Ian Snell Retires
Pitcher Ian Snell has retired, tweets B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com. The Cardinals sent Snell to minor league camp and he instead elected to hang up his cleats. Snell, 29, had signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals in January after being let go by the Mariners. He was described as eager and excited just last month upon arriving in Florida.
Snell's best season was 2007, when as a 25-year-old he posted a 3.76 ERA in 208 innings. That performance earned him a three-year, $8.6MM extension, but he quickly lost effectiveness.
Central Notes: Royals, Chisenhall, Theriot, Brewers
Let's take a look at some items from both the AL and NL Central..
- Royals manager Ned Yost told the Associated Press that he would like to have two left-handers in the bullpen to start the year, though he won't have two southpaw relievers just for the sake of it. For the time being, it sounds like Kansas City will look for an answer in-house, starting with their newest acquisition Robert Fish.
- When asked if service time factored into the decision to demote Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians GM Chris Antonetti said, "That's certainly not the case," tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- After being dealt from the Dodgers to the Cardinals, Ryan Theriot says that he's looking to play the way he did in 2008, writes MLB.com's Matthew Leach. In '08, Theriot posted a slash line of .307/.387/.359 for the Cubs.
- Chris Cwik of Fangraphs wonders if the Brewers' acquisition of Zack Greinke has left them too thin in some areas.
Kyle McClellan’s Role In St. Louis
After spending three years in the Cardinals' bullpen, Kyle McClellan has become the favorite to win the fifth starter's job in their rotation. The 26-year-old entered the spring as a setup man, started auditioning for a rotation spot when Adam Wainwright injured his elbow and has pitched well enough to have a realistic chance of becoming a starter for the first time in his MLB career.
McClellan started 51 minor league games, then moved primarily to the bullpen after undergoing the same operation as Wainwright – Tommy John surgery – in 2005. The transition worked well for the right-hander, who thrived in the bullpen for three years, averaging 73 innings, a 3.23 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 from 2008-10.
Though McClellan has never started a major league game, the Cardinals have stretched him out at times. He worked 19 outings of at least four outs last year and logged at least two innings ten times.
As a reliever, McClellan has used either his fastball or his curveball 77% of the time, but he does have a change-up and a slider to complete the traditional four-pitch mix. It's possible that hitters will adjust to McClellan's repertoire when they see him for the second or third time in a game and at this point it looks like the Cardinals are willing to take that risk.
Moving McClellan to the rotation would weaken the Cardinals' bullpen and could motivate a trade for bullpen help at some point this summer. The Yankees, Blue Jays, Athletics and Rockies come to mind as teams with deep bullpens, but St. Louis may not be interested in striking a deal and the market for relievers can shift quickly.
The Cardinals were never going to replace Wainwright, one of the top pitchers in the league, but McClellan and his 50% ground ball rate could make the loss more bearable by becoming a passable fifth starter. If not, the Cardinals can move him him back to the bullpen and use the trade chips or cash they otherwise might have saved to trade for or sign a starting pitcher such as Kevin Slowey or Kevin Millwood.
NL Central Notes: Brewers, Cubs, Hendry, Pujols
Notes from the NL Central as we wish the best of luck to all those affected by the earthquake in Japan…
- Brewers reliever Takashi Saito won't have to return to Japan, since his family has been safely accounted for, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (on Twitter).
- Outfielder Brett Jackson headlines MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo's list of the top 10 prospects in the Cubs organization.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times shows that the Cubs–White Sox rivalry doesn't seem fierce now, since White Sox GM Kenny Williams supports the Cubs and Cubs GM Jim Hendry has nice things to say about the White Sox.
- Baseball writers at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch weigh in on the following question: will Albert Pujols play even better than usual in 2011? The Cardinals slugger is months away from hitting free agency for the first time in his career.
Adam Wainwright & Other Similarly Priced Players
The Cardinals will have the option of voiding Adam Wainwright's 2012 and 2013 options after the coming season, since he'll still be on the disabled list recovering from Tommy John surgery. Though the two options, which are worth a combined $21MM, became guaranteed when Wainwright finished second in the NL Cy Young Award voting last fall, the Cardinals will have the choice of setting the right-hander loose on the free agent market because of a clause in his contract.
Barring unexpected setbacks, it appears likely that the Cardinals will exercise Wainwright's options. They'll want to bid on Albert Pujols and address other needs after the season, but you can't sign ace pitchers for $21MM. Here's a look at what teams have bought with $17-22MM, starting on January 1st, 2008:
- The Giants signed Aubrey Huff to a two-year, $22MM deal after he led them to their first World Championship in San Francisco. He hit .290/.385/.506 in his contract year.
- The Dodgers signed Huff's teammate, Juan Uribe, to a three-year, $21MM deal this offseason. The infielder hit .248/.310/.440 with 24 home runs last year.
- The Indians signed Kerry Wood to a two-year, $20.5MM deal after he posted a 3.26 ERA, 11.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 for the Cubs in 2008. Wood saved 34 games that year in his first full season as a closer.
- Not long after Wood finalized his deal, the Nationals signed Adam Dunn to a two-year, $20MM deal. The slugger was coming off of a 40 homer season and went on to average 38 round trippers per year with the Nats, posting a .910 OPS in D.C.
- The Giants signed Edgar Renteria to a two-year, $18.5MM deal after a 2008 season in which he hit .270/.317/.382 for the Tigers.
