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Jedd Gyorko’s Future In St. Louis

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St. Louis Cardinals incumbent third baseman Jedd Gyorko’s power has diminished each of the last three seasons and it may be time to find a replacement, opines Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. It promises to be an important subject for the organization over the offseason.

Gyorko has provided valuable versatility for the Cards, seeing time at all four infield positions the last three years. His OBP has risen each year in St. Louis (.306 to .341 to .346), but his power output has gone the other way (.253 ISO to .200 to .154). On the whole, Gyorko’s proven a good gamble since his somewhat-surprising acquisition from the Padres in 2015 – and though he’s not known as a defensive stalwart, defensive metrics are less certain, crediting Gyorko with 24 DRS and 4.9 UZR at third base since 2016. Contractually, he’s guaranteed one more season at $13MM before a team option in 2020.

Finding a player that complements Gyorko’s skill set may be the judicious solution in the short term. The Cardinals front office is said to be “on the edge of giddy” about three third base prospects in their system who could be ready by 2020: Elehuris Montero, Nolan Gorman, and Malcom Nunez.

Gorman was listed as the Cardinals 6th ranked prospect by Baseball America, but the 20-year-old Montero will likely reach the big leagues before Gorman or Cuban-born Nunez, who is only seventeen years old. Montero tore through the Midwest League in 2018, hitting .322/.381/.529. After 24 games in High-A with the Palm Beach Cardinals, the 19-year-old could reach AA sooner rather than later. 

For next season, Gyorko’s role is not likely to change a whole lot – save for possibly in volume. Matt Carpenter started 74 games at third this year, but the Cardinals seem to prefer him on the right side. Top catching prospect Carson Kelly could be an option in short stints, as he played the position in 2013. He hit .269/.378/.395 in AAA and is ostensibly blocked behind the plate by Yadier Molina – but that feels more like a plan D than a plan A.

This year’s free agent class does provide a few palatable options. Bringing home World Series hero David Freese for a season would be a fun retro choice. Mike Moustakas’ name has been thrown out there as a potential stopgap solution as well. Then there are the big names – Josh Donaldson and Manny Machado. It’s unclear if the Cardinals are ready to commit the years and dollars to snag one of the elites, but regardless of the path they choose – they have options.

Check out the 2018-19 MLB Free Agent Tracker for a full list of upcoming free agents.

NL Notes: Kang, Kennedy, Giants, Wainwright

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The Pirates will be faced with a decision on Jung Ho Kang’s 2019 option this offseason, but GM Neal Huntington tells Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic that Kang’s performance in this weekend series won’t have an impact on the outcome (subscription required). “Truth be told, there’s not going to be a whole lot of value in the evaluation process of a one-game or a one-plus-game look,” said Huntington. Biertempfel notes, though, that the late promotion could earn a bit of good will with Kang’s camp in the event that the team elects to buy out his $5.5MM option and try to bring him back into the fold for a few million less than that. There’s been no indication one way or another as to how the Pirates plan on proceeding, though the very fact that he was brought up to the Majors at all indicates that they’re not totally closed off to the possibility of continuing the relationship in spite of Kang’s legal troubles over the past few seasons.

Here’s more from the National League…

  • Padres right-hander Brett Kennedy underwent knee surgery that will sideline him for the first six weeks of the offseason, tweets AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. However, Kennedy is still expected to be able to have a largely normal offseason program, and the operation isn’t expected to impact his availability for the 2019 campaign. Kennedy, 24, didn’t impress in six starts with the Friars this season, working to a 6.75 ERA in 26 2/3 innings. However, the 2015 11th-rounder fired off 89 1/3 innings of 2.72 ERA ball with 8.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 52.6 percent ground-ball rate in an extremely hitter-friendly setting with the Padres’ El Paso affiliate in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He posted solid numbers at Double-A in 2017 and at Class-A Advanced in 2016, and with multiple minor league options remaining beyond 2018, he’ll have ample opportunity to cement himself as part of the San Diego pitching staff in come capacity over the next few seasons.
  • The Giants’ search for a new general manager and/or president of baseball operations isn’t expected to be a quick one, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The process could take several weeks as Giants leadership interviews a wide range of candidates with varying backgrounds. Notably, Schulman adds that the Giants aren’t set on hiring any one specific type of executive (e.g. analytically inclined, traditional scouting background, etc.) and seem to be embarking on this process with an open-minded approach.
  • With the Cardinals on the brink of elimination, Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes the uncertain future of Adam Wainwright, who may have made his final start yesterday for the only MLB team he’s ever known. Wainwright’s a free agent at season’s end, and while he spent most of the season sidelined by elbow soreness, he’s rebounded in September to pitch admirably for St. Louis. His 4.84 ERA across his past four starts may not look pretty, but his 3.20 FIP and stunning 6.25 K/BB ratio points to a much more effective pitcher than the version of Wainwright the world had seen across the rest of the past three seasons. Teammate Yadier Molina, for what it’s worth, doesn’t seem to think it’s the last time the two will be batterymates, saying he’s “confident” about that. “It may have been,” Wainwright himself said. “It doesn’t feel like it is. For whatever reason. I haven’t had those emotions. The way I’m feeling now, if that is my last start here it would be kind of hard to walk away knowing the way I’m feeling right now.”

