Cardinals Rumors

Twins Willing To Trade Kevin Slowey For Relief

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 23, 2011 at 2:50pm CDT

Now that they have decided on Scott Baker as their No. 5 starter, the Twins are willing to trade Kevin Slowey for a late-inning reliever, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

However, the Twins don’t have many promising trade possibilities, since two of the teams looking for a starter, the Brewers and Mariners, don’t have relievers to spare. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Blue Jays and White Sox seem inclined to replace injured starters with pitchers already in their respective organizations, according to FOX Sports.

Meanwhile, Pirates and Diamondbacks officials say they aren’t actively looking to trade for starting pitchers. As Morosi and Rosenthal point out, the Twins are able to consider moving a quality starter like Slowey because they have promising minor league starter Kyle Gibson.

Slowey didn't seem like a fit for the Blue Jays earlier in the spring, partly because Toronto already had a number of legitimate rotation options. Now that Brandon Morrow will start the season on the DL, the Jays could use the starting depth, but injuries to their relievers limit the likelihood that they can part with a late-inning arm.

Here's a list of other potentially available starters.

NL Central Notes: Greinke, Reds, Cardinals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 22, 2011 at 10:45pm CDT

Links for Tuesday night, as the Cubs decide on the back of their rotation…

Zack Greinke told Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post that he chose to join the Brewers over the Nationals because he felt that Milwaukee was going to win sooner than Washington. The Nationals offered Greinke a $100MM extension at one point and Greinke didn’t accept it, though he says he expects the Nationals to be a good team within a few years since owner Ted Lerner wants to win badly. Greinke didn’t rule out the possibility of playing for the Nationals once he becomes a free agent, after the 2012 season.
The Brewers are likely to start the season with four starters and eight relievers, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
MLB.com's Mark Sheldon examines the Reds' bullpen and explains that Dontrelle Willis appears to have a good chance of making the team.
In a mailbag for MLB.com, Matthew Leach suggests it’s a make or break year of sorts for Cardinals Kyle Lohse, Ryan Theriot and Skip Schumaker. They’re not the only ones with lots riding on 2011, as the MLBTR team has outlined.

Nothing Going On Between Cardinals, Phillies

By Mike Axisa | March 20, 2011 at 5:40pm CDT

Earlier this week we heard that the Phillies have some interest in Cardinals' outfielder Jon Jay, though Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that nothing is going on between the two teams right now (Twitter link). The Cards are looking for a right-handed reliever to replace Kyle McClellan, who will likely take Adam Wainwright's spot in the rotation, but they appear to be looking elsewhere.

The Phillies have eight righty relievers on their 40-man roster, though Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, and Jose Contreras probably aren't going anywhere. Since the Cardinals finished with fewer wins than the Padres last year, they had a chance to claim Pat Neshek but apparently decided against it. St. Louis also passed on Kiko Calero earlier this month.

Ben Nicholson-Smith explored Philadelphia's interest in Jay last week.

Quick Hits: Putz, Castillo, Varitek, Pirates, Ortiz

By Zachary Links | March 19, 2011 at 10:30pm CDT

Links for Saturday evening..

