Cardinals Rumors

Could Cardinals Be Interested In DeRosa?

By Brian Shephard | June 1, 2009 at 10:11pm CDT

Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com says that Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is seeking help at third base with Troy Glaus out with ligament damage. "And in describing what he's looking for to reporters earlier today, he might as well have just said, 'Mark DeRosa.'"

Castrovince continues:

"The Indians, as you know, have had DeRosa basically on the block for a couple weeks now, because his value to them isn't anywhere near what it was before Jhonny Peralta moved to third base. So this could be an interesting situation to watch in the next couple days."

The Indians want Major League-ready pitching in return for DeRosa, says Castrovince, and he lists Mitchell Boggs, P.J. Walters, and Chris Perez as potential bargaining chips for the Cards.

The Indians have increasing reason to believe that they cannot compete in the AL Central. Yesterday, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX wrote that the injury to Grady Sizemore pushes the Indians that much closer to a selloff.

News From Twitter: Red Sox, Corey Hart, Victor Martinez, Cardinals

By Brian Shephard | June 1, 2009 at 8:10pm CDT

A few of tonight's trade tidbits from baseball writers on Twitter:

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal: "GM Doug Melvin told me any talk of the Brewers shopping RF Corey Hart is pure nonsense."

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated: "Red Sox looking hard for a hitter. Victor Martinez would be perfect. but [C.C.] Sabathia told me no way Tribe trades V-Mart."

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that Troy Glaus is ready to resume baseball activities and noted that the Cardinals are "expanding [a] wide net for possible help."

You can follow MLB Trade Rumors on Twitter here.

Odds & Ends: Igarashi, Cubs, Cardinals

By Tim Dierkes | May 29, 2009 at 2:53pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker talks about hard-throwing Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi, perhaps the top free agent from the country for the 2009-10 offseason.
I did a Q&A over at Coast to Coast Baseball.
Some doubt with the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family: Tribune owner Sam Zell said, "We've made it very public that the Cubs don't fit into the long-term picture of the Tribune. So if the Ricketts deal doesn't get done, I'm sure there will be other ones."
In separate articles, Dan Uggla and Octavio Dotel comment on the possibility of being traded.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Edgar Renteria was a good signing for the Giants, if you ignore the actual contract. Eh?
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses various third base trades the Cardinals could make.
SI's Tom Verducci likes Freddy Sanchez for the Rays. What's wrong with Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist?
Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked to Braves GM Frank Wren about the team's need for a bat.
FanGraphs' Matthew Carruth asks: Where's Odalis Perez?

Wagner Mateo Draws Interest From Cardinals

By Tim Dierkes | May 29, 2009 at 2:40pm CDT

Wagner Mateo is a 16 year-old center fielder in the Dominican Republic. It's been suggested by Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Cardinals are set to offer him a bonus north of $4MM, but Cards vice president/farm director Jeff Luhnow stressed that the team is not ready to make offers (talking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). The Cardinals did work Mateo out in Florida already. Goold has video and scouting on the kid, as does Kiley McDaniel at Baseball Prospectus. McDaniel suggests the Dodgers and Giants may also be involved.

Heyman On Peavy, Astros, Greene

By Tim Dierkes | May 29, 2009 at 1:21pm CDT

A new column from SI's Jon Heyman…

If you are sick of hearing about Jake Peavy now, just wait until later this summer. The pitcher's no-trade clause has "wreaked havoc" on the Padres, but they'll keep trying to trade him. There are competing opinions as to which teams Peavy would accept a trade, but the Cubs and Dodgers seem to be named most often. Neither club is a perfect match. Over at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Michael Hunt discusses the Brewers possibility; he worries that Peavy's contract could become a burden for the Brew Crew.
Heyman discusses the situation with Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Could he be fired so soon after having his option picked up? Heyman believes Ed Wade might be a bigger problem, and even suggests that "privately [Shawn Chacon's] inappropriate actions were cheered by some other players." Astros owner Drayton McLane told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle that a dismissal of Cooper is "not in the cards," yet Wade doesn't believe in giving votes of confidence.
Heyman talked to one person close to shortstop Khalil Greene who "could see the 29-year-old walking away from the game after this season." Update: Greene's on the DL.
A competing exec told Heyman he wouldn't be stunned to see the Giants dangle Matt Cain, even though they haven't yet. Heyman suggests gauging the value of Jonathan Sanchez first makes sense.

Stark On Peavy, Oswalt, Phillies, DeRosa, Giants

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 2:28pm CDT

Let's take a look at the latest Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark.

The Padres' recent winning streak has not changed their intention of trading Jake Peavy. The Dodgers and Cubs are in Peavy's first tier of choices, follwed by the Giants, Cardinals, and Astros. The Angels would be the one AL team he'd consider. The East Coast is a long shot. Also, Peavy will want his 2011-13 partial no-trade clause to become a full no-trade. Peavy's friend Roy Oswalt has been unsuccessful in lobbying Astros owner Drayton McLane, as the 'Stros can't take on Peavy's contract. As for the Dodgers, GM Ned Colletti told the L.A. Times he hasn't talked to the Padres about Peavy since the pitcher vetoed the White Sox deal.
Stark talked to scouts who believe Oswalt has "lost his edge" and needs a change of scenery. The Phillies have inquired on him, but they've asked about everyone: Peavy, Brandon Webb, Roy Halladay, Doug Davis, Erik Bedard, Cliff Lee, Aaron Harang, Brad Penny, Chris Young and Jason Marquis. Popular Phillies trade targets include Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco, Travis D'Arnaud, Freddy Galvis, Kyle Drabek, Dominic Brown, and Antonio Bastardo.
The Braves are interested in bringing Mark DeRosa back to Atlanta. He came up with them and was non-tendered in '04 after tearing his ACL. But to deal young arms, the Braves would want an impact bat. Stark says they're "mostly listening" rather than shopping Jeff Francoeur. His trade value is difficult to gauge.
The Mets seem content to wait out the first base trade market.
The Giants seek a middle-of-the-order bat, and Jonathan Sanchez is being dangled. Three targets they haven't had success on are Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, and possibly Carlos Lee. Lee, according to one Stark source, doesn't intend to waive his no-trade for anyone.

