist on greater value than a 2024 compensatory pick in return. He’s being $10.01MM in 2023.

Flaherty looked like a burgeoning ace in 2019 but has seen several recent seasons ruined by injury. He’s been healthy in ’23, pitching 104 2/3 innings of 4.49 ERA ball. His 22.2% strikeout rate is roughly average, but his 11.3% walk rate is a glaring red flag. He’s three years younger than Montgomery and earning roughly half the salary ($5.4MM) in 2023, however.

DeJong’s status as a likely trade target registers as a clear bonus for the Cards. Entering the season, he didn’t even appear like a lock to make the roster, having slashed just .182/.269/.352 in 190 games from 2021-22. But DeJong has enjoyed a rebound season in ’23, hitting .237/.304/.424 (101 wRC+) with his typical brand of plus defense. With about $3.29MM remaining on his contract (plus a $2MM buyout on next year’s $12.5MM option), DeJong now seems affordable and productive enough to be a viable trade candidate — particularly if the Cardinals help out financially in any sense. DeJong’s bat has cooled after a torrid start, but his overall batting line is about league average, he’s shown some power and he’s played good defense.

Both Hicks and Stratton are natural trade candidates, too. Hicks is likely more appealing and costlier to acquire, given his youth and triple-digit heater. The 26-year-old is averaging better than 100 mph on his sinker and has a 1.88 ERA dating back to early May, punching out batters at a gaudy 31.4% of his hitters with an 8.5% walk rate and mammoth 66.7% grounder rate. Stratton, 33 next month, has a 4.38 ERA with better peripheral marks (27% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate, 3.01 FIP, 3.37 SIERA).

In any trade, St. Louis is eyeing near-MLB-ready pitching, Passan adds. That, again, is hardly a surprise and has long been speculated upon, given the team’s lack of rotation clarity beyond the current season. Both Montgomery and Flaherty are free agents. Adam Wainwright is retiring. Steven Matz and Matthew Liberatore have struggled.

Many of the names in question wouldn’t fetch a close-to-the-Majors arm in a straight-up swap, but someone like DeJong or Stratton could potentially be packaged with Flaherty or Hicks to improve the Cards’ return. Either Montgomery or certainly Carlson on his own could feasibly fetch immediate but unproven pitching help — Montgomery’s status as a rental notwithstanding. For instance, the Cards themselves traded away a big league-ready arm last summer when they shipped Johan Oviedo to the division-rival Pirates in order to acquire Stratton and Jose Quintana, who was then a rental player. Oviedo has struggled in July but notched a 4.06 ERA through his first 16 starts and is controllable through the 2027 season.

NL Notes: Rockies, Matz, Winker, Brewers, Ziegler

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The Rockies’ injury-plagued season has extended into the club’s farm system, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (via Twitter) reports that pitching prospects Gabriel Hughes, Jackson Cox, and Jordy Vargas will all undergo Tommy John surgeries this week.  Dr. Keith Meister will perform all of the procedures, as well as the previously reported TJ surgery for veteran righy-hander Antonio Senzatela.

It’s a brutal setback for the three youngsters, all ranked by MLB Pipeline among the Rockies’ top 12 overall prospects, and Pipeline lists the trios as three of Colorado’s top four pitching prospects.  Hughes was the 10th overall pick of the 2022 draft, Cox was a second-round pick in that same draft, and the 19-year-old Vargas was an international signing in 2021.  Hughes was the furthest along of the trio since he made his Double-A debut this season, but now all three pitchers have been dealt a big setback in their young careers.  Given the usual recovery timeline for Tommy John procedures, there’s a chance any of Hughes, Cox, or Vargas might be able to return late in the 2024 campaign, but it is likelier that the right-handers will all be sidelined until 2025.