New to Arizona, J.J. Putz tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he's a perfect fit for the Diamondbacks.
Second baseman Josh Barfield is competing for a utility spot on the Phillies but isn't concerned with talk of Luis Castillo, writes Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
Brian MacPherson and Tim Britton of The Providence Journal wonder how much longer Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek will continue to play. Varitek could be asked to backup Jarrod Saltalamacchia in 2011 but could still be given plenty of playing time in a platoon. McPherson set the over/under at 2.5 years but Britton takes the under, pointing out that the list of catchers who have played the most games is chock full of players who retired before reaching 40-years-old. The team captain will celebrate his 39th birthday in less than a month.
Pirates left-hander Joe Beimel was scratched again due to elbow pain today, which seems to contradict what GM Neal Huntington said yesterday after picking up Garrett Olson off of waivers, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Huntington insisted yesterday that the addition of Olson was not motivated by concern about Beimel or Scott Olsen.
Pittsburgh right-hander Kevin Hart was on the bubble for a roster spot with the club and out of options for 2011, but the club will now have more time to consider him after a shoulder injury sent him to the 60-day DL, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
Dave Cameron of Fangraphs rallies against the tyranny of the corner label.
Red Sox veteran David Ortiz told Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com that the pressure isn't off, even with the new additions.
ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd) hears from a talent evaluator that the best way for Kevin Millwood to get back to the big leagues is by signing with a team and pitching in games. "That's no way to win a job — sitting at home," said the source. Millwood's fastball was clocked at 85 mph during a recent workout.
The Rangers ackowledge that Chris Davis has opened some eyes with his strong Spring Training, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. He's under consideration for a roster spot, though teams have inquired about his availability.
Now without star second baseman Dan Uggla, the Marlins are once again in a transitional phase, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
While he really enjoyed his time in Houston, Lance Berkman is happy to be with the Cardinals, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.

Cardinals Release Two Minor League Pitchers

By Zachary Links | March 19, 2011 at 1:34pm CDT

The Cardinals have released right-handed pitchers Mark Diapoules and Houston Summers from minor league camp, according to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Summers signed with the team as a minor league free agent last year while Diapoules was St. Louis' 21st round pick back in 2006.

Diapoules, 22, spent most of 2010 with High-A Palm Beach, where he posted a 2.44 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in nine starts and five relief appearances. He also made two starts for Double-A Springfield but did not fare well, pitching just 5.1 innings combined.

According to Goold, there was no room for Diapoules as the organization's higher-level bullpens are more or less set. By releasing him now, the club is giving him the opportunity to hook on elsewhere before rosters are cemented in a couple of weeks.

Quick Hits: Shields, Cardinals, Lawrie, Montero

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 18, 2011 at 4:02pm CDT

Links for Friday, as Ichiro donates over $1.2MM to victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan…

Scot Shields, who announced his retirement today, said on a conference call that he drew interest this offseason before calling it a career. "There were some teams interested, but nothing seemed like the right fit," Shields said.
A longtime GM tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that he has heard "less trade talk this spring than in any other year [he has] been on the job" (Twitter link).
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Cardinals are excited about their rotation despite Adam Wainwright's elbow injury. The Cards will go with Chris Carpenter Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook, Kyle Lohse and Kyle McClellan.
Blue Jays prospect Brett Lawrie joined CAA, according to the agency (on Twitter). As MLBTR's newly launched Agency Database shows, CAA also represents Blue Jays J.P. Arencibia and Travis Snider.
Scouts tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post that they aren't enthusiastic about Jesus Montero's ability to catch in the major leagues.

The Timeline For Adam Wainwright’s Options

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 17, 2011 at 1:52pm CDT

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Jon Heyman of SI.com that he "hasn't thought about" whether he'll exercise the reasonable $21MM option for Adam Wainwright’s 2012 and 2013 seasons. The words are jarring at first, since fans are wondering about the option and Wainwright is, too. And while Mozeliak is almost certainly exaggerating when he says he hasn’t thought about the decision, thinking and talking about the option doesn’t help the Cardinals much at this point.

If the Cardinals say they intend to exercise the option and something unexpected happens, like Wainwright suffers a setback, then the front office would find itself in an awkward position. They can avoid P.R. nightmares and maintain maximum flexibility by remaining mute on the issue until the last possible moment.

The Cardinals took a similar approach last year, when they waited until after the regular season before exercising Albert Pujols’ 2011 option. Everyone knew that Pujols wasn’t hitting the open market, but St. Louis was able to minimize risk by delaying the announcement until after the season.

