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Mike Matheny

Cardinals Notes: Peralta, Mozeliak, Coaches, Matheny, Grichuk

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The Cardinals designated Jhonny Peralta for assignment today, though that was only one part of a larger shakeup for a team mired in a seven-game losing streak.  Some details on the day’s news out of the Gateway City…

  • With Kolten Wong coming off the disabled list today, GM John Mozeliak told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that he didn’t explore the trade market for Peralta prior to the designation.  Of course, the club still has the ten-day DFA period to potentially find a trade partner for the veteran infielder, though with interest likely to be pretty low, a club that fancies Peralta could simply wait until the Cards release him once those ten days are up.
  • Midseason coaching changes are pretty rare, though the Cards made multiple adjustments to their coaching staff today.  Quality control coach Mike Shildt becomes the new third base coach, replacing Chris Maloney (who will be reassigned elsewhere in the organization).  Mark Budaska will replace Bill Mueller as the assistant hitting coach, while Ron Warner will also join the coaching staff in an unspecified role.
  • Both the coaching shuffle and the Peralta DFA were a response to the Cardinals’ 0-7 road trip, as Mozeliak made it clear that things needed to change.  “You cannot blow the whole thing up, but we had to do something different. … I think the road trip definitely said we had to do something different,” Mozeliak said.  “In our case, this was not working.  Everybody is frustrated. This is not meeting our expectations….This is a breakdown on many levels.  What today represents is people are being held accountable for what we need to do.”
  • Shildt “has juice with the GM,” according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links), and Shildt’s promotion could be a sign that manager Mike Matheny is under extra pressure to turn the Cardinals’ season around.  Matheny’s job is “secure” under club owner William DeWitt, Miklasz feels, unless the Cards’ struggles begin to impact the team’s profitability.
  • Randal Grichuk has been promoted up to Triple-A.  The outfielder was demoted all the way down to Class-A Advanced ball last week so that he could work with offensive strategist George Greer on a new hitting approach, rather than a normal demotion to Triple-A so Grichuk could simply get his confidence back.  Mozeliak was frank in discussing Grichuk’s long-term status with MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch and other reporters, stating that “at some point we’ll have to get Grichuk the opportunity to do this every day and either sink or swim.  Because as we start to look at what 2018 looks like and beyond, we need a real sense of where we are [with him].”

Quick Hits: Cespedes, Matheny, Lyons, Padres

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This offseason’s Yoenis Cespedes sweepstakes could come down to the Mets, Nationals, Giants and Blue Jays, Mike Puma of the New York Post writes. A return to New York makes sense, but only if the Mets are willing to make a commitment long enough to lure Cespedes back, Puma writes. The Nats competed for Cespedes last year, but this winter, signing Cespedes would require them to move Bryce Harper back to center field. The Giants, meanwhile, have an outfield opening with Angel Pagan set to depart, and the Blue Jays have a number of key offensive free agents, although it’s unclear whether they’ll seek to add a new talent as expensive as Cespedes will likely be. Here’s more from around the game.

  • Extending Mike Matheny (which the Cardinals did on Thursday) was a logical choice, Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. The Cards have had five straight winning seasons to begin Matheny’s tenure, and his previous three-year deal would have made him a lame duck for the 2017 season. Many Cardinals fans aren’t sold on Matheny, but Hochman thinks Matheny could improve his reputation by being more open with the press, the way Joe Maddon or Terry Francona are.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says lefty Tyler Lyons’ knee injury is “not responding as quickly as we hoped,” via Hochman. Lyons spent the previous three seasons bouncing back and forth between the rotation and bullpen. He pitched 2016 entirely as a reliever was in the midst of a solid campaign (3.38 ERA, 8.6 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 in 48 innings) before he missed the last two months with a stress reaction. He is out of options in the spring.
  • The Padres have “some interest” in retaining Adam Rosales, Jon Jay, Clayton Richard and Edwin Jackson, but will not be extending qualifying offers to any of them, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. That comes as no surprise, since none of them profile as the kinds of upper-echelon players who typically get qualifying offers. Nonetheless, several of them were useful for the Padres in 2016. Rosales and Jay were both solid complementary pieces — Rosales hit a surprising 13 home runs in 248 plate appearances while playing six positions, and Jay produced a fine .339 OBP, although he missed two months with a fractured forearm. Richard, too, helped after arriving as a free agent in August, posting a 2.52 ERA in 53 2/3 innings down the stretch, although with underwhelming peripherals. Of the four, only Jackson clearly struggled, with a 5.89 ERA, 6.6 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 73 1/3 innings. Jackson has voiced interest in returning to the Padres next season.

Cardinals Extend Mike Matheny Through 2020

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The Cardinals and manager Mike Matheny have agreed to a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2020 season, the team announced.

Matheny was previously in danger of entering the 2017 campaign as a lame duck, though owner Bill DeWitt Jr. gave the 46-year-old a vote of confidence in late September.

“Mike’s done a really good job for us,” said DeWitt. “There’s no thought that we’re going to go in any different direction.”

In terms of wins and losses, the five-year Matheny era has been a productive one for the Cardinals, who have finished with no fewer than 86 victories in any individual season and have made the playoffs four times. Overall, the club has gone 461-349 in the regular season under Matheny, whose crowning playoff achievement is a National League pennant in 2013. St. Louis missed the postseason this year, but general manager John Mozeliak doesn’t blame Matheny for that.

“Mike takes a lot of heat, and I’ve defended him and I will continue to,” Mozeliak said late in the regular season. “I really feel like some of the things that we’re dealing with aren’t fair to put on the manager.”

While Matheny has indeed taken heat from outside the Cardinals organization, it’s clear the team’s front office values the job he has done as the manager. If Matheny sees his extension through, it’ll give him 14 combined years with the franchise as a player and manager. The longtime major league catcher was the Cardinals’ primary backstop from 2000-2004.

Cardinals Expect To Retain Mike Matheny For 2017

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Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. says that skipper Mike Matheny will remain at the club’s helm next year, as Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Matheny’s contract runs expires after 2017.

There had been at least some outside questions of Matheny’s status, given the Cards’ somewhat disappointing 82-75 mark with five games left to play. St. Louis is still battling for a Wild Card spot, of course — and the team has already qualified for the postseason in all four prior seasons of Matheny’s tenure — but never really competed this year in an NL Central that has been dominated by the rival Cubs.

“Mike’s done a really good job for us,” said DeWitt. “There’s no thought that we’re going to go in any different direction.” The owner went on to explain that Matheny remains “a great leader” who isn’t responsible for what has been “one of those years where things haven’t worked.”

GM John Mozeliak also expressed confidence in the organization’s dugout chief, saying that the 46-year-old Matheny can be unfairly blamed when things don’t go smoothly. “Mike takes a lot of heat, and I’ve defended him and I will continue to,” said Mozeliak. “I really feel like some of the things that we’re dealing with aren’t fair to put on the manager.”

It is certainly hard to argue with Matheny’s overall results, though obviously he was entrusted with a talented and veteran-laden ballclub. Still, the former big league backstop has received his share of criticism for in-game management, focused particularly on his use of the bullpen.

Clearly, though, the Cardinals’ top decisionmakers don’t feel that any shortcomings in those areas override Mathany’s track record and overall management of the club. That being said, it’s not clear that any new contract discussions will take place, and Matheny could enter the 2017 season managing for his future in the organization.

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