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Cardinals Have “Negligible” Interest In Lohse

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The Cardinals don't expect Chris Carpenter to pitch for them in 2013, and the right-hander's career could be over. But it doesn't sound as though the team will turn to Kyle Lohse to restore its rotation depth. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals' interest in Lohse is "negligible" at this time (Twitter link).

The Cardinals stand to obtain a compensatory draft pick if Lohse signs with another team, as he declined St. Louis' qualifying offer after the season. The Cardinals seem content to let him sign elsewhere, but certain teams are reluctant to surrender a pick to sign Lohse. For example, the Rangers and Angels don't appear to have serious interest at this time. However, the Brewers and Orioles would be interested at the right price.

While Cardinals GM John Mozeliak declined to discuss Lohse in particular today, he acknowledged that the club could consider making an addition under the right circumstances. The Cardinals have their share of internal rotation options in Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook, Lance Lynn, Trevor Rosenthal and Shelby Miller.

Chris Carpenter Likely To Miss 2013 Season

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Cardinals GM John Mozeliak announced that Chris Carpenter can't continue to throw and will likely miss the 2013 season (Twitter links via Danny Knobler of CBS Sports and B.J. Rains of FOX Sports Midwest). The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner continues battling injuries that are preventing him from throwing.

Mozeliak said Carpenter will likely be placed on the disabled list, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). By announcing his retirement, Carpenter would have to forfeit his $12.5MM salary, something he's not likely to do. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported earlier today that Carpenter was said to be considering retirement. 

Carpenter missed most of the 2012 season with a shoulder injury. He had surgery related to nerves in his pitching shoulder after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. The 37-year-old started three regular season games last year and started three more times in the postseason.

Carpenter told the Cardinals that he continued feeling numbness and discomfort in recent bullpen sessions, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). Last month, Carpenter suggested he would not necessarily rehab through another serious injury.

"If I have more health issues I’m not going to continue to try to battle through," Carpenter said, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Mozeliak said the Cardinals are "comfortable" with their current starting pitching depth, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (on Twitter). Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook and Lance Lynn lead the Cardinals' rotation. Trevor Rosenthal and Shelby Miller figure to compete for the fifth rotation spot, assuming the Cardinals don't bring in an outsider.

Free agent right-hander Kyle Lohse could be an option for the rotation, though a deal with Lohse would prevent the Cardinals from collecting an additional draft pick in the upcoming amateur draft. When asked about Lohse, Mozeliak said in general that the Cardinals could consider making additions (via Rains on Twitter).

Cardinals Notes: Prospects, Free Agents

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The Cardinals have added role players such as Randy Choate, Ty Wigginton and Ronny Cedeno this offseason instead of making more substantial changes to their roster. But most of the players who led the Cardinals to an 88-win season in 2012 will return, so general manager John Mozeliak didn't need to make major moves this winter. Here’s the latest from St. Louis…

  • The Cardinals have the top farm system in baseball, Keith Law writes in his annual rankings at ESPN.com. In Law’s view the Cardinals have "drafted well, fared well in Latin America, traded well and developed well over the past five years." Five of the top 100 prospects in baseball play in the Cardinals’ system, according to Law.
  • Mozeliak explained to Anna McDonald of ESPN.com that advanced metrics encourage teams to pay free agents for what they will do next as opposed to what they have already done. "Now we're able to combine these advanced stats with the ability now to really create a model that gives us sort of recommendations on contracts, salary and length," he said. "When you start thinking about things like the aging curve — that is something I think 20, 30 years ago when players were signing contracts, they were signing contracts for what they accomplished — now people are signing contracts for what you expect them to do." The complete ESPN.com piece provides more insight into Mozeliak’s view on the role of baseball analytics.

Cardinals, Marc Rzepczynski Avoid Arbitration

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We'll track the day's arbitration agreements under $3MM right here. MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker has the details on this year's cases. Be sure to check out MLBTR's guide to Arbiration Basics as well. Now for Friday's deals…

  • The Cardinals avoided arbitration with left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski, Jenifer Langosch ‏of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). It's a $1.1MM deal, the AP reports (via ESPN.com). Rzepczynski, a client of John Boggs & Associates, filed for $1.3MM with the Cardinals countering at $900K. David Freese is now St. Louis' lone unsigned arb eligible player, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows.

Oscar Taveras Switches Agents

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One of the best prospects in baseball has new representation.  Cardinals outfield prospect Oscar Taveras has dropped agent Melvin Roman for Rob Plummer, MLBTR has learned.  It's a coup for Plummer, who now represents several of the game's best Dominican prospects, such as Miguel Sano of the Twins and Carlos Martinez, also of the Cardinals.

Taveras, 20, ascended to Double-A last year with great success.  Most prospect gurus rank him in their top three, and he's got a good shot at making his Major League debut in 2013.

