- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Cardinals outfielder Stephen Piscotty is working to correct some bad habits in his swing that were related to the movement/placement of his back leg. Piscotty and hitting coach John Mabry break down some previous mechanical flaws in the 26-year-old’s swing to Goold, with Piscotty adding that his goal is to be able to elevate the ball more often. With his previous swing mechanics, Piscotty feels that he focused too much on his upper half and would subsequently roll over too many pitches and hit too many grounders. Mabry notes that Piscotty would like to boost his home run total from the low 20s to 30 or more. Per Goold, Piscotty is likely tabbed as the Cardinals’ cleanup hitter heading into the 2017 campaign.
- Goold also reports that 20-year-old Low-Class-A outfielder Magneuris Sierra has turned heads in Cardinals camp with his speed and defensive prowess. While Sierra isn’t pushing either Tommy Pham or Jose Martinez for a spot in the team’s Major League bench, he could move quickly through the organization and jump to Double-A to open the current season. Manager Mike Matheny lauded Sierra for his defensive ability and noted that his bat and approach give him a chance to be a well-rounded player in the Majors. Last season in the Class-A Midwest League, Sierra batted .307/.335/.395 with three homers and 31 steals in 122 games.
Cardinals Rumors
NL Notes: Reds, Rockies, Wisler, Schafer
Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams gave an interesting interview to David Laurila of Fangraphs that’s worth a read. The top Cincy baseball decisionmaker noted that it’s harder for clubs of that market size to pay solid veterans on short-term deals during a rebuilding campaign, which is one of several factors that tends to make the process more painful. But the organization is plainly committed to doing it and doing it right. Williams detailed many different initiatives underway after an exhaustive review of “where we thought dollars would have a better return on investment than at the major league payroll level.” You’ll want to give the post a full read.
Here’s more from the National League:
- With Ian Desmond set to miss a chunk of time early in the season, the Rockies are sorting through their options for filling in, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post writes. Mark Reynolds is the obvious choice as a primary replacement, of course, but the team will need to line up some bodies behind him. With manager Bud Black saying the club hopes to “take advantage” of the versatility of some of their own players, he lined up each of Jordan Patterson, Stephen Cardullo, and Cristhian Adames at first in drills. Whether the organization might look at external names isn’t known, but Black did say that he has not heard any discussion surrounding former Rockies first bagger Justin Morneau.
- Righty Matt Wisler is still trying to establish himself for the Braves, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. The 24-year-old has been hit hard this spring, as he was in the majors last year, and there doesn’t seem to be much chance that he’ll crack the MLB rotation unless there’s an injury or big performance downturn during the season. Still, manager Brian Snitker says he’s a believer — at least in the quality of Wisler’s offerings. “[I]t’s just location– fastball location,” Black said of Wisler’s struggles. “He’s just got to keep working on location. The stuff is there. The kid’s stuff is too good not to be successful.”
- Jordan Schafer’s efforts to make the Cardinals roster as a lefty reliever have run into some difficulties, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch Reports. The 30-year-old is dealing with forearm soreness, with the root cause yet to be determined. He hadn’t been particularly effective in his five outings anyway, and struggled upon reaching Triple-A briefly last year with the Dodgers organization. But Schafer was actually quite impressive at Double-A in 2016, working to a 3.15 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over forty frames.
Injury Could Affect Trevor Rosenthal's Season-Opening Role
- It appears the right lat muscle soreness Cardinals righty Trevor Rosenthal has been battling will kill his chances of winning a place in the team’s rotation. Moreover, it could stop the ex-closer from beginning the year as a multi-inning fireman, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Rosenthal – now, saying could he get the innings he needs to contribute as a starter or a multiple-inning relief appearance? “I think that is still in question,” said manager Mike Matheny. “It’s very important that at some point this week he gets into a game and we can get that pitch count up.” Regardless of whether Rosenthal is well enough by April to toss multiple innings in an appearance, someone figures to serve as that type of weapon for the Cardinals. General manager John Mozeliak called it “very appealing” to Matheny, and Goold adds that John Gant, Matthew Bowman, Miguel Socolovich, Tyler Lyons and Sam Tuivailala are possibilities to fill that role.
