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MLB trade deadline ands the Cardinals
115 Plays1 year ago
We talk about the deadline some of the winners and losers and how thew Cardinals did and what the out look is.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Talking Sports on the Bleachers'
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey, thank you for stopping by today. Welcome to my little corner of the bleachers. I've been thinking about the recent trade deadline activity, how the Cardinals fared. I wanted to give it a couple days, do some research. So, uh, come on up and have a cold beverage. Grab a seat. Let's mull that all over, shall we? I'm Don Glenn, and this is Talking Sports on the Bleachers. You got to get it done! This is Gateway City Sports.
Sports Issues and Listener Engagement
00:00:27
Speaker
The rumors are true.
00:00:32
Speaker
This is Talking Sports on the Bleachers with Don Glenn. A confident young man. A superb athlete. A look at the sports issues of the day. Grab a seat, pop a cold one, and let's talk some sports. Gee, that sounds kind of interesting. Gentlemen, start your engines!
00:01:07
Speaker
Romo on the shotgun, here's the snap. Romo looking, dumps it off right to that. Interceptions! Interceptions are goal-lined by Woodson! And there is your Gallagher! Rules of widespread stance. Arms out over the place. Deckford from the threat. The one-hand hit. A plant, and there it goes!
00:01:55
Speaker
Playoffs? Don't talk about it. Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? Are you crying? Are you crying? Are you crying? Are you crying in baseball? You don't understand. I could have had a collab.
00:02:18
Speaker
I could have been a contender. I could have been somebody. Holy cow! Hey, Dad?
00:02:51
Speaker
You wanna have a catch? I'd like that.
00:03:01
Speaker
Hey, thank you guys for coming back and visiting me on my spot on the bleachers. Talking sports on the bleachers is a proud part of Gateway City Sports and the Gateway City Sports. You're going to find blogs, articles, podcasts on many sports in and around the St. Louis bi-state area. So check it out. That's GatewayCitySports.com.
MLB Trade Deadline Activities
00:03:22
Speaker
Well, the trade deadline is coming on. There were some names moved and there's a lot of teams that did some movement. The Dodgers, the Mets, the White Sox, Marlins, Rangers, even the Cardinals moved around a number of significant players or acquired significant players. I had a lot of discussions of people who thought, you know, started the season at the Mets.
00:03:42
Speaker
were just a shoe in for the postseason. I mean they had the rotation with Scherzer, Verlander, Quintana and you know the offense that they brought back in they kept Nemo and a few other guys and you know they ended up with the highest payroll in baseball and what did they do?
Do High Payrolls Ensure Playoff Success?
00:04:04
Speaker
They dumped the majority of that payroll. A lot of people said the Cardinals should have followed suit and they should have spent a lot of money and they should have
00:04:12
Speaker
Got this free agent, got that free agent, spent millions and millions and millions. So my question, and I understand, Furlander didn't start the season. Quintana has been hurt almost all year. But it just goes to what I say a lot. I get a little bit, I shouldn't say a little bit, I get a lot to criticize for what I say when I say this.
00:04:43
Speaker
It's been proven many times over that spending big money for superstars does not make you a playoff contender. You can have all the talent on a roster you want, but if it doesn't gel, if it doesn't click, you know, and as what's happened with the message injuries played a big role.
00:05:07
Speaker
I've long said that, yes, you do need to spend some money. There's no doubt about that. You have to if you're going to be a successful team. But you don't have to go out and spend and get anybody and everybody that's a big, bright, shiny penny. As I said to somebody the day.
00:05:27
Speaker
yes you need the big silver dollars you know those bright shiny brand new silver dollars that it can just glean in the sun sunlight but you also need a few dirty nickels and dimes for a team to actually be successful that's just the way i look at it and i'll get off my soapbox now so
00:05:50
Speaker
Uh, this year's trade deadline was somewhat lackluster. I mean, you, you stop them. There was no big names. I mean, you could say Verlander, Scherzer. Yeah, those guys are big names, but there was no big name out there. Like we, we had in the past with, you know, when Trey Turner, uh, uh, so Soto, uh, Harper, uh, you know, some guys like that that have been out there a few, a few times or a couple of times. Machado was another one, I think. So.