For agency info on over 1,700 players, check out MLBTR's oft-updated agency database.  Agents: if you've got a 40-man roster player or top prospect whose representation is not correctly noted, we welcome corrections at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Cardinals To Sign Ronny Cedeno

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3:53pm: The deal guarantees Cedeno $1.15MM and includes $850K in performance bonuses, Rosenthal reports (on Twitter).

2:55pm: The Cardinals have agreed to sign Ronny Cedeno to a one-year, Major League contract, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).

Cedeno played for the Mets last year, appearing in 78 games, mostly as a middle infielder. The 29-year-old posted a .259/.332/.410 batting line in 186 plate appearances with New York. He earned $1.2MM, and has earned between $1-2MM in each of the last three seasons. Multiple teams expressed interest in Cedeno, but the identity of other interested teams remains unknown.

Rafael Furcal projects as St. Louis' starting shortstop, but he could miss the start of the season due to an elbow injury. Pete Kozma provides St. Louis with an internal alternative at the position.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the Cardinals' interest and that the sides were nearing a deal.

Cardinals Designate Browning For Assignment

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The Cardinals designated left-hander Barret Browning for assignment, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports (on Twitter). The move creates roster space for Ronny Cedeno, who agreed to sign a one-year deal with St. Louis.

Browning made his MLB debut in 2012, appearing in 22 games out of the bullpen for the Cardinals and posting a 5.12 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. The 28-year-old spent much of the season at Triple-A, posting a 1.73 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 41 2/3 innings.

Cardinals Interested In Ronny Cedeno

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MONDAY: It appears that Cedeno is headed to the Cardinals, Heyman reports (on Twitter).

FRIDAY: The Cardinals are one of many teams interested in shortstop Ronny Cedeno, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. It's been a quiet offseason for Cedeno, at least based on recent reports.

Cedeno played for the Mets last year, appearing in 78 games, mostly as a middle infielder. The 29-year-old posted a .259/.332/.410 batting line in 186 plate appearances with New York. He earned $1.2MM, and has earned between $1-2MM in each of the last three seasons.

Rafael Furcal projects as St. Louis' starting shortstop, but he could miss the start of the season due to an elbow injury. Pete Kozma provides St. Louis with an internal alternative at the position.

NL Central Links: Kaepernick, Cubs, Rolen, Brewers

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Colin Kaepernick is on the verge of a Super Bowl championship with the 49ers but he could've been a Chicago Cub after being drafted in the 43rd round of the 2009 amateur draft.  ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine has the story of how the Cubs took a flyer on Kaepernick, who reportedly had a 90-mph fastball as a right-handed pitching prospect. 

Here's the latest from the Cubs and elsewhere around the NL Central…

  • Theo Epstein feels his team has a greater need for young pitching than it does for position player prospects but that doesn't necessarily mean Chicago will choose a young arm with the second overall pick in June's amateur draft, the Cubs president told media (including CSNChicago.com's Patrick Mooney). "It’s interesting because in the history of the draft, the best bets up top are position players because of the uncertainty and the attrition and injury risk of pitchers," Epstein said.  "So those are pretty real trends over time. We’re going to take the best player available." 
  • The Reds hope to hear from Scott Rolen this week about the third baseman's playing future, GM Walt Jocketty told media (including Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer).  Rolen has been mulling retirement but has said that the Reds are his first choice if he does continue playing.
  • The Brewers have an internal budget of around $85MM for 2013, a significant drop from the team's record $101MM payroll from 2012, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  The drop has been attributed to management's desire to retain flexibility for future moves and an unwillingness to spend on what the Brewers felt was an overinflated pitching market.  Haudricourt hears from a source that the Brewers "lost several million dollars" in 2012.
  • With so many other NL teams making big moves this winter, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if the Cardinals will be able to stay in contention after a relatively quiet offseason.

NL Central Notes: Ryan Braun, Chris Carpenter, Chat

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Here's the latest news and headlines out of the NL Central…

  • Brewers star outfielder Ryan Braun remains happy with his decision to commit his long-term future to Milwaukee after signing an extension nearly two years ago, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I wouldn't change a thing," said Braun. "I love it in Milwaukee. It's amazing. I think the more time I've spent there, the more I realize how great a situation it really is."
  • Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter enters the 2013 season uncertain of whether this year will mark his final turn as a Major League baseball player, says B.J. Rains of FoxSportsMidwest.com. "If I'm healthy and I feel good at the end of the season and I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have a job, I'll sit down and talk to my wife and kids and see what they want to do."
  • MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts discussed the Delmon Young signing, the latest rumors and potential surprise teams on this week’s edition of the Rosters & Rumblings podcast earlier this evening. You can listen in here.
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