Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Cardinals Rumors

Rosenthal’s Latest: Gonzalez, Chacin, Singleton, Cards, Span

By | at

In his latest Notes column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports opines that the Rockies shouldn’t be buyers at this summer’s trade deadline. While the club could make a Wild Card run, he writes that the team isn’t a serious World Series contender. Rosenthal feels that the club should look to move Jhoulys Chacin — who could be a non-tender candidate this offseason — to clear room for one of its top pitching prospects (likely either Jon Gray or Eddie Butler). The bigger, and certainly bolder move posited by Rosenthal is to deal Carlos Gonzalez in order to clear room for everyday at-bats for Corey Dickerson and Charlie Blackmon. With Kyle Parker and a number of other outfield prospects on the horizon, plus Brandon Barnes and Drew Stubbs as reserve options, the team has plenty of outfield depth. Gonzalez is also owed $53MM following this season. Rosenthal notes that ownership has never shown an inclination to move Gonzalez, however, so the Rockies likely don’t share his point of view on the future of their star outfielder.

More from his latest piece…

  • Most agents with whom Rosenthal has spoken feel that Jon Singleton sold himself short by agreeing to a five-year, $10MM contract extension that could reach $30MM with three club options and $35MM if he hits enough performance bonuses. First base prospects are among the safest variety of prospects, and while some bust, Singleton will earn scarcely more than the current MLB average salary, over the life of his deal on an annual basis (assuming all options are exercised).
  • Rosenthal feels that the Cardinals should look to add a big-name starting pitcher such as James Shields or David Price at the deadline (should either become available, which is no guarantee, of course). While pitching certainly isn’t a need for the Redbirds, it’s not exactly clear where they’d place another bat upon acquiring one. And, given the team’s wealth of prospects at multiple positions, they could move valuable assets that are essentially spare parts to their own organization.
  • Ryan Zimmerman projects to play first base for the Nationals next season, but Rosenthal asks what might happen if Washington instead decides to keep Adam LaRoche. Doing so could push Zimmerman to left field full-time, with Bryce Harper manning center field, Jayson Werth in right field and Denard Span becoming a trade chip. Span has a $9MM club option and a “limited”future with the club given the presence of Michael Taylor (not to be confused with the former A’s prospect of the same name) at Double-A, writes Rosenthal.

Central Notes: Yost, Twins, Jay, Taveras

By | at

In the midst of a 26-28 season, Royals GM Dayton Moore expresses support for manager Ned Yost, Jeffrey Flanagan of FOX Sports Kansas City writes. “I have faith in Ned,” says Moore. “He is doing what he can.” Instead, Moore takes the blame for the team’s performance. “It’s my job to give the managers and the coaching staff the right players to succeed. I have to be able to give them the tools to win. So if we’re not succeeding, ultimately the responsibility comes back to me,” he says. The Royals fired hitting coach Pedro Grifol on Thursday, replacing him with Dale Sveum. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.

  • The Twins are interested in Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay, 1500ESPN.com’s Darren Wolfson tweets. The Cardinals have more outfielders than they need (so much so that their surplus may have delayed the promotion of top prospect Oscar Taveras), and could trade from their stockpile. Meanwhile, the Twins’ outfielders have struggled this season.
  • Taveras’ promotion is a big moment for the Cardinals organization, writes Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals ought to make sure they play Taveras regularly, since not doing so would merely waste service time. If Taveras hits well, the Cardinals could move Matt Adams into a “super-sub role” when he’s available to return from the disabled list.

Cardinals To Promote Oscar Taveras

By | at

The Cardinals have informed top prospect Oscar Taveras that he will be elevated to the big league club for the first time, reports Dionisio Soldevila of ESPNDeportes (Twitter links). Taveras, 21, has risen steadily through the organization’s system since being signed as an international free agent in 2008.

MLB: Spring Training-Miami Marlins at St. Louis Cardinals

Taveras, who hits and throws from the left side, has been a consensus top-five prospect league-wide entering each of the last two seasons. Entering 2014, MLB.com has him in the second slot, Baseball America ranked him third, and ESPN.com’s Keith Law placed him in the fifth slot to open the year, but just bumped him up to fourth. Regardless of precisely where he falls on that list, all agree that Taveras has impact talent who projects to hit for average and power at the MLB level.

