Wong, who turned 30 over the weekend, has just one year of control remaining, but that comes in the form of a non-guaranteed $12.5MM club option for next season. The option comes with a $1MM buyout, meaning there’s a net $11.5MM decision to be made when it comes to keeping the 2019 Gold Glover or cutting him loose.
Wong hit .265/.350/.326 this season. The on-base skills displayed by Wong were roughly in line with his previous three seasons, but the second baseman’s already limited power went up in smoke, as Wong connected on just one home run, adding four doubles and a pair of triples. His .061 ISO (slugging minus batting average) was the lowest of his career by more than 50 points. Defensively, he remained elite; his six Defensive Runs Saved were the second-most among second baseman and ranked 19th in Major League Baseball at any position.
The Cards have just shy of $110MM committed to next year’s payroll — not including Wong’s would-be $12.5MM salary — and have a rather substantial arbitration class that will feature Jack Flaherty, John Gant, Alex Reyes, Harrison Bader, Jordan Hicks and John Brebbia. They’ll also be forced into decisions on franchise icons Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, both of whom are free agents but have interest in returning for another go-around in St. Louis. And, of course, none of that group would do much to address the team’s frequently anemic offense, which will be a focal point for president of baseball ops John Mozeliak, GM Mike Girsch and the rest of the front office this winter.
On the surface, there’d be good reason for Wong to hold some mutual interest in a reworked deal. Beyond staying with the only club he’s ever known, the offseason market is expected to be rather frigid for mid-tier free agents due to the aforementioned revenue losses. The second base market, in particular, would also hold plenty of competition, most notably in the form of Yankees star DJ LeMahieu. He’s far from the only starting-caliber second baseman who’ll hit free agency this winter, however. Cesar Hernandez, Jonathan Schoop and bounceback candidate Jonathan Villar will all be on the market alongside myriad utility types who could capably hold down a second base gig on at least a part-time basis. The expected deluge of non-tenders should only add to the competition.
There’s no telling to what extent Cards chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. is willing to spend in the wake of revenue losses, but it’ll presumably be at a lower level than the rough $168MM projection (pre-prorating) that Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez put on their 2020 roster. DeWitt is the same owner who famously claimed that the baseball industry simply “isn’t very profitable” earlier this year.
]]>The Cardinals, however, are in the unique position of awaiting decisions from two franchise icons: Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. Both vets have interest in returning, but no decision has been made. Either or both could still decide to return. In a worst case scenario for Cardinals’ fans, it’s possible the pair could explore a new frontier with another club, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That seems unlikely, but Molina and Wainwright are intense competitors who have accomplished more-or-less everything they could hope to accomplish in St. Louis.
For the Cardinals’ part, manager Mike Shildt has repeatedly expressed a desire to see the pair return to Jupiter in the spring. Wainwright and Molina have long set the tone in St. Louis, and it’s hard to quantify the impact their departure might have on the club’s culture. The Cardinals had hoped a sort of passing of the torch would take place in 2020, per Goold, but the young players in St. Louis didn’t quite establish themselves in exactly the way the team hoped. Ace Jack Flaherty still has a sky-high ceiling, but in 9 starts, the 24-year-old went just 4-3 with a 4.91 ERA/4.11 FIP. Given the tumultuous nature of the season, that’s hardly a disaster. Still, when push came to shove, it was Wainwright and Kwang Hyun Kim taking the ball in games one and two of the playoffs.
Molina, 38, already outlasted one catcher-of-the-future in Carson Kelly, who was eventually traded to the Diamondbacks as part of the package for Paul Goldschmidt. Andrew Knizner, 25, is the closest to usurping the role now, but it’s not particularly close. If Molina wants to come back, he’ll be back, and he’ll be the starting catcher.
Goold notes that Molina desires to play two more seasons. That certainly makes it seem as if he’ll be back in St. Louis. If Molina returns, chances are greater that Wainwright returns as well. They certainly have a need now that Dakota Hudson will miss the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Cardinals have other options for the rotation – Alex Reyes, Carlos Martinez, Kim, Miles Mikolas, and Austin Gomber – but besides Flaherty, they all come with questions. With Wainwright, the Cardinals know exactly what they’re getting. They’re just waiting for Wainwright to give the word on whether or not they’ll get it in 2021.
]]>As Hummel notes, Gibson passed away on the 52nd anniversary of one of his greatest performances – a 17-strikeout effort against the Tigers in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series. It was one of countless gems turned in by the right-handed Gibson during his Hall of Fame career, which spanned from 1959-75.
