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Cardinals Notes: Mikolas, Stanton, Longoria

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The Cardinals’ signing of right-hander Miles Mikolas to a two-year, $15.5MM contract might not have been the splash that many St. Louis fans were hoping to see this week, but it nonetheless is a significant pickup for the club. GM Mike Girsch tells reporters, including MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch, that Mikolas will compete for a rotation spot after impressing Cardinals scouts for several years with his transformation in Japan. “Our scouts have watched him as he refined his repertoire, improved his velocity and became one of the most effective pitchers in Japan the last couple seasons,” says Girsch. “While Miles has always had good control back to his days with San Diego and Texas, he has been able to sharpen his pitches and improve his strikeout rate over the past three seasons.” The righty pitched to a 2.18 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9 in 424 2/3 innings for the Yomiuri Giants before making the leap back to MLB. Langosch also quotes Mikolas himself on a number of the adjustments he made and his decision to sign with the Cardinals, whose Spring Training facility is in Mikolas’ hometown of Jupiter, Fla.

Some more Cardinals chatter as the Winter Meetings loom…

  • Adding Mikolas is also in many ways preparation for a potential trade, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Goold reports that the Cards have made a “compelling” offer for Giancarlo Stanton and have discussed right-handers Sandy Alcantara and Jack Flaherty in various trade scenarios with the Marlins. (Notably, Goold does not specify whether either Alcantara or Flaherty is in the Cardinals’ final offer.) The Cardinals, he adds, are also willing to take on more of the contract than other teams.
  • Even if Stanton doesn’t approve a trade to the Cardinals, however, Goold points out that their negotiations with the Marlins won’t go to waste. Much of the talk that has gone on between the two clubs could serve as a framework for a deal involving Marcell Ozuna or Christian Yelich, if the Marlins are amenable to parting with them. The Cards have also talked to the Rays about closer Alex Colome, as Goold and others have previously reported, and Goold notes that those talks “could shift or expand” to include Evan Longoria. The longtime Rays cornerstone has come up as a speculative trade candidate on several occasions this winter. As Goold notes, Longoria gains 10-and-5 rights early in the 2018 season, so if the Rays do want to move the remaining five years and $86MM on his contract, this offseason is the time to do it before he gains the full no-trade power that comes with those 10-and-5 rights.
  • President of baseball operations John Mozeliak joined Chris Hrabe and Mike Claiborne of KMOX Sports Radio in St. Louis to discuss a host of topics, and the transcription of much of the conversation has been posted online by KMOX. Mozeliak didn’t delve into specifics on the Stanton rumors but did discuss the Mikolas signing, his surplus of young outfield options, some of the team’s new coaching hires (Mike Maddux, Willie McGee) and more. Notably, Mozeliak plainly stated that while some reports have pegged Mikolas as a potential fifth starter, the Cardinals “definitely see him with higher expectations than that.” Regarding the many upper-level outfield prospects the Cardinals have in their system, Mozeliak implies that the team will put that supply of talent to use in the near future. “When you envision the next couple of weeks, it’s how do we take that depth and put it towards finding a way to help the club…” Mozeliak states.

Giancarlo Stanton Rumors: Monday

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Another day, another slew of rumors pertaining to the game’s top slugger. Reports over the weekend indicated that the Cardinals have submitted a formal offer to the Marlins for Giancarlo Stanton, but that doesn’t mean that there’s any indication a trade involving Stanton is any closer. Here’s the latest on the 2017 home run king…

  • Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM tweets that the Marlins and Giants have discussed second baseman Joe Panik, right-handed pitching prospect Tyler Beede and outfield prospect Chris Shaw. The Giants have also discussed the possibility of taking Dee Gordon back in the deal, which would make some sense with Panik possibly being of interest to Miami. It’s worth noting that Mish doesn’t specifically state that the two sides have talked about a Panik/Beede/Shaw for Stanton and Gordon package. To the contrary, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that he hears that is not the framework of a deal being discussed (nor is it close, according to Schulman). It seems, then, that the two sides are likely discussing multiple scenarios and those names have been involved (likely with others) in various permutations. The Giants reportedly made some type of trade proposal on Friday.
  • Mish also tweets that the Cardinals are willing to part with hard-throwing right-handed pitching prospect Sandy Alcantara, who was included in the aforementioned formal offer to Miami. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com rank Alcantara ninth among Cardinals farmhands, noting he sits at 96 mph with a fastball that scrapes triple digits and also has the potential for a pair of average or better secondary offerings. Baseball America rated Alcantara fourth among Cardinals farmhands just two weeks ago (subscription required & recommended for their full scouting report).
  • Meanwhile, Schulman tweets that the Marlins haven’t reached the point where they’re asking interested teams for their best and final offers for Stanton, thus indicating that an actual trade involving Stanton is not especially close at this time.

Latest On Cardinals’ Offseason Targets

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The Cardinals have discussed closer Alex Colome in trade talks with the Rays, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network (via Twitter). St. Louis has an opening at the back of its bullpen, among other needs, after releasing Trevor Rosenthal following Tommy John surgery.

Colome is one of many names I raised recently as theoretical possibilities in addressing the Cards’ closer opening. He’s only projected to earn $5.5MM and can be retained for two additional seasons through the arbitration process. And there’s no question he can handle the pressures of the ninth inning, having secured 84 saves over the past two seasons.

Of course, as the above link shows, there are quite a few other options as well. And Colome’s record is not spotless. While he led the American League in saves last year, he also failed to match his output from the prior campaign. After carrying a 1.91 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 2016, Colome sported a 3.24 ERA in 2017 with only 7.8 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 2017.