Indeed, the minor league results have generally been there for the 6’2″ Dominican. Taveras entered 2013 after shredding the High-A and Double-A levels over consecutive seasons (at age 19 and 20, respectively). But he missed much of last season due to ankle issues, which slowed his start and may have delayed his ascension to the bigs. Nevertheless, through 395 Triple-A plate appearances over this year and last, he has posted a .316/.358/.495 triple-slash. While adding 12 home runs and six steals over that stretch, Taveras has struck out just 47 times (good for a strong 11.9% strikeout rate).

We just looked at the Cardinals’ glut of outfielding options (courtesy of Bernie Miklasz). GM John Mozeliak made clear that he was not interested in burning service time for his prized prospect unless he was going to play regularly. If that is to be the case, the obvious question becomes where that playing time will come from. Though Taveras has spent much of his minor league career at center field, most evaluators agree that he is better suited for right field, where he brings a big arm to the table. Currently, St. Louis runs out two highly-paid veterans — Matt Holliday and Allen Craig — to its corner outfield spots.

One solution, of course, would be to open a spot for Taveras by shifting Craig to first, which is currently manned by Matt Adams. Indeed, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that Adams may be headed for a DL stint. If that proves to be the case, it could be that this promotion does not represent a plan to integrate Taveras into the lineup permanently.

On the other hand, of course, he clearly has the talent to play himself into a regular role. Having entered the year with no service time, Taveras could still pick up enough days on the MLB roster to position himself for Super Two status. Assuming that he is officially added to the active roster tomorrow, Taveras could accrue as many as 121 days of service in 2014. Over the last five seasons, the Super Two cutoff has never fallen below 2.122 days of service. Whether or not Taveras is able to earn a fourth year of arbitration, the Cardinals will control his rights through at least 2020.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Photos.

Cardinals Could Deal From Outfield Surplus

By | at

While the Cardinals’ compilation of outfield talent is enviable, it nonetheless presents real difficulties to the team’s front office, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes in a piece that is well worth a full read. Indeed, that is precisely how GM John Mozeliak described things. “When you look at depth in baseball, it’s a good problem to have,” he said. “But I think we’re starting to get to the point where it might become a problem. So even though it’s a nice thing to have true depth in your system, at some point you’ve got to be able to play the depth.”

The club’s big league outfielders are off to a somewhat underwhelming start, combining for just a 95 wRC+. A group of four primary options — Matt Holliday, Allen Craig, Peter Bourjos, and Jon Jay — is responsible for most of that line. Meanwhile, a trio of well-regarded younger options has gathered at Triple-A, with top prospects Oscar Taveras and Stephen Piscotty joined by offseason trade acquisition Randal Grichuk (whose big numbers in his first Triple-A campaign make the Bourjos and Grichuk for David Freese and Fernando Salas deal look even better for St. Louis.)

While adding one of those names to the MLB outfield mix is surely tempting, Miklasz explains that the scenarios for doing so all come with complications. “You look at how we’re constituted at the major league level,” Mozeliak said, “and it’s difficult trying to find major league at-bats for Taveras, Grichuk, and, not too far down the road, Piscotty.” (Grichuk was actually brought back up today for his second run with the big club, though that move likely relates to the team’s need for a DH for a lengthy run of road match-ups against American League clubs.)

Service time is also an issue that the club will weigh in the balance. As Mozeliak explains, “you’re not going to start somebody’s [service] clock and then have them sit.” All three outfield prospects entered the year without MLB service to their credit, and only Grichuk has begun a tally thus far. It is worth bearing in mind also that all four of the team’s regular big league outfielders are under contract (Holliday, Craig) or control through arbitration (Bourjos, Jay) through at least 2016.

Looking ahead to the summer, more decisive action will likely prove necessary, says Miklasz. The Cards’ GM certainly left the impression that a trade deadline move could be explored, using interesting terms to describe his thinking. “[W]e are going to have to look at what our arbitrage possibilities are with this,” said Mozeliak. “And we will have to explore what that looks like between now and the end of July.” As Miklasz explains, a bold maneuver would not be surprising, though what form it might take — dealing away a prospect, a veteran, or even first baseman Matt Adams (while shifting Craig back to the infield) — is still anybody’s guess.