2010 Options: St. Louis Cardinals

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 10:27am CDT

The Cardinals' lone 2010 option is for closer Ryan Franklin. It's a $2.75MM club option with a $250K buyout. Franklin has done a fine job this year, and the option is likely to be exercised.

The Cards have several players who will be eligible for free agency after this season:

Troy Glaus. We'll learn more about Glaus' prognosis next week; he could be out for the season. The third base picture in 2010 could involve a player the Cardinals acquire this summer, or top prospect Brett Wallace.
Joel Pineiro. Pineiro owes his success this year to the highest groundball rate in the game. His strikeout rate is terribly low, but so is his walk rate. He's earning $7.5MM this year on a contract signed in a different economic climate.
Khalil Greene. Greene's having another lost season, dealing with anxiety issues.
Todd Wellemeyer. He's been unable to duplicate last year's control, and has been dealt a .348 BABIP as well.
Rick Ankiel. He's been plagued by a sore shoulder and side this year, playing in just 25 games. Colby Rasmus will be entrenched in center field by 2010. Ankiel still has time to become a decent trade chip for the Cards.
Others: Trever Miller, Jason LaRue.

Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bruney, Cooper

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 8:44am CDT

Let's kick it off today with some odds and ends.

RotoAuthority discusses responding to lame trade offers in your fantasy league.
Reliever Mike MacDougal will join the Nationals tomorrow, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Who knows, he could be closing for them by next week.
Talking to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, Cubs GM Jim Hendry defended the Mark DeRosa trade. Here is my problem with it: it was a financially-motivated deal made by a big-market team, and did not bring back players who could help in 2009.
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the White Sox acquired journeyman minor league infielder Anderson Machado from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains the Jody Gerut for Tony Gwynn Jr. swap. DePodesta's third bullet point, money, had to be the overriding factor given Gwynn's negligible value around the league.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Bobby Crosby as perhaps a more pressing trade situation for the A's than Matt Holliday.
Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage in Brian Bruney's elbow, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Given the uncertainty, though, a bullpen acquisition would still make sense.
It looks like the writing is on the wall for Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle lists his offenses.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is skeptical the Cardinals will make a big move.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus agrees that the Pirates are the favorite for Dominican talent Miguel Angel Sano, and says the Rays, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rangers, and Twins are also after him. It's speculated by McDaniel and elsewhere that the Pirates could budget less toward their fourth overall pick in June to compensate for Sano. John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports says they like Kyle Gibson, Aaron Crow, Bobby Borchering, and Wil Myers. Tanner Scheppers did not give the Bucs permission to redraft him.

Glaus May Not Play; Cards Seeking Bat

By Tim Dierkes | May 27, 2009 at 11:13am CDT

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch spoke to Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, who has a gut feeling that it's less than 50-50 that third baseman Troy Glaus will play in 2009. Glaus is trying to come back from January shoulder surgery. He'll be a free agent after the season.

According to Strauss, the Cardinals will scour the trade market for a righthanded-hitting third baseman or outfielder. Strauss names Mark DeRosa (.267/.332/.450) and Garrett Atkins (.192/.272/.291) as candidates. I found some more players who could fit the bill: Melvin Mora, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Adrian Beltre, Scott Hairston, Jermaine Dye, Jose Guillen, Josh Willingham, Matt Holliday, Marlon Byrd, Austin Kearns, Eric Byrnes, and Ben Francisco.

Rosenthal On Rockies, Cain, Pirates

By Tim Dierkes | May 26, 2009 at 2:44pm CDT

Another column from Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports? Sure, why not.

The Rockies, 12 games out in the NL West, "appear headed for a selloff." Garrett Atkins isn't popular (although deep in today's chat, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggested there could be a match with the Cardinals), and Todd Helton is too pricey. But Brad Hawpe, who has $12MM coming to him from now through 2010, could be an appealing trade chip. Hawpe has a 2011 club option for $10MM, but he can void it if traded. Rosenthal likes the Rays; the Braves would also be a nice fit for Hawpe in my opinion.
Rosenthal believes it would be hard for the Giants to find a young slugger who would be equal value for Matt Cain, who can be controlled cheaply through 2011. We learned earlier this week that Cain is not being dangled.
The Pirates have no financial need to dump veteran contracts, an idea we've read in the past. They're getting calls on Jack Wilson, but teams are reluctant to take on all the $5.8MM he still has coming. They have the same problem for Adam LaRoche. And Rosenthal says the Bucs are "philosophically opposed to the idea of a low-revenue team sending money to a high-revenue team to secure better prospects in a trade, the way the Indians did last season when they moved third baseman Casey Blake to the Dodgers."

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