John Gant Impressing Cardinals
- After coming over from Atlanta in an offseason trade involving Jaime Garcia, righty John Gant might be pitching his way into the Cardinals’ 2017 plans, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Gant, who worked out of both the Braves’ bullpen and rotation in his 50-inning big league debut last year, is “really opening some eyes,” bench coach David Bell told Hummel on Saturday. That came after the 24-year-old tossed three perfect innings and threw 22 of 31 pitches for strikes in a start against his previous team. Overall, Gant has allowed a mere one run on three hits in eight spring innings. “I know he’s had success in the past but I think he’s really put himself into a position where we’re taking a close look at him,” continued Bell.
Matt Carpenter Ten Days Away From Hitting In Game
- Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter is playing, but only bunting in game action as he works through lower back pain. He’s about ten days from being ready to hit in a game, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). While that doesn’t leave a ton of time for Carpenter to ramp up for Opening Day, it seems he’ll be able to do so barring a setback.
Gyorko's Position Remains Uncertain
- Jedd Gyorko isn’t certain where he’ll be playing on a day to day basis in 2017, but Cardinals manager Mike Matheny tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the slugging utility infielder will have the opportunity to pick up plenty of at-bats. “I think right now it’s compete for lots of playing time,” said the skipper. “So we’re still in that same mode, and we’ll decide when we break with our club what roles look like.” Gyorko, who started 25+ games at second base, shortstop and third base last year, tells Goold that he dropped some weight in an effort to improve his range and increase the value of his newfound versatility. He also notes that so long as the Cardinals are winning, his own placement on the diamond/in the lineup is secondary. “I could be selfish and demand that I play every day and if I don’t then say I want to be traded,” says Gyorko. “That’s not who I am. That’s not who I want to be.” Gyorko will compete with Jhonny Peralta for at-bats at third base and can also play each other infield slot.
Carpenter Out At Least Another Week
- First baseman Matt Carpenter will be out for “at least another week” due to lower back tightness that has sidelined him since last Wednesday, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Carpenter, who will slide across the diamond for the Cardinals this season (with Jhonny Peralta manning third base), was forced to withdraw from the 2017 World Baseball Classic due to his back troubles.
Rosenthal Beginning "Preventative Care," Hopes To Throw By Week's End
- There was a bit of a scare for the Cardinals when righty Trevor Rosenthal went in for an MRI after experiencing discomfort in his shoulder and back, but as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, the news was good. The hope is he’ll be ready to begin throwing again by the end of the week, though GM John Mozeliak noted the hurler will begin “preventative care” right away. It’ll hopefully be little more than a blip, but the time off does impact Rosenthal’s effort to work as a starter in camp. Whether he’ll move back to relief work upon his return isn’t yet known.
Cardinals Were Finalist For Lourdes Gurriel
- Meanwhile, John Lott of The Athletic takes an interesting look at one of Bautista’s newest teammates in the Blue Jays organization, youngster Lourdes Gurriel. Though he’s not expected to factor at the MLB level this year — it’s still not even clear where he’ll end up in the field, though he’ll start out as a shortstop — the 23-year-old had a significant role in the club’s offseason approach. Gurriel ultimately turned down an offer from the Cardinals that was similar to the $22MM he got from Toronto. Of course, he’ll have to pay the people who brought him out of Cuba out of that contract; Gurriel says the cost is “in the millions.” Lott explores the interesting path taken by Gurriel (and older brother Yulieski) in a story that’s well worth a full read.
Rosenthal Scratched From First Spring Start; MRI Comes Back Clean
- Trevor Rosenthal was scratched from today’s start due to a tight right lat muscle, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny tells Langosch that Rosenthal will need a bit of extra rest but didn’t consider the injury to be serious in nature. Brian Stull of WGNU 920AM in St. Louis tweets that an MRI performed on Rosenthal came back clean, and the closer-turned-starter is now targeting Friday of this week for his first start of the spring.