00:06:20
Speaker
Yeah, there was names, some names out, but nothing that people were clamoring that someone had to have. I mean, you didn't have, um, seven teams vying for Verlander or for a Scherzer or, uh, you know, anybody else that was out there.
00:06:40
Speaker
It was what it was. It was just a normal trade deadline where you're moving people around and some teams acquired help for a run and others acquired help for the future.
Mets' Strategy: Offloading for Prospects
00:06:54
Speaker
That's just the way it works.
00:06:55
Speaker
I'll go over a few teams, highlight a few teams I think that were significant. The Mets, they up, they unloaded Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer. They also got rid of bullpen pieces, Dominic Leon and David Robertson. They shipped out Tommy Pham, they shipped out Mark Kanha.
00:07:14
Speaker
But the thing is, they didn't just unload these free agent contracts. They actually paid, estimated, I think they paid $120 million to cover all or part of some contracts of guys that they traded. Now they were able to, by doing that, and this is the one thing I think where the Mets, a lot of people said they were smart for spending what they did. I think they were smart for unloading the way they did.
00:07:42
Speaker
when you offer salary compensation when you're trading somebody. And you saw the Singless Cardinals do it a couple of years ago when they acquired Nolan Aronado. I mean, do you really think the Cardinals still would have made that deal and would have given the Rockies what they gave them if the Rockies weren't willing to come up with 50 some million dollars in payroll compensation?
00:08:11
Speaker
I'm not sure it would have worked. But by doing what they did, they were able to get some higher value minor league pieces, if you will.
00:08:22
Speaker
some really good prospects in Drew Gilbert, Ryan Clifford, both outfielders in the Houston organization. Gilbert is 22. He's been up and down in the minors since he was drafted in the first round of 2022. Now I say up and down, I mean he's kind of bounced between rookie ball, A ball. He was playing at high A Asheville before he was traded. Right now he's hot.
00:08:44
Speaker
Three sixty one four twenty one six eighty six at Asheville with six home runs eighteen our base that was just in 21 games 21 games So, you know, he's they say he shows some very good defensive skill a very good arm And he right now after the trade is the number one player in the Mets system Clifford the other outfielders only 19 and
00:09:08
Speaker
Now he's got a little bit of power in his bat, 20 home runs in 91 minor league games. And this season he's hitting 284, 391, 510, decent strikeout rate around 25%. And he's lifted as a left fielder, but he can play all three outfield positions. And Clifford is ranked eighth in the net system right now. They also land on one of the top shortstop prospects from the Rangers, Los Angel, Akuna,
00:09:36
Speaker
They got him for Scherzer. Texas signed him as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2018. He's the brother of Ronald Acuna Jr. for the post place for the Braves. Now this year, Luis Angel had his best offensive season 315, 377, 453. Not a big home run. Got seven round trippers and 51 RBIs.
00:09:58
Speaker
But his major asset, they say, is on the base path. He's stolen 149 bases and 181 attempts in the minors. That's an 82.3% success rate. I'll take that any day of the week. You get a guy on a base like that, he's got that kind of ability to take the next base from you. It does make a picture nervous. I can tell you that right now. Now, the deal's sending David Robertson to Miami, and it was curious. He still had time left in his country. He's done another year left.
00:10:28
Speaker
Now they received a couple of good young prospects, and I say young, I mean young prospects. They got 19-year-old catcher Ronald Hernandez and 18-year-old infielder Marco Vargas. These I think are more depth, more for depth, but Vargas does rank seventh in the Mets farm system since being traded over. So, you know, like I said, he's an infielder, shortstop, third base, second base.
00:10:56
Speaker
So, you know, the Mets in the next couple of years could have a pretty new, new middle infield if they, you know, if things work out the way they do. Like I said, they have to start realization buying a championship, as I said earlier.
00:11:10
Speaker
doesn't always win or work. I think if you want to look at what I think is going to happen with what they've got, I think next year you will see probably Okuna come up. Very good chance you see Gilbert in the outfield next year. So I think the Mets did fairly well with their endeavors in the trade deadline.