More from around the National League…

  • Most of the trade speculation about Cardinals pitching has focused on Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery, but Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that an unknown American League club has considered acquiring Steven Matz.  The mystery team would use Matz as “rotation insurance or bullpen upgrade.”  Matz is still owed the remainder of his $10MM salary for 2023 as well as $24MM in 2024-25, and it seems like the Cardinals would have to eat a good chunk of that money to accommodate a deal.  Matz has struggled in both years of his original four-year, $44MM contract with St. Louis, but after losing his rotation job earlier this season, he has pitched considerably better since a move to the bullpen and a recent return to the starting five.  Matz has a 2.93 ERA over his last 30 2/3 innings and 11 appearances.
  • Jesse Winker had a big pinch-hit single in the ninth inning of the Brewers’ 3-2 win over the Reds tonight.  It was a nice moment within what has been a very rough season for Winker, who entered Monday hitting only .194/.316/.242 over 196 plate appearances.  These struggles have led to a reduced role, as manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) “to this point [Winker] hasn’t given us production out of that spot….I think he understands it and just tries to be ready for an at-bat later in the day.”  The hope is that the move will “let him work on some things and make some adjustments,” with Winker perhaps being able to earn his way back into regular at-bats.  Winker was already limited to facing right-handed pitching due to his extreme splits, but he has only a .557 OPS against righties this season.
  • Mets pitching prospect Calvin Ziegler isn’t expected to pitch in 2023 after suffering a torn right quad, according to Mike Mayer of Metsmerized (Twitter link).  2023 becomes an entirely lost season for the 20-year-old, who had yet to pitch this year due to an elbow surgery to remove bone spurs.  Ziegler was the Mets’ second-round pick (46th overall) in the 2021 draft, with MLB Pipeline ranking him seventh in New York’s farm system and Baseball America ranking him 12th.  The right-hander’s 60-grade fastball and curveball has led to a lot of strikeouts, but Ziegler has had a lot of problems in reducing walks.  Unfortunately, he’ll now face another long layoff before he can continue his development.

Cardinals Activate Adam Wainwright From 15-Day Injured List

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The Cardinals announced a set of roster moves, headlined by Adam Wainwright’s activation from the 15-day injured list.  St. Louis also selected the contract of left-hander Andrew Suarez, moved Ryan Helsley to the 60-day injured list, and optioned catcher Ivan Herrera and left-hander Zack Thompson to Triple-A.

Wainwright will take the ball to start tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks, as the veteran will try to get his 18th and final Major League season on track.  He last pitched on July 4, as shoulder inflammation and (as implied by Cardinals manager Olli Marmol) a broader range of nagging injuries sent Wainwright to the IL for the second time this season.  He also started the year on the IL due to a groin injury that delayed his 2023 debut until May 6.

It seems clear that Wainwright simply hasn’t been himself all year, as the 41-year-old has been hit hard to the tune of a 7.66 ERA over 11 starts and 51 2/3 innings.  His injuries are quite possibly to blame, or it could be that time has simply caught up to a pitcher who has defied convention by remaining an effective starter into his 40’s.  In the best-case scenario, this latest absence will act as a reset for Wainwright and allow him to finish his career on high note, albeit amidst a very disappointing Cardinals season.

Suarez signed a minor league deal with St. Louis during the offseason, and now looks set to make his first MLB appearance since 2020.  Breaking into the bigs with three seasons pitching for the Giants, Suarez posted a 4.66 ERA over 202 2/3 innings with San Francisco before heading overseas.  Suarez pitched well for the KBO League’s LG Twins in 2021, but a move from South Korea to Japan didn’t pan out — he had a 6.23 ERA over 21 2/3 innings with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball in 2022, pitching most of the year with the Swallows’ top minor league affiliate.

The move back to North America has served Suarez reasonably well, as he has a 4.08 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, and 8.9% walk rate in 64 innings with Triple-A Memphis.  Working mostly as a multi-inning reliever, Suarez has been stretched out as a starter in his last three outings, and could be paired with Wainwright in a piggyback combo while Wainwright gets fully ramped up.  Since several Cardinals starters are trade candidates heading into the deadline, Suarez might get an opportunity should one or more holes in the rotation open up.

Helsley’s 15-day IL stint began on June 10, and he was expected to miss at least a few more weeks anyway since he only recently started throwing bullpen sessions.  The reliever is recovering from a forearm strain, and told MLB.com and other reporters that he was taking a more cautious approach to his recovery after trying “to rush back too quick” from a similar injury in 2018.

Cardinals Select Taylor Motter

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The Cardinals announced this morning that the club had selected the contract of infielder Taylor Motter. Infielder Jose Fermin was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Motter on the active roster while the club granted right-hander Jake Walsh his unconditional release, a move that opened a 40-man roster spot for Motter.

A 17th-round selection by the Rays in the 2011 draft, the 33 year old Motter has played for seven MLB clubs since making his debut with Tampa back in 2016. Motter has never hit well at the big league level, with a career .191/.263/.309 slash line in 468 career plate appearances. That being said, the veteran journeyman does offer a great deal of versatility. Across his six seasons in the big leagues, Motter has appeared at every position on the diamond except for center field and catcher. He’s even taken the mound previously in his career, with 1 1/3 innings of work to his name as a pitcher.

