Cardinals Rumors

Cardinals Notes: Carpenter, Oswalt, Luhnow

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 21, 2012 at 12:29pm CDT

The Cardinals may open the season without their ace starting pitcher. Here are the details along with reactions from around the league…

Chris Carpenter returned to St. Louis to be examined by nerve specialists, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. It now seems likely that Carpenter will open the season on the disabled list with Lance Lynn taking his spot in the Cardinals’ rotation.
Richard Justice of MLB.com doubted Roy Oswalt's decision to sign midseason, but now that Carpenter and Rangers starter Neftali Feliz are battling injuries, there's uncertainty on Oswalt's two preferred teams.
Jeff Gordon of the Post-Dispatch makes the case that “revisiting the Oswalt Option is imperative.”
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow says his time spent working in the Cardinals front office formed him professionally, Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch reports. "My time with the Cardinals — it defines who I am. It defines what kind of baseball executive I am and will be," Luhnow said.

Yankees Notes: Pettitte, Hughes, Nova, Damon

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 20, 2012 at 2:09pm CDT

The latest on the Yankees…

Before Andy Pettitte signed with the Yankees, Lance Berkman tried to recruit the left-hander for the Cardinals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Berkman said he was in regular contact with Pettitte and would have approached the front office if he had obtained the go-ahead from his friend and former teammate.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if the Yankees will look to extend Phil Hughes or Ivan Nova to a Derek Holland-like extension in order to cap costs and avoid MLB's luxury tax.
There was a split between upper management and the field staff over whether to sign Johnny Damon or Raul Ibanez, Tom Verducci of SI.com writes. Damon told the Yankees he would play for whatever they were offering Ibanez, but it wasn't enough.
Agent Scott Boras says Damon has received nibbles, but no offers. “We have heard from teams who say 'We have interest in the guy but we want to see what our players are going to do,'" Boras said.

Minor Moves: Jamie Hoffmann, Cardinals

By Mike Axisa | March 19, 2012 at 12:19pm CDT

Let's keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

Outfielder Jamie Hoffmann elected free agency after being outrighted by the Rockies, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post. The 27-year-old was slowed by an illness this spring and struggled in games.
Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (on Twitter) that the Cardinals have released four minor leaguers: RHP Pete Parise, LHP Dan Calhoun, LHP Jean Mijares, and RHP Sean Watson. None of the four were among the team's top 30 prospects according to Baseball America, though Goold notes that Parise was once considered a closer-type.

NL Central Notes: Chapman, Francis, Punto, Heredia

By Mark Polishuk | March 15, 2012 at 9:23pm CDT

Let's continue our tour of the divisions with news from the NL Central…

"The Reds’ handling of Aroldis Chapman is beginning to resemble Joba Chamberlain 2.0," writes Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan. Cincinnati is leaning towards using Chapman as a reliever this season but Passan argues that a pitcher with Chapman's potential should be given the chance to start and not worry about being shuttled between the rotation and the bullpen. Another note from the piece is that Chapman's velocity is down to the 92-95 mph range this spring, but Chapman has been pleased with his improved command and his new pitch, a splitter.
Like Chapman, Jeff Francis has pitched well this spring but may not find a spot in the Reds rotation, prompting ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter) to consider Francis an "affordable alternative for teams in the John Lannan hunt." Francis signed a minor league deal with the Reds that contains an opt-out clause for March 28 that he could exercise if he doesn't think he'll find a job in Cincinnati. (In regards to Lannan, he could be off the trade market altogether given Chien-Ming Wang's hamstring injury today.)
Nick Punto told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that his top two offseason options were the Cardinals and Red Sox, but the Cards never made him a contract offer.
Astros minor leaguer Angel Heredia has been suspended for 50 games following a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, reports The Associated Press. Heredia, a right-handed pitcher, played for Houston's Dominican Summer League team.

Minor Moves: Ruben Gotay, Francisco Samuel

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 14, 2012 at 11:31am CDT

The latest minor moves from around MLB…

The Blue Jays have signed infielder Ruben Gotay, reports Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The 29-year-old hasn't played in the big leagues since 2008 and is a .255/.315/.371 career hitter in 811 plate appearances. Gotay is joining his seventh organization and hit .247/.333/.347 in 518 Triple-A plate appearances split between the Braves and Marlins last year.
The Cardinals released right-handed reliever Francisco Samuel, B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com tweets. In six minor league seasons the former prospect owns a 5.66 ERA with 11.4 K/9 and 8.6 BB/9. Samuel, a hard-throwing 25-year-old, had lat and shoulder troubles in 2011 and it had become apparent that wasn't going to make the Opening Day roster this year.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Olney On Diamondbacks, Ackley, Cardinals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 14, 2012 at 10:45am CDT

Some GMs believe the White Sox have set an extraordinarily high asking price for right-hander Gavin Floyd, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported last night. Olney passes on more rumors in today’s Insider-only column; here they are:

Stephen Drew will likely miss Opening Day as he recovers from last summer’s ankle injury, and the Diamondbacks have started evaluating other long-term solutions at short. They’ve scouted Ian Desmond of the Nationals and could have interest in Cliff Pennington of the Athletics. Drew’s contract includes a $10MM mutual option for 2013, so replacing him isn’t a top priority just yet.
Scouts say Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley looks “exceptional” this spring.
The Cardinals could pursue free agent right-hander Roy Oswalt aggressively if Chris Carpenter isn’t ready for Opening Day.