NL Notes: Taveras, Cardinals, Padres, Davis

By | at

The Cardinals are currently determining how to find big-league playing time for top outfield prospect Oscar Taveras, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. “I actually think from a baseball standpoint he could play in the big leagues,” says GM John Mozeliak. “But we’ve got to determine playing time up here with the current roster. Are we at a point where we’re willing to take away at-bats from the current roster and give them to somebody else?” If the Cardinals were to promote Taveras to play regularly, they would have less playing time for some combination of Allen Craig, Matt Adams, Peter Bourjos and Jon Jay. Taveras is currently hitting .319/.369/.527 in 198 plate appearances for Triple-A Memphis. Here are more notes from the National League.

  • While the Cardinals don’t have playing time for their Triple-A outfield talent right now, Strauss writes that they simply don’t have as much Triple-A pitching talent as they’ve had in recent years. Of course, that’s mostly because they’ve graduated so many talented pitchers in the past few seasons, including Michael Wacha, Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez, Trevor Rosenthal, Kevin Siegrist, and Seth Maness. If the Cardinals want to add another strong pitching option this season, Strauss argues, they’ll have to do it via a trade.
  • There are rumors that the Padres could fire manager Bud Black, but Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune suggests that it might be worth remembering GM Josh Byrnes’ history firing his manager when he was the GM of the Diamondbacks. In 2009, Byrnes fired Bob Melvin and replaced him with A.J. Hinch. Melvin had a terrific third act as manager of the Athletics, and both Byrnes and Hinch were fired a little more than a year later. Like Byrnes, Hinch is now in the Padres’ front office.
  • Now that first baseman Ike Davis is hitting, life with the Pirates is different than it was with the Mets, MLB.com’s Tim Healey reports. “Going to get coffee, I don’t get hitting tips,” says Davis. “I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. But I don’t need to think about my stance at 9 in the morning.” Davis is back in New York as the Pirates play at Citi Field this week.

Minor Moves: Feliciano, Falu, Sandoval, Gimenez

By | at

Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

  • The Cardinals have agreed to sign lefty Pedro Feliciano to a minor-league deal, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweeted last week that the two sides were close to a deal. Feliciano, 37, served as a LOOGY for the Mets during part of the 2013 season, pitching 25 appearances but only 11 1/3 innings and striking out nine batters while walking six. He has only pitched for the Mets in a big-league career that spans parts of nine seasons.
  • The Brewers have purchased the contract of infielder Irving Falu and optioned pitcher Jimmy Nelson to Class AAA Nashville, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. After outrighting Jeff Bianchi to make room for Nelson yesterday, the Brewers wanted another infielder for their bench. Falu, 30, signed with the Brewers in December as a minor-league free agent. He has a career .337/.366/.427 line in 95 career big-league plate appearances, all with the Royals. He was hitting .288/.349/.341 in 156 plate appearances for Nashville.
  • The Rays have released right-hander Juan Sandoval, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Sandoval, who is completely blind in his right eye, has appeared in 14 games (1 start) for Triple-A Durham this year pitching to a 3.12 ERA, 5.2 K/9, and 4.8 BB/9 in 26 innings. The 33-year-old has yet to reach the Majors.
  • The Blue Jays have acquired catcher Hector Gimenez from the White Sox, according to the International League transactions page. Gimenez has struggled in Triple-A this season slashing .109/.234/.182 in 64 plate appearances for Charlotte. The 31-year-old saw his most extensive MLB action last year appearing in 26 games for the White Sox batting .191/.275/.338 in 80 plate appearances.
  • Per MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, a pair of Pirates (Wandy Rodriguez and Phil Irwin) and a pair of Padres (Billy Buckner and Blaine Boyer) remain in DFA limbo.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Cafardo On Samardzija, Blue Jays, Price, Rodriguez

By | at

In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at the 20 biggest disappointments of the 2014 season so far.  Near the top of the list: the Rangers unfortunate rash of injuries.  Texas will be without Prince Fielder for the rest of the season and Jurickson Profar’s status is up in the air as well.  In total, the Rangers have had 14 players land on the disabled list, twice as many as any other team.  More from Cafardo..

  • Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija is being watched more than any pitcher by major league scouts. Among those watching are the Blue Jays, who are more convinced than ever they can win the AL East if they obtain a top starter like Samardzija. Meanwhile, one major league scout tells Cafardo that Toronto is still insistent on not giving up Drew Hutchison.
  • There’s some concern about David Price’s performance this season when it comes to Price, including a 3-mile-per-hour dropoff in velocity in recent outings, but one AL GM doesn’t believe the Rays will have trouble getting what they want in a deal.  “Unless there’s a reason to believe he has something wrong with his shoulder, pitchers have ebbs and flows with velocity throughout a season,” said the GM. “Price will be fine.”
  • The Pirates designated Wandy Rodriguez for assignment last week and they won’t find a deal for him if the medicals are too bad, but the feeling is that some team will take a chance.
  • If new Diamondbacks chief baseball officer Tony La Russa starts hiring people in Arizona, Cardinals farm director Gary LaRocque could be brought aboard for a front office role.