Though Cardinals starters Chris Carpenter, Jake Westbrook and Jaime Garcia are living proof that recovering from Tommy John surgery is realistic, it’s not safe to assume anything when it comes to serious elbow injuries. At this point, the Cardinals are in wait and see mode like the rest of us, hoping that Wainwright’s rehab doesn’t go awry. They’ve clearly “thought about” Wainwright’s option, but it’s conceivable that they won’t do much more than that until considerably closer to the end of the season.

Heyman On Wainwright, McLouth, Marlins, Mets

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 17, 2011 at 11:30am CDT

The Orioles don’t look like contenders to Jon Heyman of SI.com, who suggests yesterday's 10-0 loss to the Yankees could be a sign of things to come. Here are Heyman's latest rumors…

Three rival GMs tell Heyman that they expect the Cardinals to exercise Adam Wainwright’s $21MM option for 2012-13 after the season. Wainwright is recovering from Tommy John surgery and won't pitch in 2011, but has pitched at a Cy Young level for the past two seasons.
However, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says he “hasn’t thought about” Wainwright's option yet.
Matt Holliday and Heyman agree that it’s a no-brainer for St. Louis to pick it up. To see what $21MM buys on the free agent market, click here.
Some people in the Braves organization are referring to Nate McLouth as "Pittsburgh Nate,'' since they’ve been impressed with his performance this spring. McLouth posted an .801 OPS in Pittsburgh and has just a .709 mark with the Braves.
Braves GM Frank Wren says Craig Kimbrel’s slow start doesn’t worry him.
One NL scout expects the Marlins to “surprise some people” despite their current spring losing streak.
Luis Castillo remains a “slight favorite” to win the Mets’ second base job.

Quick Hits: Utley, Wainwright, Harris, Young, Sheets

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 17, 2011 at 10:18am CDT

Some links for St. Patrick's Day as players don green uniforms in Arizona and Florida…

Chase Utley has made "minimal" improvement since taking a shot for his injured knee, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Though Utley can hit and field, he can't run, so Wilson Valdez will play second base for the time being.
Adam Wainwright told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he's anticipating a high-stakes rehab, since the Cardinals may not exercise his $21MM option for 2012-13 if he struggles. "There's a lot of money resting on me coming back healthy next year," he said.
Willie Harris can opt out of his contract with the Mets on March 27th, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). There seems to be a good chance that Harris will make the team and the opt-out won't be an issue.
Michael Young told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that he has found it tough to develop a rhythm this spring, partly because he has been bouncing from one position to another.
Not surprisingly, Ben Sheets isn't negotiating with any teams, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Sheets' 2010 season ended early when he needed flexor tendon surgery.

Examining The Phillies’ Interest In Jon Jay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 16, 2011 at 10:20pm CDT

The Phillies are targeting Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. The Phils are apparently intrigued by what Jay did in his rookie season last year, when he hit .300/.359/.422 in 323 plate appearances and played all three outfield positions. Here’s a closer look at what the Phillies’ interest in Jay could mean:

The Phillies are considering ways of adding outfielders to the organization, which just lost Jayson Werth. Raul Ibanez becomes a free agent after the season and Shane Victorino is eligible for free agency after 2012, so the Phillies’ outfield could look considerably different in a couple of seasons.
The Cardinals aren't the only ones who like Jay, a career .301 hitter in the minors who ranked 13th among St. Louis' prospects before last year, according to Baseball America.

But…

Just because the Phillies have targeted Jay doesn’t mean they’re willing to meet the Cardinals’ asking price.
And it doesn't mean that the Cardinals are willing to give Jay up. Before the 2010 season, Baseball America described him as a rangy outfielder with a fringy arm and a knack for hitting for average. He's under team control through 2016 and won't hit arbitration before the 2012-13 offseason, so he'll be cheap for a while.
It doesn’t mean that Jay, who turned 26 yesterday, is the Phillies' lone target – or even their primary target.
Philadelphia’s interest doesn’t mean they’re expecting anything less from Domonic Brown, their top prospect. The 23-year-old is recovering from hand surgery and should be ready to return soon after the season begins.

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