00:11:32
Speaker
Uh, the White Sox, uh, they also did some wheeling and dealing. They sent, uh, starters, Lucas G. Alito
White Sox's Long-term Strategy
00:11:39
Speaker
and Lance Lynn, a former Cardinal closer, Kendall grave men and bullpen arm, Joe Kelly, uh, former Cardinal and the other bullpen on Keon Middleton. They got rid of all those guys. Now they sent Lynn and Kelly to the Dodgers in exchange for a couple of pitching prospects in Nick Nastrini and Jordan LaShore as well as trace Thompson. Uh, now Nastrini.
00:12:02
Speaker
was a former fourth round pick by the Dodgers right out of UCLA. He's had a decent rise as a starter with a good fastball, slider, curve combination. He has a good K per nine rate. It's right around 9-2, I think, per game or per nine. Currently, though, he's fifth in the White Sox organization. And right now in AA, probably should be in AAA next year.
00:12:27
Speaker
The one thing he does that a lot of people like with this kid, he doesn't give up the long ball. Very good sinker pitcher and, you know, a good caper nine rate. So I think, uh, you know, the white Sox could have somebody in the future for that. Uh, LeShure is 25, a little older. I mean, the screen is 22 and the shirt LeShure is 25. Now he has what they call an elite fastball.
00:12:53
Speaker
Very, very good. A lot of movement. Good velocity. And he pairs it with a really good slider. Mostly he's been seeing action as a reliever back in the games. Does have an outstanding strikeout rate. His home run rate though, about 1.2 per nine innings. As a reliever, not necessarily bad, but you would like to see it under one, you know, in that 0.9 category, so to speak.
00:13:20
Speaker
He is ranked 13th in the White Sox system at this point. They got good return on Lucas Giolito as they paired him with Ronaldo Lopez, sent them to the Angels for Kai Busch and the catcher Edgar Cuero. Busch is primarily an off speed pitcher, very good slider and above average curve and change up.
00:13:40
Speaker
Still needs to get a little better command. And he's only 23, so he's got a little bit of time for that. You know, he's about a number 15 prospect in the white sock system. Huero, rated by Fangrass, is one of the top prospects moved at the deadline. Only 20. Already showing to be a very good hitter with decent power. Not a real speedy guy, but then again, how many catchers are, really. Doesn't strike out all that much. He's under 20%. Already in double A in just his third season. Second full season.
00:14:09
Speaker
His impact probably could be felt fairly soon if he continues to improve the way he does. Currently ranked third in the white stock system. Now he's going to get a little push because right behind him is catcher Corey Lee who they got in the deal for Kendall Graven.
00:14:30
Speaker
So I say Lee's ranked fourth in the White Sox. This is a very good defensive catcher. And they say he's just got a rocket launcher of an arm. I mean, it's just the, you know, he doesn't throw the ball. He launches it. It gets there in a hurry. Not much of a hitter though. He's going to have to develop some bat swinging skills, if you will. He did show some power though. He's going to get 25 bombs for Houston's AAA affiliate.
00:14:56
Speaker
So if he can learn to maybe get his average up a little bit, he might see him, or you could see Quero in a couple years, or they could flip one or two of them. They've got some ability there. The White Sox, I think they definitely are looking at the future with these moves. How quick that future is going to be, I don't know. So it does kind of lead me to believe that they can still make a lot of future moves
00:15:26
Speaker
Dylan Cease goes on the trading block this offseason and that still could happen. So keep an eye out for that. The Dodgers only picked up Lynn and Kelly but they able to move Cindergard for a shortstop Amadrozaro. They traded Boston for a couple of prospects and Enrique Hernandez. They also got Ryan Yarborough from Kansas City for a couple of prospects. You know I think the Dodgers are looking at winning and you know well there are winning now but
00:15:52
Speaker
keeping themselves in that position. I mean, they still had enough of a game lead. They could have just mailed it in and picked up a couple, you know, soft, uh, safe pieces here and there, you know, but they went, uh, they went in, they, they, they got Lynn to shore up that rotation and he's been phenomenal since he's been with the Dodgers. Uh, Kelly's hurt right now. They, they say he should be back soon. So, and like I said, I now do I see them trying to hold on the Lynn or Kelly.
00:16:21
Speaker
After this, I'm not sure. I don't think so. Because I think they're going to be going in on Ohtani. I think that's just the way they're looking at it. I think it's the way it's going to go. And you might see a couple of their free agents not be retained in pursuit of Ohtani.