Always known as an incredibly fierce competitor and a seemingly inexhaustible workhorse, Gibson pitched to a brilliant 2.89 ERA, compiled a 251-147 record during the regular season and amassed 12 seasons with at least 200 innings – including a pair of years with upward of 300 frames. But Gibson was even more effective in the postseason, where he put up a 1.89 ERA and went 7-2 across 81 innings to help the Cardinals to two World Series titles. His playoff heroics will always be part of baseball lore.
Gibson went to nine All-Star Games and won nine Gold Gloves, two Cy Youngs and an MVP during his tremendous career. He’s undoubtedly one of the best pitchers in the history of the sport, and everyone in the baseball world is surely sad that he’s gone. We at MLBTR offer condolences to Gibson’s family, friends and the Cardinals organization.
]]>With Lamet and Clevinger on the shelf, San Diego turned to Chris Paddack and Zach Davies in the first two games, but the pair struggled. The team’s now so short on options that it will tap reliever Craig Stammen as the opener in a bullpen game Friday. The Cardinals, meanwhile, will have Jack Flaherty on the hill. Flaherty went through a very disappointing regular season, though he’s only a year removed from serving as one of the league’s most valuable starters.
On the offensive side, the Fernando Tatis Jr.-led Padres finished the season with one of the game’s most potent attacks, ranking third in runs and fifth in wRC+. The Cardinals weren’t nearly as good (28th in runs, 19th in wRC+), but the Paul Goldschmidt-helmed outfit has outscored the Padres 16-15 in the series.
The game’s about to get underway. Which team do you expect to advance? (Poll link for app users)
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It was a trying regular season for the Cardinals, who overcame a two-week layoff during the summer that resulted from coronavirus issues. Despite having to race to catch up to the rest of the league in games played, the Cardinals managed to come in at above .500 yet again, finishing 30-28 en route to the fifth seed in the NL. The Cards will go into their series against San Diego with a “downsized” pitching staff, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes, but they could turn to Oviedo, Ponce de Leon and Gomber for multi-inning appearances out of their bullpen if needed.
]]>Elsewhere in the National League, Dodgers are the team to beat, while the Padres are the team to watch. The Rockies and Diamondbacks will face some hard questions in the offseason after disappointing years, while the Giants exceeded expectations but narrowly missed the postseason.
The Central makes up half the playoff field in the National League with everyone but the Pirates continuing into MLB’s second season. The Cubs took home their third division title in five seasons behind stellar years from Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks, but it was a difficult season for many of their core offensive players. They were also the only team in the majors to go the entire season without a single player testing positive for COVID-19, per NBC Sports Chicago and others. The Cardinals will be the #5 seed after playing two fewer games than the rest of the league, Trevor Bauer led the Reds back to the postseason by winning the NL ERA title (in a free agent year no less), and the Brewers backed into the NL’s #8 seed without ever being above .500 in 2020.
In the American League, small markets had themselves a year. The A’s took the AL West back from the defending AL champion Astros. Speaking of, Houston finished a tumultuous year without their ace Justin Verlander. Manager Dusty Baker will lead his fifth different team to the postseason, this one joining the Brewers as one of two under-.500 teams to reach the postseason. The Angels will reboot after firing their GM earlier today, while the Rangers and Mariners continue their rebuilds.
The Rays, meanwhile, won the AL East for the first time in a decade and they’re the top seed in the American League. The Yankees settle for second place and the Blue Jays arrive to the postseason a little earlier than expected as the AL’s #8 seed. The Red Sox took an expected step back, while the Orioles performed better than expected, staying in the playoff hunt for most of the season.
The Twins lost in extras today, but they nonetheless secured their second consecutive AL Central title. Shane Bieber put up a potentially MVP season to get the Indians back to the playoffs. The White Sox arrived in a major way led by Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu. Only a late season slide kept them from a division crown. They’ll head to Oakland as the #7 seed. The Tigers debuted a number of players they hope will be a part of their next competitive team, while the Royals said goodbye to a franchise icon in Alex Gordon’s final season.
It was a short and bizarre season, but the playoffs – while expanded – aren’t going to be all that different from most years. There will be neutral sites and a wild card round of 3-game series, and playoff bubbles, but once the field is pared down to eight, it’s more or less business as usual for the postseason. It should be an exciting month of October.
Here’s the final field of 16:
National League
(8) Brewers at (1) Dodgers
(5) Cardinals at (4) Padres
(6) Marlins at (3) Cubs
(7) Reds at (2) Braves
American League
(8) Blue Jays at (1) Rays
(5) Yankees at (4) Indians
(6) Astros at (3) Twins
(7) White Sox at (2) A’s
The playoffs begin on Tuesday, September 29.