It’s also not yet clear just how the Rays will proceed. There have been calls for some kind of rebuild, which the organization is evidently at least willing to consider. Should the team decide it is willing to part with Colome or other veteran assets, though, it seems likely that it’ll demand quality young talent at or near the majors in return.

Generally, the Cardinals have quite a few routes they could still go. The team is looking, especially, to improve the back of the pen and bolster its offense. With numerous controllable position players to dangle in trades, as well as some payroll capacity to work with, the Cards will be looking to craft a path to addressing all of their desires as efficiently as possible.

In seeking a major bat, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the team “has no interest” in pursuing free agent J.D. Martinez. Beyond their well-known interest in some Marlins targets, the Cards are also chatting internally about the possibility of going after free agent Carlos Gonzalez, who will surely be available for less (in terms of contract amount assumed and prospect capital) than would the others.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis organization is considering some tinkering with existing players. President of baseball ops John Mozeliak says he has informed Dexter Fowler that he could be shifted to left field in favor of Tommy Pham. And Matt Carpenter may be asked to move around in a utility role, though the expectation would be that he’d get near-everyday time.

Similarly, the Cardinals are also weighing how best to handle their pitching staff, as Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Righty Alex Reyes, who will be returning from Tommy John surgery, could be slowed down to open the season and work from the bullpen, Mozeliak suggested. The club might also boost its relief corps by utilizing Sandy Alcantara there, though he’ll likely stretch out in camp. These hurlers will surely factor into the construction of the bullpen, though their presence obviously does not obviate the need for new arms — especially in the ninth inning.

Notable September Call-Ups

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September 1 marks the date on which regular-season rosters expand from 25 to 40 in Major League Baseball. While the merit of that rule and its impact on games are a source of debate — MLB games tend to increase considerably in length in September as managers can more freely make pitching changes with deeper bullpens — the fact remains that there could be more than 100 players promoted to the big leagues today as the first wave of call-ups arrives.

Many September call-ups are players that have experience already under their belt. Journeyman big leaguers with exceptionally specific roles (e.g. pinch-running and defensive specialists) become a luxury that teams can now afford, and many teams will bring up a third catcher or additional bullpen arms for depth, even if a long-term MLB role isn’t likely for said players.

Some promotions, though, are more notable than others. Big league teams will often use the month of September to get a look at their top organizational prospects, and in some instances September can provide a potential audition for former stars seeking to reestablish themselves. (The Orioles, for instance, were reported last night to be bringing slugger Pedro Alvarez up from Triple-A for the season’s final month.)

All that said, here are some of this year’s more notable September promotions (we’ll update throughout the day as more moves are announced)…

  • Four new youngsters are joining the Cardinals, the team announced. Outfielder Harrison Bader and infielder Alex Mejia were already on the 40-man, but the team has also gone ahead and added righty Sandy Alcantara and backstop Alberto Rosario. Alcantara is an interesting pitcher to keep an eye on, as he reputedly comes with a big arm and could contribute from the bullpen — though he’s still ironing things out as a starter after spending the year pitching to a 4.31 ERA at Double-A.
  • The Indians announced that they’ve recalled top catching prospect Francisco Mejia from Double-A Akron and selected the contract of outfielder Greg Allen from Akron, thus adding him to the 40-man roster. The 21-year-old Mejia is commonly regarded as one of the top 25 prospects in all of Major League Baseball and was reportedly the would-be centerpiece to the Jonathan Lucroy trade that Lucroy vetoed in 2016. Allen, too, was set to be a part of that trade but has instead remained in the Indians organization and will now join Mejia in donning a big league jersey for the first time this month.
  • Right-hander Fernando Salas will return to the Angels, who announced last night that his contract has been selected from Triple-A Salt Lake. Salas spent parts of three seasons as a useful bullpen arm for the Angels before a trade to the Mets last August. While he dominated for New York down the stretch, Salas was torched for a 6.00 ERA this year after re-signing with the Mets. He tossed three scoreless innings in Salt Lake City and will hope for a strong finish to bolster offseason interest.
  • The Blue Jays, too, will be getting another look at an old friend. Outfielder Michael Saunders is joining the Jays as a September call-up, tweets MLB.com’s Greg Johns. While Saunders is merely looking to show well in his return to the Majors after struggling badly with the Phillies earlier this season, another outfielder is looking to carve out a long-term role in Toronto; trade acquisition Teoscar Hernandez is also on his way to the Majors, per Johns. The 24-year-old Hernandez was acquired in the Francisco Liriano swap and has posted a combined .265/.351/.490 batting line in 456 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
  • The Mets are promoting right-handers Jacob Rhame and Jamie Callahan, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. While neither reliever is considered to be among the game’s best prospects — they rank 23rd and 30th, respectively, on MLB.com’s list of the Mets’ top 30 prospects — both were recently acquired on the trade market. Rhame came to the Mets from the Dodgers as the return for Curtis Granderson, while Callahan arrived in Queens by way of the Addison Reed trade with the Red Sox. Both will be looking to make a strong impression as they seek to secure a long-term spot in the Mets’ bullpen.
  • The Tigers are getting their first look at left-handed reliever Jairo Labourt, per a team announcement. The 23-year-old was acquired alongside Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd in exchange fo David Price back in 2015. He’s turned in an excellent 2.17 ERA across three minor league levels this season and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine innings, albeit with some shaky control (4.5 BB/9).

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