NL Injury Notes: Wright, Cardinals, Straily

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Long-injured third baseman David Wright is working toward a 2018 comeback as the season nears an end, but the Mets aren’t optimistic he’ll return to the majors this year. Assistant general manager John Ricco suggested Friday (via Mike Puma of the New York Post) that Wright won’t have time to get up to speed, saying “it does get more difficult to foresee a situation where he could come back” to the bigs this season. Ricco added that money won’t play a role in whether Wright takes the field for the Mets this year, noting that he hasn’t been medically cleared to play in the majors. However, the club will take a financial hit if he does, Puma points out. The 35-year-old is still due approximately $2.6MM through season’s end, but insurance will pay 75 percent of that sum if he stays on the shelf. Otherwise, the Mets will have to pay all of it, and if they continue to keep Wright on ice, he may have a case for a grievance – albeit one he’d likely lose – as Puma explains. A series of upper body issues, including spinal stenosis, have prevented the career-long Met and seven-time All-Star from playing in the majors since May 27, 2016.

  • The Cardinals expected to have right-hander Michael Wacha back in their rotation by now, but the left oblique strain that has shelved him since June 20 continues to pose a problem. Ten days after exiting a Double-A start on account of oblique issues, the rehabbing Wacha was unable to make his scheduled start with Triple-A Memphis on Friday because of “discomfort” in that area, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Wacha’s now slated to return “to St. Louis for more evaluation,” according to Cardinals manager Mike Shildt. With so little time remaining in the season, Wacha may be done for the year, Hummel observes. Fortunately for the Cardinals, who are clinging to a one-game lead for the NL’s second wild-card spot, fellow righty Adam Wainwright is on the cusp of returning from his own injury issues. The former ace is set to join Miles Mikolas, Austin Gomber, Jack Flaherty and John Gant in the Cards’ rotation – a group that appears increasingly likely to finish 2018 without Wacha. The 27-year-old had been one of the Redbirds’ most effective starters before his injury, as he logged a 3.20 ERA/4.21 FIP over 84 1/3 innings.
  • In further unwelcome news for the Cardinals, catcher Yadier Molina is dealing with a strained left hamstring and will sit out for at least the weekend – if not longer – Shildt revealed (via Hummel). Although Molina’s strain is “mild,” there’s “no timetable” for his return, per Shildt. Molina already missed several weeks earlier in the season with a pelvic injury, but the potential Hall of Famer has otherwise turned in another terrific year, with a .273/.324/.447 line and 17 home runs over 447 plate appearances and quality work behind the dish. For as long as the 36-year-old Molina’s out, St. Louis will rely on Francisco Pena and Carson Kelly to handle the position.
  • Marlins righty Dan Straily exited his start against Pittsburgh on Friday with a left oblique strain, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets. The severity of the injury isn’t clear, but with time running out on the rebuilding Marlins’ season, it seems fair to surmise that Straily won’t pitch again in 2018. The 29-year-old has posted a respectable 4.12 ERA with 7.28 K/9 against 3.83 BB/9 over 122 1/3 innings this season, but ERA indicators such as FIP (5.11), xFIP (4.99) and SIERA (4.92) haven’t been enamored of his work.

Cardinals Activate Carlos Martinez, Yadier Molina

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The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves today. In particular, the team has activated both ace Carlos Martinez and veteran backstop Yadier Molina from the disabled list.

Additionally, the Cards have selected the contract of righty Preston Guilmet, who had been pitching at Triple-A on a minor-league deal. To clear roster space the club designated catcher Steven Baron. Opening up active roster space meant optioning catcher Carson Kelly and righty Mike Mayers while shifting infielder Greg Garcia to the paternity list.

Though they have played well, the Cards sit in third place in a highly competitive NL Central division. They’ll gladly welcome two of their best players back into the fold.