Orioles Considering Kyle McClellan

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 13, 2012 at 10:48am CDT

The Orioles are considering possible trades for Kyle McClellan, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. It's not clear if the Cardinals are ready to move the right-hander, since Chris Carpenter may not be ready for Opening Day and they may decide to preserve their depth.

The Cardinals appeared to be shopping McClellan in January, and the Orioles had interest in him at that time. McClellan, 27, opened the 2011 season in the Cardinals' rotation before moving to the bullpen. He completed 141 2/3 innings with a 4.19 ERA, 4.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 last year and will earn $2.5MM in 2012. The Orioles pitching staff already features more than its share of new additions after a busy offseason under Dan Duquette.

Quick Hits: Rivera, Lynn, Guillen, Simmons

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 12, 2012 at 3:47pm CDT

On this date in 1955, the New York Giants signed 17-year-old prospect Willie McCovey as an amateur free agent. Four years later he was named the NL Rookie of the Year when he hit 13 home runs in 52 games. McCovey, now 74, went on to hit 521 home runs in his Hall of Fame career. Here are today's links…

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports looks back at the day in June, 1995 when the Yankees optioned Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter to the minors together. Rivera hasn't said whether this will be his last season as a Major Leaguer, but he told Morosi that winning another championship would be the perfect way to end his career.
Even Rivera's teammates marvel at the closer's ability and accomplishments, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes.
The Cardinals will stretch Lance Lynn out in case Chris Carpenter isn’t ready for Opening Day, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports. Roy Oswalt remains available for a mid-season deal in case a long-term opening emerges in the Cardinals’ rotation.
Carlos Guillen told George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press that he retired because his body wasn't keeping up with the daily grind of Spring Training. The 36-year-old retired last week.
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that shortstop prospect Andrelton Simmons is opening some eyes in Braves camp. The 22-year-old hasn't yet reached Double-A, but some are wondering if he could win the Opening Day shortstop job from Tyler Pastornicky.
Braves executives view Simmons as the long-term answer at short, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio tweets.

NL Central Links: Concepcion, Cardinals, Soler

By Dan Mennella | March 11, 2012 at 3:28pm CDT

A few notes to pass along out of the NL Central, as the Cardinals gear up to defend their World Series title from a year ago …

The Cubs have officially announced the signing of 20-year-old Cuban left-hander Gerardo Concepcion to a five-year Major League contract. Concepcion joins the 40-man roster but will report to minor league camp. The deal is worth $6MM, which includes a $3MM signing bonus, according to Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com.
The Cardinals will likely turn to a handful of in-house candidates to take Chris Carpenter's rotation spot if the right-hander misses any substantial chunk of time due to a bulging disc in his neck, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. The Cards may choose from relievers Lance Lynn, Kyle McClellan, Marc Rzepczynski, and Mitchell Boggs, or perhaps minor leaguers Brandon Dickson and Shelby Miller, so it doesn't seem like they'll explore a trade or signing for now.
Cubs GM Jed Hoyer declined to comment on the team's pursuit of prized Cuban outfield prospect Jorge Soler with reporters, including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, as Soler has yet to officially be designated a free agent by MLB.

Central Notes: Beltran, Lopez, Astros

By Dan Mennella | March 10, 2012 at 10:51pm CDT

On this day in 2005, Rick Ankiel of the Cardinals collected a base hit in his first Grapefruit League game as a position player after beginning his career as a pitcher. He'd later make it back to the Majors in 2007. On with a few links from MLB's Central divisions …

Carlos Beltran drew interest from several teams this offseason but ultimately signed with the Cardinals because he wanted to play for a winning team with a grass home ballpark, and because the Redbirds offered him a no-trade clause, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Beltran was conflicted as to which team to sign with, writes Goold, but he ultimately settled on the Cards when his wife urged him to go wherever he'd be happy.
Indians utility man Jose Lopez is impressing so far in camp and likes his odds of making the big league roster out of Spring Training, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Lopez signed a minor league deal with the Tribe this offseason and had offers from other teams: "A couple teams asked me to sign with them," Lopez said. "Cleveland had more opportunity. … They're giving me a chance, and now I'm fighting for a spot."
The Astros have two players in camp under the scrutiny of being a Rule 5 picks in Marwin Gonzalez and Rhiner Cruz, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The chances of both players lasting on Houston's 25-man roster all season is pretty slim, something GM Jeff Luhnow touched on: "You lose a lot of flexibility by keeping the Rule 5 guys and that's something you have to put into the equation. … To keep two is something very few teams are able to do."

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