With Motter seemingly poised to take over as the club’s big league utility option in the infield, Fermin is headed back to Triple-A. The 24-year-old rookie made his big league debut with the Cardinals earlier this month, though it hasn’t gone well to this point. In five games with the big league club, Fermin has slashed just .091/.167/.091 while chipping in at both second and third base. Fermin, who came to St. Louis in a cash deal with the Guardians last November, has an uninspiring career slash line of .216/.337/.338 at the Triple-A level, though he’s still a potentially valuable utility option given his solid glove all around the infield.

Making room for Motter on the 40-man roster is Walsh, a 16th-round pick by the Cardinals in the 2017 draft. Walsh, 28, made his MLB debut for the Cardinals last year, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five in 2 2/3 innings of work. That difficult start to his big league career seems to have carried over into his performance at the Triple-A level, where he’s posted a 5.28 ERA in 30 2/3 innings of work this season.

In addition to Walsh’s struggles at the big league level, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat indicates that health may have been a factor in the club’s decision to release Walsh, as the right-hander had just been placed on the minor league injured list with a nerve issue in his arm. Now on the open market, Walsh figures to look for a new club with whom he can rehab his current injury and attempt to work his way back to the majors.

Central Notes: Cardinals, Twins, Carpenter, Ashby

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The Cardinals saw a pair of high-profile players exit today’s loss to the Cubs due to injury today. Catcher Willson Contreras exited the game in the sixth inning with right hip tightness before third baseman Nolan Arenado exited the game in the ninth inning. Per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, Contreras felt some soreness in his hip while blocking pitches early in the game that was then aggravated upon running the bases later on, while Arenado fouled a ball off his lower left leg earlier in the game. While he initially stayed in the game, Arenado’s leg began to stiffen up during a lengthy rain delay later in the game, prompting Arenado’s exit. Per MLB.com’s John Denton, Arenado told reporters that he’ll “be fine” on Sunday, indicating he could return to the lineup without missing time. Denton added that Contreras is listed as day-to-day.

Losing either Contreras or Arenado for significant time would be a major blow to the St. Louis. While the club is in fourth place in a weak NL Central division with an abysmal 44-55 record, the club has performed better of late with a solid 17-13 record in their last thirty games. Both Arenado and Contreras have been key pieces in that success. Since that month of play began, Arenado boasts a strong .288/.336/.586 slash line while Contreras has caught fire to the tune of a .373/.472/.653 line in 21 games. If Contreras ends up missing time, the Cardinals figure to rely on youngster Ivan Herrera behind the plate alongside backup Andrew Knizner.

More from around MLB’s central divisions…

  • With Twins infielder Jorge Polanco nearing a return from the injured list, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that Polanco would be taking reps at third base during his rehab assignment. The position change, Baldelli explained, is designed to keep second baseman Edouard Julien in the lineup after Polanco’s return. Julien has been a revelation for the Twins in his rookie season, slashing a phenomenal .318/.399/.565 with a wRC+ of 167. With Polanco set to shift to the hot corner, the likes of Donovan Solano and Kyle Farmer figure to see their playing time reduced upon his return.
  • MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter is drawing significant trade interest, but that Detroit is expected to hold onto the lefty slugger. The 25-year-old Carpenter has done nothing but hit since reaching the majors late last season, with a .257/.317/.493 slash line in 312 career plate appearances that’s good for a wRC+ of 125. Carpenter has shown particularly prodigious power, with 17 homers despite only half a season’s worth of trips to the plate. Given his offensive success, it’s hardly a surprise that Morosi notes the Tigers see Carpenter as part of the club’s future. Riley Greene, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, and Spencer Torkelson are among the other young pieces already in the majors who could be key factors in the club’s eventual return to contention.
  • Brewers lefty Aaron Ashby has yet to pitch in the majors this year after undergoing shoulder surgery back in April, but he’s making progress toward a return at some point this season. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy relays that Ashby has been on a schedule involving 30-pitch bullpen sessions on Tuesdays and Fridays, and that while there are still hurdles before he can return to game action, he’s expected to head to Arizona next week to continue his rehab. Upon his return, Ashby figures to pitch in out of the bullpen, a role in which he owns a career 3.66 ERA across 39 1/3 innings of work with a 32.5% strikeout rate.
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