00:16:41
Speaker
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00:17:08
Speaker
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00:17:27
Speaker
All right, so a few other teams I want to talk about here before we get to the Redbirds. The Marlins made some very curious moves. And while they did get Robertson from the Mets, they sent out some players that some of these moves you just didn't know about because they sent down Dylan Florio.
00:17:47
Speaker
for Jorge Lopez of the twins. And I've looked at that and looked at that. And the best thing I can say is that's just an even swap. It's just a change of scenery trade there. They picked up Josh Bell from Cleveland, dumping off Juan Sagara and Khalil Watson. They tabbed Ryan Weathers from San Diego for Garrett Cooper and Sean Reynolds. They traded some talent away.
00:18:13
Speaker
Um, they did get Jake Berger and for a prospect, Jake eater. Um, I think that was because of course they traded their third baseman away. So they needed one. They did get help in the back into the bullpen. Uh, they did get a little younger on the infield with, uh, with, uh, with bell at first base and, and a burger at third. I don't know. They still got pieces they can deal. Uh, I would not, you know, I think they're probably going to use some of their prospects in this fall.
00:18:43
Speaker
maybe to help that offense a little bit. What they're going to do with the pitching staff, I don't know. I mean, you know, our country didn't have a bad year, but they had a couple of guys that stepped up and had good years. And now you've got a couple of good pieces in the bullpen. So they've got something they can work with. The Rangers, like the Dodgers, they went all in. They weren't satisfied with the pitching staff they had. And if you look at it,
00:19:12
Speaker
uh... you seriously look at the pictures that they were the start of the season they started the season with the of all the uh... john john gray dame dunning martin perez and uh... haney uh...
00:19:24
Speaker
All of them right now are, I think they're all, if they haven't won 10 games, they're like 10 or nine, they've won at least 10, or at least nine. They've got some cracks showing though. I mean, if you look at what, break them down, Martin Perez has been struggling with his ERA is almost five and his ERA plus is only 88. So that's, that doesn't bode well right there.
00:19:51
Speaker
His fit is well over five. His strikeouts are down, but yet he's eight and four. And you know, you're winning with him. With him pitching that bad, you're still able to win ball games. Dunning is nine and four with a 3-2-1 ERA and an ERA plus of 1.24, but a fit of over four. John Gray's in the same boat. He's eight and five with a 3.65 ERA, a 1.19 ERA plus. A good strikeout to walk ratio, but a fit of over four.
00:20:22
Speaker
uh... now adding sure that they picked up uh... mac sure sir and jordan montgomery uh... and the chris stratton uh... among a couple others uh... by picking up montgomery and ensures are they've now put two people in their bullpen or there's rotation along with the ball the when he gets back from uh... the i l that you know you go you've all the sure sir
00:20:51
Speaker
Montgomery, and then you've got four different guys that you can throw in on that four start in a seven game series. Not a bad position to be in. And not to mention, about a month before the trade deadline, they picked up a role as Chapman. So the bullpen is now pretty well set.
00:21:15
Speaker
You know, just what they're going to do for next year. Who knows? I mean, DeGrom will be back or should be back next year.
00:21:21
Speaker
But like I said, they're you know Montgomery's a free age Perez is a free agent So we'll see what they do for next year, but I think this is this is what they're doing this year they know they've got some some guys that can that they can count on and They made the move to to try and win it all the Angels It was a long thought that they were gonna have put Oh Tani on the trading by there was even talk of trout being on the trading block at the deadline
00:21:49
Speaker
Uh, neither one was, and the angels didn't sell off anything. If anything, the angels went into a buy mode, picking up bats, Randall Grichik, yet another former Cardinal and CJ crone, uh, out of Colorado. Uh, they added dominically owned to their bullpen. Now back in June, they also laid some groundwork, picking up Mike Mustakas and getting into our though Escobar, you know, all these guys for prospects.
00:22:18
Speaker
So with the addition of the bats, and you think these guys are right in the thick of things, but they're not. They're 12 games out of the division, seven games out of the third wild card spot. They had seven players set for free agency at the end of the year, and they've added now six more. So they've got 13 guys who will be free agents at the end of the year on that roster. I mean, half their roster is going to be free agents.