]]>Hudson initially went to the injured list with a forearm strain, and while the Cardinals were not overly concerned from the start, further testing heightened the possibility of surgery. Given the traditional timetable for recovery from Tommy John, Hudson figures to miss all of 2021 and possibly a portion of 2022 as well. The timing is particularly unfortunate for the 26-year-old hurler, who will now target a return as early in 2022 as possible.
Hudson has established himself as a significant part of the Cardinals rotation over the past two seasons. He finished 5th in rookie of the year voting in 2019 after going 16-7 with a 3.35 ERA/4.93 FIP across 174 2/3 innings. Wandering command held him back at times (4.4 BB/9). but he’d made strides in that regard this season (3.5 BB/9). Hudson was the game 4 starter in each of the NLDS and NLCS last season, struggling in both outings. To be fair, the defense didn’t do him any favors in either outing, as he allowed 3 unearned runs each time out.
The 6’5″ right-hander made 8 starts this season, going 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA/4.50 FIP, worth 0.6 rWAR. If the Cardinals are able to secure their spot in the postseason, they still present as a scary match-up for the 3-game set in the first round. Jack Flaherty and Adam Wainwright will rival any top two in the National League, full stop. Beyond those two stalwarts, lefties Austin Gomber and Kwang Hyun Kim would be options for a potential game 3. Carlos Martinez has struggled after fighting COVID-19 early in the season, and it’s looking less and less likely that he’ll be able to contribute much this season.
If the Cardinals can beat the Brewers on Sunday, they’ll be in the playoffs as the #5 seed. If they lose, however, they could be in for a long week. With only 58 games played, they would potentially have to fly to Detroit to play a doubleheader to solidify their playoff seeding. They would have to lose on Sunday, get swept in the doubleheader on Monday, and see the Giants win their Sunday game in order to finish out of the postseason entirely.
Beyond this season, the loss of Hudson might hurt even more, especially if Adam Wainwright does not return for another season. Martinez, Miles Mikolas, and John Gant will all be returning from injury-shortened 2020 seasons with a chance to make the 2021 rotation behind Flaherty and Kim. If Wainwright wants to continue playing, another season in St. Louis would certainly benefit both parties.
]]>Hudson exited his Sept. 17 start after just two innings, and while manager Mike Shildt at the time called his level of concern “very low,” additional testing has forced him to change his tune. “I would like to be able to tell you it’s fantastic news, but I can’t say that’s going to be the case,” Shildt told reporters yesterday (via Goold). Hudson was known to be seeking additional opinions on the injury this week. It’s not yet clear what type of procedure — if any at all — would be required, but the Cards figure to have an update on the right-hander’s status before too long.
The obvious hope is that Hudson will be able to avoid going under the knife. Surgery is always a last resort and typically requires months-long rehabilitation efforts. The Cards’ 2021 rotation is already a bit murky thanks to injuries elsewhere — Miles Mikolas underwent flexor tendon surgery earlier this year — and the fact that Adam Wainwright is a free agent at season’s end.
Also muddying next year’s rotation picture are the enormous struggles that Carlos Martinez has endured in 2020. The former St. Louis ace returned to the rotation after spending the ’19 season in the bullpen but has been hammered for 22 earned runs on 26 hits and 10 walks through just 20 innings of work. Martinez’s season formally came to a close this week when an oblique strain landed him on the injured list, but there have been additional health concerns at play for the righty.
Martinez, who has asthma that hospitalized him for a night late last season, went to the emergency room for IV treatment three or four times while battling the coronavirus, per MLB.com’s Anne Rogers. Shildt suggested that Martinez was “affected by COVID probably more than anybody in this league” and was at one point “concerned about his own personal well-being and livelihood.” It’s admirable that he gutted out a return to the mound but also perhaps not surprising that he struggled to this extent given the apparent severity of his symptoms.
In a best-case scenario, both Martinez and Hudson will be ready to join Jack Flaherty, Mikolas and Kwang Hyun Kim on the Cardinals’ staff early next year — if not on Opening Day. But the health concerns surrounding both hurlers should give the Cards more incentive to explore yet another reunion with Wainwright and/or pursue additional depth options on the free-agent market.
]]>With oblique injuries often leading to weeks-long absences, this figures to end the season for Martinez, who has logged all five of his 2020 appearances out of the Cardinals’ rotation after working from their bullpen a year ago.