- The Marlins signed John Buck to a three-year, $18MM deal after he hit .281/.314/.489 and reached the 20-homer plateau for the first time in his career.
- The Phillies signed Placido Polanco to a three-year, $18MM deal after he hit .285/.331/.396 for the Tigers and won a Gold Glove.
- The Angels committed $17.5MM for two years of Brian Fuentes after he saved 30 games and posted a 2.73 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 for the 2008 Rockies.
- The Dodgers spent $17.5MM for three years of Casey Blake after he posted an .808 OPS and hit 21 homers in 2008.
The list includes some quality players, but they don't compare with Wainwright, one of the best pitchers in the league. The right-hander averaged 232 innings, 212 strikeouts and a 2.53 ERA from 2009-10 and is still just 29. Considering what $21MM or so buys on the free agent market, it's hard to imagine St. Louis obtaining anything more valuable than Wainwright's age-30 and 31 seasons for that sum.
Contract info courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts.
Cardinals Inclined To Pursue Bullpen Help
They just lost one of the best starters in the National League, but the Cardinals are eyeing relievers as they aim to restore pitching depth, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). The Cardinals, who lost Adam Wainwright to season-ending Tommy John surgery, are now more inclined to pursue a reliever than a starter.
GM John Mozeliak has said that he'll evaluate in-house options before pursuing pitching and maintained that talk of trades or signings is "still a little premature." The Cardinals' need for pitching became more pronounced when Chris Carpenter's hamstring started acting up last week. There's no timetable for his return at the moment.
MLBTR's Mike Axisa listed some potentially available starting pitchers last month.
Cardinals Notes: Freese, Carpenter, Calero
The latest on the Cardinals, as third baseman David Freese makes his first spring start…
- Freese is now represented by CAA, tweets the agency. Phil Tannenbaum was his previous agent. Freese, 28 next month, is a ways off from arbitration eligibility.
- Chris Carpenter felt a twinge in his left hamstring during yesterday's bullpen session, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He's looking doubtful to start Friday, but there's no timetable for his return. Carpenter's hamstring first became a concern six days ago in a start against the Marlins. Perhaps by the weekend the Cardinals will decide whether to explore external options with Adam Wainwright out of the season and Carpenter's status unknown.
- Kiko Calero's slider looked good in his Cardinals audition, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, but the team told the righty they have a full roster.
Carpenter Clarifies Trade Comments
Chris Carpenter confirmed to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he wouldn’t prevent the Cardinals from trading him and added that he doesn’t expect or hope for a trade. The right-hander says the Cardinals are a contender, so he doesn’t think GM John Mozeliak will look to sell.
"For them to come to me about [a trade] would suggest our team is out of it and they wanted to go in another direction," Carpenter said. "I certainly don't see that being the case. I think we've got a great shot not just to win this division but to get to the World Series. That's my expectation and I think it's what everybody in here expects.”
The Cardinals, who lost Adam Wainwright to Tommy John surgery, have a 2012 option for Carpenter worth $15MM. Albert Pujols becomes a free agent after the season and holding onto Carpenter and Pujols won’t be easy.
Pujols will presumably cost upwards of $200MM and the Cardinals’ payroll is not big enough to sustain a $30MM player without cutting costs elsewhere. Cardinals sources suggest to Strauss that the team is unlikely to increase payroll from the $100MM range to $115MM in 2012.
Quick Hits: Beimel, Milledge, Doumit, Wainwright
Links for Sunday evening as we mourn the passing of Dodgers legend Duke Snider..
- Lefty Joe Beimel is happy to be back with the Bucs organization, Langosch writes.
- Outfielder Lastings Milledge faces an uphill battle as he tries to make the White Sox as a non-roster invitee, writes the Chicago Tribune's Mark Gonzales.
- The Pirates could still deal Ryan Doumit in the near future but the club plans to wait for the right package in return, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
- In a piece for Fangraphs, Jonah Keri weighs the pros and cons of the Cardinals picking up Adam Wainwright's option.
- In addition to Kyle McClellan, the Cards could also audition Ian Snell, Miguel Batista, and former No. 1 draft choice Adam Ottavino to fill the void in their rotation, writes Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. If they cannot find their guy in-house in the next two weeks, they may consider outside options.
- This winter's signings should raise the White Sox's projected payroll for 2011 to slightly more than $125MM, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
- A higher payroll means raised expectations for the Rockies in 2011, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
Cards To Wait Two Weeks Before Looking For Pitching
After losing Adam Wainwright for the season, it's been speculated that the Cardinals would go out on the free agent or trade market to acquire his replacement. GM John Mozeliak showed a much more patient approach last week, saying they'll first look in-house for a solution. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports today (on Twitter) that reliever Kyle McClellan will get the first crack at the job, but if not one emerges within two weeks, the team will "consider outside options."
The 26-year-old McClellan has 202 career relief appearances to his credit but zero big league starts. His last start came in Single-A in 2007, and the last time he started on a regular basis was back in 2004, again in Single-A. McClellan was working under a starter's program in Spring Training before Wainwright's injury, and according to the PitchFX data at FanGraphs, he throws enough pitches for the role: sinker (33.0% of the time), fastball (25.9%), curve (22.3%), and slider (11.9%) while mixing in a changeup (6.1%). Cardinals fans, chime in in the comments if you've seen something different out of the right-hander.
I looked at some potential pitching options for the Cardinals last week, highlighted by free agents Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Bonderman.