00:22:47
Speaker
So you pretty much they better hope they make they make the playoffs with this moves because I do not see a bright future for Anaheim down the road here on this.
Trade Deadline Winners and Losers
00:23:00
Speaker
All right. So who won at the trade deadline. Well let's see the Rangers.
00:23:06
Speaker
Definitely increase their chances that a deep postseason run as I said before so to the Dodgers The Angels I guess you can consider them winners by Adding what they did without having to get rid of Oh Tani
00:23:22
Speaker
but then you put them on the other side of the block that they've got 13 free agents to deal with at the end of the year. So, you know, I don't know if you can classify them as winners. The White Sox, I don't know if you're talking, if you can talk to them as winners this year or even next year, I'd say no. But if you're looking at 25 and down the road, then yeah, this trade deadline is definitely a win for them in that respect. The Mets, I think also are winners.
00:23:51
Speaker
with what they picked up in Acuna, especially Acuna and Gilbert, I think are going to play big dividends for them. Now some of the losers at the deadline, as I said, you could probably put the Angels in the loser category as well as the winner category. I think they could fit in either one. But the Orioles, they gave up some pretty fair talent in Bizzardo, Rom, Pierto, Showalter, and they received Jack Flaherty and Logan Reinhardt.
00:24:21
Speaker
Now, Flaherty, he can, and the Cardinal fans know this, he's got the talent to be a front-end starter. He's got the talent to be a number two, even a number one. Maybe not necessarily an ace, but he's still got that talent. He can still pitch very well.
00:24:40
Speaker
This problem has been injury and inconsistency. The Orioles gave up a three for one for flarity and I'm not sure they're going to get the value out of that if you want to be honest with you.
00:24:57
Speaker
Logan Reinhardt, I just don't understand that one They've got a three-game lead. Yeah, but why not trade, you know, they didn't do they did the opposite of what the Dodgers and Rangers did, you know Oils have a three-game lead, but they didn't go in for that that Killer strike or the or the kill shot so I think Losers by the fact that they just missed a golden opportunity
00:25:27
Speaker
The Yankees, they went in needing solid pitching upgrades and didn't get it. They picked up Kenyon Middleton from the White Sox for Juan Carla. They got Spencer Howard for cast consideration. So while they didn't give away a ton of talent.
00:25:42
Speaker
They didn't really do themselves any favors, didn't really help themselves. It's almost like they could have done just nothing and probably come up with the same thing. The Royals were very active, but they got no meaningful trades unless it was trading a guy that was designated for assignment by the Braves and Taylor Hearn. They gave up Nikki Lopez for him when they could have just waited and claimed him.
00:26:08
Speaker
That way, I mean, it just, I don't understand that move. Now I said they dumped a rolled as Chapman one month prior to the deadline, uh, for a couple of guys and David Mann and Devin Figueroa, who the jury is still fairly well out on. Um, so yeah, you just got, you just don't know. I mean, what they were thinking, I mean, Kansas city, they weren't going anywhere anyway.
00:26:35
Speaker
But why make it worse? I'm not sure I understand that logic and that thinking. Like I say with the Orioles, you're ahead, you've got a three-game lead, you've got some opportunity to pick up players that are going to help you down the road, get you maybe a couple extra playoff wins if maybe, and you basically punted. Yeah, I don't understand that. We'll take a look at St. Louis here in a minute. After I tell you about hydration multiplication,
00:27:04
Speaker
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00:27:53
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00:28:57
Speaker
Check out what hydration multiplications can do for you. Try liquid IV. Okay, so how did the Cardinals fare at the deadline? Well, true what John Mazzalock said. He made these at this point a couple of different times that the Cardinals were going to be sellers at the deadline. And they did. I mean, they sold off a good chunk. Mostly the guys looking at free agency.