Quick Hits: Strasburg, Cole, Rangers, Butler

By | at

The pitching matchup in tonight’s game between the Nationals and Pirates features two former No. 1 overall picks: Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Gerrit Cole (2011). Pitching matchups between No. 1 overall picks are rare, not only because there’s only one No. 1 pick each year, but also because many top picks are position players, and because some top draft picks don’t pan out. Prior to Strasburg, the last No. 1 picks who were pitchers were David Price of the Rays (2007) and Luke Hochevar of the Royals (2006), and Hochevar is now a reliever. The previous two No. 1 overall pitchers (assuming one doesn’t count 2004’s Matt Bush, who converted to pitching and never played in the big leagues) were Bryan Bullington (2002, Pirates) and Matt Anderson (1997, Tigers). Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • In 2011, the Rangers drafted, but did not sign, three players who could be first-round picks in this year’s draft, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan notes. Those are Virginia outfielder Derek Fisher (the Rangers’ sixth-round pick in 2011), Kennesaw State catcher Max Pentecost (seventh round) and TCU pitcher Brandon Finnegan (45th round). MLB.com currently ranks Finnegan the 11th-best prospect in the draft, with Fisher at No. 22 and Pentecost at No. 24. Fisher and the Rangers could not find common ground on a signing bonus, and the Rangers were worried about Pentecost’s health. As for Finnegan, it’s not uncommon for teams to fail to sign late-round picks, and Sullivan points out that the Rangers did manage to sign C.J. Edwards, who they drafted three rounds later, then sent to Chicago in the Matt Garza deal.
  • Cardinals pitcher Keith Butler will have Tommy John surgery, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets. Butler has pitched a total of 22 innings of relief for the Cardinals in 2013 and 2014 combined, with a 6.14 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9. He is only 25, however, and has pitched very well at the Triple-A level.

Central Notes: Kluber, Cardinals, Manaea

By | at

Corey Kluber of the Indians has pitched like an ace this season, August Fagerstrom of Fangraphs writes. Fagerstrom notes that, since the beginning of 2013, Kluber’s pitching has compared favorably to that of David Price, and while Price appears likely to land a nine-figure contract in the 2015-16 offseason, Kluber remains relatively obscure. In ten starts, Kluber has produced 2.2 fWAR, behind only Felix Hernandez among all pitchers in baseball. Kluber has a 3.43 ERA so far, but with peripheral numbers that are better, with 10.1 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. Kluber’s excellent cut fastball has been the key to his emergence, Fagerstrom writes. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.

  • Given their outfield depth, the Cardinals are in good position to make trades, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Miklasz cites a scout who suggests that if the Cardinals do try to make a big move, it will likely be for a third strong starting pitcher to complement Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha.
  • The Royals’ gamble on Sean Manaea in the 2013 draft is paying off, Alan Eskew of Baseball America writes. Manaea fell to the Royals at No. 34 overall as other teams passed on him due to injury concerns. He now has a 5.40 ERA with Class A+ Wilmington, but with 3.7 BB/9 an an outstanding 13.6 K/9. Manaea has been pitching at 92-93 MPH, ranging up to 96 MPH, and the Royals have him working on his secondary pitches and on consistency in his delivery.

Orix Buffaloes Purchase Joey Butler’s Contract From Cardinals

By | at

The Cardinals announced (on Twitter) that 28-year-old outfielder Joey Butler was released so that his contract could be purchased by the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Butler, who was claimed off waivers from the Rangers this offseason, batted .360/.481/.547 in 106 plate appearances for Triple-A Memphis this season and owns an impressive .304/.397/.472 batting line in 1669 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. However, despite strong numbers in the minor leagues, an opportunity with the Major League club wasn’t likely to present itself. St. Louis has Matt Holliday entrenched in left field, with Peter Bourjos, Jon Jay and Allen Craig all splitting time in center field and right field at this point. Additionally, top prospect Oscar Taveras looms in Triple-A, as do outfielders Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top