Of added interest here is Guilmet, who had an opt-out chance on June 1st. Perhaps he and the team worked out a delay to allow these other roster situations to ripen. In any event, the 30-year-old is back in the big leagues for the first time since 2015.

Guilmet, who pitched last year, has been an absolute force thus far in 2018 at Triple-A. He has permitted just three earned runs on a paltry nine hits over 29 innings through 21 appearances. Along the way, he has issued only five walks while ringing up 35 opposing hitters on strikes.

Cardinals Likely To Activate Carlos Martinez, Yadier Molina On Tuesday

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The Cardinals, 31-25 and firmly in the National League playoff hunt, are set to get back a couple of key reinforcements. Top starter Carlos Martinez and catcher Yadier Molina are on track to come off the disabled list Tuesday, per Joe Trezza of MLB.com.

Martinez went on the DL on May 10 with a strained right lat, before which the 26-year-old opened the season with 50 innings of 1.62 ERA/3.36 FIP pitching. Thanks in part to the flamethrowing Martinez’s efforts, the Cardinals’ rotation owns the majors’ third-best ERA (3.01) and seventh-highest fWAR (5.7).

Martinez will rejoin an impressive group that has also received notable contributions from Miles Mikolas, Michael Wacha, Luke Weaver and Jack Flaherty, though it did lose high-ceiling 23-year-old Alex Reyes again earlier this week. Reyes returned from February 2017 Tommy John surgery this past Wednesday for a start against the NL Central rival Brewers, who lead the Cards by 4.5 games, but he lasted just four innings and subsequently went back on the DL with a “significant” lat strain.

Molina, meantime, has been out since May 6 – shortly after he underwent surgery for what St. Louis called a “pelvic injury with traumatic hematoma.” He suffered the injury behind the plate after taking a 100 mph-plus foul tip off the bat of the Cubs’ Kris Bryant. Molina, 35, had gotten off to a fine start to the season, slashing .272/.292/.456 with six home runs in 120 plate appearances and grading as one of the majors’ best pitch framers, per Baseball Prospectus.

Fill-in catchers Francisco Pena, Carson Kelly and Steven Baron haven’t been nearly as effective as Molina offensively, and all four Cardinals backstops have failed to throw out a single base stealer this season. Runners have gone a combined 20 for 20 against the Redbirds, though Molina figures to change that in the near future. Although the potential Hall of Famer yielded seven steals on as many attempts before his injury, he has thrown out a tremendous 41 percent of would-be base thieves during his career.

Cardinals Notes: Reyes, Stolen Bases, Molina, Guilmet

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Alex Reyes made his much anticipated return to the Cardinals’ rotation yesterday and looked dominant in the first inning, whiffing two hitters with a fastball that reached 97 mph. However, a shaky second inning saw him issue a pair of walks and hit a batter, and his fastball at one point dipped to 92 mph. Reyes’ start was finished after just four scoreless innings and 73 pitches. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at whether there’s any cause for concern, quoting Reyes as the young righty acknowledged some fatigue. As Goold notes, Reyes didn’t go through an inning nearly as challenging as Wednesday’s second frame at any point during his rehab assignment. Manager Mike Matheny characterized the early hook as a precautionary move, acknowledging that the drop in velocity was a significant factor in the decision. Goold notes that Reyes at one point also winced and flexed his shoulder during the fourth inning, prompting a visit from the Cardinals’ staff, though certainly that could simply be related to the aforementioned fatigue, and it’s worth noting that Reyes did hit 97 mph again in the fourth immediately after that mound meeting.

President of baseball ops John Mozeliak spoke to Jim Bowden of The Athletic and CBS Sports last night and stated that Reyes’ elbow is “fine” in the aftermath of the potential scare (Twitter link), though it stands to reason that the Cards figure to proceed with caution early in the 23-year-old’s return to the big league rotation.