00:29:23
Speaker
You know, not usually the position you see the Cardinals in. Normally it's, you know, they're in contention and they don't have reason to be sellers. Well, this year they was not the case. So six Cardinal players, if you count Genesis Cabrera, had got travel tickets punched to different locations. Now, none of the moves, if you stop and think about it, were shocking. I mean, I don't think anybody
00:29:50
Speaker
thought that these guys didn't have a chance to be moved. And I'm serious. I mean, when you look at it and who they traded, I mean, they traded Flaherty, Hicks, Stratton, Montgomery, DeYoung,
00:30:09
Speaker
In any of these, I don't think anybody was looking at that these guys weren't going to be traded. Now, a few people didn't want them to be traded. I mean, and I do kind of question myself, not trying to extend Montgomery. He was obviously the better of the two pictures between him and Flaherty. So why you wouldn't extend him, I don't know. But that's what they did.
00:30:35
Speaker
So let's see what they got. I mean, when you look at it, you knew they weren't, the Cardinals weren't going after free agent, big name types like Giolito. You know, the only real question they were going to get was how much value are they going, were they going to obtain by trading this? So the question is, did they? Well, let's take a look at them.
00:30:57
Speaker
First, I'm gonna start with Jack Flaherty to Baltimore for a Caesar, Pierto, Drew Rahm, a left-handed pitcher, and Jack Showalter, right-handed pitcher. Pierto's a shortstop, or Prieto, I should say, excuse me. Now, I think this is probably the best deal of the ones that they made. It does appear the Cardinals received some really good value for Flaherty himself. I mean, Prieto has been touted when he came out of Cubas, good bat to ball skills.
00:31:26
Speaker
Took him a struggle when he first got here, but he's picked it up. He had a pretty heavy, heavy bat when he came in. Uh, his first 97 at bats, he had seven home runs at high Aberdeen. When he went to double a, um, his home runs dropped a bunch, but you know, his average and everything went up 75 points from the year before. Um, yeah, he still can't go deep. He just not a power hitter.
00:31:54
Speaker
He can play third, second, solid with very solid defense, has the athleticism to play shortstop, and he's drawn comparison to Brendan Donovan, you know, and I guess Tommy Edmond is to a certain extent as well, being able to play different positions, hitting for average, which is more like what Donovan does.
00:32:16
Speaker
So, is he somebody that they're going to be using to come up or is he just going to be there in case? I don't know. Like I said, he's 24, so I'm not sure you're going to keep him down too much longer.
00:32:32
Speaker
But then again, you've already got Donovan, you've already got Edmond, you've already got Wynn, who's up now, you've already got Gorman. So the middle infield, unless you're going to look at him as a third base down the road replacement for Aronado, I don't know. Just somewhat of a curious move, but hey, it's a good prospect. Now, Ram's 23.
00:32:56
Speaker
He's just been treated as the number 26 prospect in the Cardinal system. Now his numbers have kind of gone up in terms of walk rate, ERA whip, his ground ball rates kind of gone down, but the one thing he's got is a very good strikeout ratio.
00:33:15
Speaker
He is a swing and miss type pitcher. That's what they were wanting. He is not a big velocity guy. Not a high-value velocity guy. Low 90s fastball.
00:33:28
Speaker
an 80 mile an hour slur, a split change. He's still young, like I said, 23, so he's got a little bit more time to develop. And I still see him as maybe two years away from being any type of readiness to jump into the Cardinals rotation.
00:33:46
Speaker
but you know it's one of those things how he develops the next couple years he could be a middle of a rotation type and if he could get his velo up say into that night if on this fastball say it around 94 95 you know then we're looking at a possible you know
00:34:07
Speaker
front of the rotation guy if he can maintain the swing and miss strikeout factor. Now one guy that was considered to throw him was Showalter. Now Zach is 19, 11th round draft choice last year by Baltimore. Been playing rookie ball. He's at eight starts this year, 27 and a third innings.
00:34:29
Speaker
with a 1.9 ERA, a 1.2, or 2.4 whip, but here he is another, like Ram, he is a strikeout pitcher. 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings. I'm gonna say that again. 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings. To further emphasize this, he's faced 116 batters, striking out 38. He is basically,
00:34:58
Speaker
He has struck out 33% of the batters he's faced this year. And he's only 19. So, this is why I say, this is probably the best trade of the bunch. Because, yeah, we've got some good kids in the system, Gracifo, McGreevy.