While Martinez was a high-end starter earlier in his career, opposing offenses have smashed the 29-year-old for a 9.90 ERA/6.88 FIP in 20 innings this season. Martinez has easily posted career-worst strikeout and walk rates along the way, having logged 7.65 K/9 and 4.65 BB/9, respectively. And Martinez has averaged under 93 mph on his fastball – far below the 95-96 mean he has typically recorded.
The Cardinals, who are 27-26, do have their next five starters lined up, with Kwang Hyun Kim, Jack Flaherty, Daniel Ponce de Leon, Adam Wainwright and Austin Gomber scheduled to take the mound in their upcoming matchups. Regardless of how their season ends, though, the Cardinals will owe Martinez $11.5MM in 2021. That would have looked like a bargain price not long ago, but that’s not the case with the way he has performed this year.
]]>The embattled Martinez was pulled from his start tonight with what the team is describing as a mid-back strain. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was among those to cover the developments on Twitter.
Martinez was ultimately charged with eight earned runs, leaving him with an unsightly 9.90 ERA on the season. The prognosis remains to be seen, but it’s fair to wonder regardless whether he will play a significant role in the postseason (should the Cards qualify).
Martinez, who already missed a big chunk of the campaign owing to coronavirus infection, will earn $11.5MM next year before the club makes a call on the first of two club options. The Cards might conceivably shop him in the offseason, though contractual circumstances may instead dictate an effort at a rebound in St. Louis.
As for Hudson, it was already known that he’d miss the remainder of the year with a forearm injury. As Anne Rogers of MLB.com covers via Twitter, Hudson’s outlook beyond that point remains to be seen.
The outcome of an initial medical review isn’t known. Hudson is due for a second opinion on his wounded wing, with a decision on treatment to ensue.
Before the health issues intervened, Hudson had been humming. Through 39 frames over eight starts, he carried a 2.77 ERA. Despite marginal K/BB numbers, Hudson has throughout his young career induced loads of groundballs and outperformed ERA estimators.
]]>Kaminsky was a first-round pick (No. 28) for the Cardinals in 2013, but he is already in his second stint with the franchise. The Cardinals traded Kaminsky to the Indians in 2015 for slugger Brandon Moss, but the Redbirds brought the hurler back before 2020 on a minor league contract.
The 26-year-old Kaminsky made the first five MLB appearances of his career earlier this season and gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk in 4 2/3 innings. Kaminsky logged a 60 percent groundball rate over that small sample of work, and he has always posted high GB rates in the minors. Despite that, Kaminsky struggled to a 5.11 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in a 24 2/3-inning Triple-A debut with the Indians last season.
]]>This will end Hudson’s season, though it’s not a surprising outcome for someone who suffered a right flexor tendon injury last week. The hope is that Hudson will return to health once next season rolls around, especially considering he has been an important member of the Cardinals’ rotation since his first full campaign in 2019.
While fielding-independent metrics such as FIP (4.73) and xFIP (4.55) haven’t been enamored of Hudson’s work, the bottom-line results have been highly encouraging for the 26-year-old throughout his career. So far, thanks in part to a sterling 57.3 percent groundball rate, Hudson has managed a 3.17 ERA across 241 innings and overcome weak strikeout/walk numbers (6.95 K/9, 4.44 BB/9). Hudson’s ability to induce grounders at a high clip helped him to a 2.77 ERA in 39 frames this year.
]]>Ramirez – part of the Cardinals’ July 2018 return from the Rays for outfielder Tommy Pham – lasted just under two months on St. Louis’ 40-man roster before the team designated him. The 25-year-old Ramirez, whom the Cardinals selected Aug. 5, made one disastrous appearance with the club this season and yielded six runs on six hits (including four homers) and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. He joined the Cardinals as the owner of a much more respectable 4.03 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 462 1/3 minor league frames.
At the major league level, Fowler and Gallegos could serve as important late-game reinforcements for the Cardinals, who have gone 26-24 and are currently in playoff position. They’ve been without Fowler since he went on the IL on Sept. 2 with a stomach illness. The switch-hitting 34-year-old slashed .279/.347/.485 with four homers in 75 plate appearances before then.
Just as Fowler’s an important part of the Cardinals’ outfield, their bullpen needs Gallegos, who’s back after the Redbirds placed him on the IL on Sept. 11 with a right groin strain. Gallegos has pitched to a 3.97 ERA/2.65 FIP and notched 11.12 K/9 and 2.38 BB/9 in 11 2/3 frames this season. He also leads the Cardinals in saves with four.
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