Here’s more out of St. Louis…

  • Goold also examines an oddity in St. Louis, examining the surprising fact that the Cardinals have yet to prevent an opposing stolen base attempt in 2018. Other teams aren’t running on the Cards very often — they’re 20-for-20 through 53 games — which serves as a testament to the pitching staff’s ability to hold runners. But Goold still notes that no team has gone this far into the season without a single caught-stealing by its catching staff since 1951. St. Louis coaches are encouraging the staff to vary their delivery times and utilize slide steps when necessary as well. The trend is bizarre, to be sure, though it’s also almost certainly a short-term anomaly. Yadier Molina is on the mend and had the game’s second-best pop time prior to hitting the disabled list, Goold notes. And interim starter Francisco Pena comes with a 32 percent caught-stealing rate in his minor league career.
  • Speaking of Molina, he took a significant step toward his return to the roster Wednesday, writes MLB.com’s Joe Trezza. Doctors cleared Molina to resume baseball activities, and he caught pitches in full gear yesterday in a batting cage in addition to taking some swings. He’ll head out on a rehab assignment in the near future if all continues to go well. Molina took a foul ball to the groin earlier this month and underwent emergency surgery to repair what the team called a “traumatic hematoma” later that evening.
  • Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that Triple-A reliever Preston Guilmet, who has seen MLB time in the past with the Orioles, Rays, Indians and Brewers, has a June 1 opt-out provision in his minor league deal with the Cards. Guilmet’s opt-out is of particular note, given that the 30-year-old has torn through Triple-A batters with 26 innings of 1.04 ERA ball and a 32-to-4 K/BB ratio. He’s had some remarkable fortune on balls in play (.102 BABIP), but that doesn’t mean that Guilmet’s brilliant K/BB numbers should be wholly dismissed, either. Guilmet has allowed 21 runs in 23 MLB innings, but he’s been dominant in his past two Triple-A seasons now and had a solid run with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in 2017 (3.79 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 in 54 2/3 innings of relief).

Yadier Molina Undergoes Surgery, Will Miss At Least Four Weeks

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9:55am: Molina will miss at least four weeks after suffering a “pelvic injury with traumatic hematoma,” the Cardinals announced (Twitter links via Joe Trezza of MLB.com). They’ve placed him on the DL and recalled Kelly. The club also recalled reliever Mike Mayers, who will take Dominic Leone’s place. Leone is headed to the DL with “right arm upper nerve irritation.”

8:11am: Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina underwent surgery Saturday after being hit in the groin by a foul tip, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak confirmed to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals are now expected to go without Molina for at least a month.

Molina suffered the injury during the Cardinals’ victory over the Cubs, which was St. Louis’ fourth straight win to open the month of May. The Cardinals, now 19-12, own a half-game lead over the Brewers in what has been a rather competitive NL Central to this point. As usual, their success has come thanks in part to the revered Molina, who has slashed .272/.292/.456 (103 wRC+) with six home runs in 120 plate appearances. Behind the plate, the 35-year-old Molina has ranked as one of the game’s top pitch framers in the early going, and has helped the Cardinals’ staff to the majors’ fourth-best ERA (3.36).

While Molina has been eminently durable during what could be a Hall of Fame career, this injury may help lead to his lowest games played total since 2014, when he appeared in 110 contests. He has otherwise seen action in at least 136 games in each season since 2009. The Cardinals aren’t exactly accustomed to life without Molina, then, though they’ll have to make do with their reserve backstops for at least a few weeks.

Without Molina, it seems likely St. Louis will go forward with the 28-year-old Francisco Pena and the well-regarded Carson Kelly, 23, the only other catchers on its 40-man roster. The Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate scratched Kelly from its game Saturday, Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch tweeted then, indicating he’s on his way back to the majors after logging a combined 89 PAs at the game’s highest level from 2016-17.

Cardinals Notes: Gregerson, Munoz, Molina, Kelly

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Some items out of the Cardinals’ camp…

  • Righty Luke Gregerson is dealing with a minor hamstring problem and didn’t travel with the team for today’s Spring Training road game, Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (Twitter link).  Gregerson has been limited to just three outings this spring due to a minor oblique injury, and while the severity this new issue isn’t known, it can’t be a good sign with less than a week before Opening Day.  John Mozeliak’s recent comments about the Cardinals’ plans for a flexible approach to the ninth inning has brought further lack of clarity to Gregerson’s role, as he was initially slated to be the team’s closer when signed to a two-year, $11MM deal in December.  Dominic Leone, another offseason acquisition, has recently been mentioned as a potential candidate for saves, plus the Cardinals have been reportedly interested in Greg Holland, who still remains unsigned as we approach the end of March.
  • Yairo Munoz has made the 25-man roster, MLB.com’s Joe Trezza and others reported.  Munoz was acquired from Oakland as part of the Stephen Piscotty trade and wasn’t expected to contend for a big league job this spring, but Munoz forced the issue by hitting .375/.423/.625 over 52 plate appearances.  This red-hot bat and Munoz’s capability of playing virtually every spot on the diamond gave him the edge for a bench job over Harrison Bader and Luke Voit, who were optioned to Triple-A.  Munoz will be one of several multi-position players on the St. Louis roster as the Cards plan to regularly juggle their lineups to keep everyone fresh and regularly receiving playing time.
  • As part of a piece about Yadier Molina’s durability for The Athletic (subscription required), Bernie Miklasz observed that the Cardinals’ recent assignment of top catching prospect Carson Kelly to Triple-A means that Kelly won’t accumulate the MLB service time he would’ve received had he won the job as Molina’s backup.  This could make Kelly more attractive to potential trade suitors, as Kelly has just 102 days of service time accumulated and is controllable through the 2023 season.  Of course, the Cards’ primary reason for the assignment is also valid, as they want Kelly to get regular playing time rather than see him sit on the big league bench, as the durable Molina is showing no signs of cutting back on his workload even as he enters his age-35 season.  Molina is signed through the 2020 season, so there will inevitably continue to be speculation about Kelly as a possible trade chip.

NL Central Notes: Nelson, Molina, Cubs

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Brewers ace Jimmy Nelson is “way ahead of schedule” in his rehab from shoulder surgery, reports MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. The initial plan for Nelson had been to begin a throwing program at the beginning of Spring Training, but Nelson tells McCalvy that he’ll now begin throwing next week. Nelson credits his accelerated timeline to regular use of a hyperbaric chamber, improved conditioning and diet as well as rigorous arm care and physical therapy.

The shortened timeline is music to the Brewers’ ears, though an exact timetable for Nelson remains uncertain following a September operation which, as McCalvy notes, repaired his shoulder in three separate places. Milwaukee already signed Jhoulys Chacin to a two-year deal, and they’ll return right-handers Chase Anderson and Zach Davies as well. That trio will be relied upon heavily while Nelson rehabs, with other candidates to take the ball every fifth day including Brent Suter, Josh Hader, Brandon Woodruff, Junior Guerra, Jorge Lopez ,Aaron Wilkerson and old friend Yovani Gallado (among others).

Elsewhere in the NL Central…

  • Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is currently planning to retire after his current contract expires in 2020, he tells MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. Molina says his body still feels up to the rigors of his typically large workload, adding that he has no plans to cut back on his playing time at the age of 35. There’s time, of course, for Molina’s mind to change on the matter of retirement. If he remains healthy and productive through the 2020 season and the Cardinals remain in contention, for instance, it’s not difficult to envision a change of heart. That said, Langosch notes that Molina sounded much more definitive on the matter this time around than he did a year ago when discussing his future after signing a three-year, $60MM extension that spans the 2018-20 seasons.
  • Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts was dismissive of the notion that collusion has slowed the free-agent market in an interview with Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required & recommended). Ricketts pointed out that in previous years, some teams have somewhat quietly inked new television deals or had those deals kick in, which has led to unexpected spending. (Ricketts doesn’t mention instances by name, though that was very likely a component in the D-backs’ signing of Zack Greinke, for instance.) Asked about the possibility of further spending for his own team, Ricketts replied: “Theo has the resources to do whatever he needs to do to win on the field. …  I don’t know what’s going to happen with the guys that are out there, whether it’s a good fit for us.” Mooney also chats with newly promoted AGM Scott Harris about the slow offseason.

Injury Notes: Altuve, Yadi, Olson, Red Sox

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Here are the latest health notes from around the game:

  • The Astros dodged a bullet tonight when star second baseman Jose Altuve left the game after being struck on the forearm by a pitch. Thankfully, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets, x-rays came back negative. The diminutive 27-year-old is leading the American League in hits for the fourth consecutive year and in batting average for the third time in four seasons. He’s also pacing qualified batters with a career-best 168 OPS+.
  • Also departing with an injury tonight was Cardinals veteran Yadier Molina. The team announced that he’s undergoing testing as part of the concussion protocol after taking two consecutive foul balls off of his mask. His status for the rest of the regular season remains uncertain, but it could become a bigger issue if St. Louis can claw into Wild Card position.
  • Athletics slugger Matt Olson has been diagnosed with a grade 2 hamstring strain, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. He’s very likely to miss the remainder of the season, but it won’t put a damper on an exciting campaign. Olson, 23, has streaked to 24 long balls in 216 trips to the plate, with a robust .259/.352/.651 batting line. He’ll fall shy of a full year of service, too, so the A’s will control Olson for six more campaigns.
  • Things didn’t go quite as hoped for the Red Sox tonight. Lefty Drew Pomeranz was sitting in the high-eighties with his fastball, though he says that was part of a plan to save some gas for the later innings, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports. Star outfielder Mookie Betts left with a wrist issue, though there’s no reason as yet to think it’s significant. Of the greatest concern, perhaps, infielder Eduardo Nunez tweaked his injured knee. He suggested that he’ll sit out a few more games and try again to return, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald tweets.

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