00:35:16
Speaker
Thomas hints but I don't think we've anybody got it anybody really like this kid he's like he said he's still though an unproven he's still rookie ball so the wheels can come off at any time you know that's why they call them prospects okay but I think right now just if everything goes the way that they're saying and these guys develop the way that they are developing rom can find a way to
00:35:46
Speaker
get back his ground ball rate, still keep his strikeouts up and help drive down his ERA. Then I think you're looking at this trade is probably a solid, well this trade's a solid B plus as it is, then I think you're looking this trade could maybe be an A minus if you're gonna grade it out. I think they really got some good value for flarity on this one.
00:36:06
Speaker
Uh, the next best deal, I think is Hicks. We sent Jordan Hicks of Toronto for minor league pitchers, Adam Cloffenstein and Sam Roberts reverse. Uh, both of them are right. Enter is not Cloffenstein is 22. He's another guy fits that swing and miss a high strikeout. Uh, 9.73 strikeouts per nine innings, even though he's only got average velocity.
00:36:32
Speaker
But he also also has a 50% ground ball race. He kind of got the best of both worlds Not only is he the typical Cardinal picture, which is a ground ball Picture low ball picture you're looking at a guy that also can strike people out so big plus
00:36:51
Speaker
He does have a little bit of control issue. And if he can get that part of his game in line, he's projected as a back of the rotation starter. Maybe, if he can get his Vilo up, maybe we can see him in that middle of the rotation. You know, who's to say? Revers, I hope I pronounced his right, that name right. He's 21. He's got a low 90s fastball on an average slider.
00:37:18
Speaker
A decent K strikeout per nine rate at 8.7, so it's not quite what some of these other guys are, but he's all right. His lower velocity though has made him susceptible to home runs. He's given him 14 home runs and 18 games at AA New Hampshire.
00:37:34
Speaker
He's another back end of the rotation type. Now, in MLB, they've got him listed as the number six prospect in the Cardinals system, putting him ahead of McGreevy. You know, maybe he is, maybe he isn't. I'd like to see maybe that home run rate come down a bunch before I put him that high in the system. But I still think he's a solid prospect, solid arm. He just needs to learn location and I think he'll be fine.
00:38:04
Speaker
So I almost said this grade was an incomplete because of the way this works out with Roberson and how his progression has gone. But I think I'm going to call it a C plus. And if those two guys can get their velos up, I think both of them have that swing and miss factor. If reverse can get that up a little bit, then I think you might see that as a B minus as far as how that trade works out.
00:38:34
Speaker
I think Klopenstein is probably the more ready of the two to make the jump to the big leagues. Whether he will or not next year, that's another story. Whether he's even still going to meet the Cardinals, it will be another story. So we'll see. Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton to Texas for John King, prospects Thomas Sagas, and right-handed pitcher Takoa Roby.
00:38:58
Speaker
King is just your average. He's 28 years old with an average bullpen arm, high ERA and whip, susceptible to the home runs. We've already seen that since he's been with St. Louis. Not a big swing in this guy. I mean, he's just filling a roster spot until the season ends. I think that's all he's there for. Do not see him hanging around next year. Sagasi.
00:39:26
Speaker
21 right-handed hitting infielders described as potentially good hitter if he can get better at play discipline. If they also say he can gain some strength, he could probably get you 20 home runs a year. So that's not a bad idea. Defensively plays third, short, and second with the latter being his best defensive position. So again, he's another Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edmond type, but with a little bit more pop.
00:39:53
Speaker
And, uh, I don't know if we, with what we, again, with what we've got in the middle infield, I see again, this is more just either an organization, organizational depth move, or they're going to try and flip him for something in the off season. Robey is 21. He's very highly talented since, uh, coming to the Cardinals. He's ranked as their number four prospect by MLB pipeline. His ERA is deceptive is 4.47.
00:40:21
Speaker
But he's got a whip of 1.225 and a very good K for an iron rate of 11. And again, he's only 20 years old already in AA. He has a four pitch arsenal. And again, I'm going to re-emphasize 21 years old and he's already got a four pitch arsenal. Fastball, it can reach 96, so very good velocity on his fastball. A high spin curve with a down break and a lateral moving change that goes
00:40:48
Speaker
Opposite of his slider and that's running about below 80 V low He does have control issues in that when he misses with his pitches. He's missing To the middle of the plate which is allowing a lot of guys who just barrel up and unload on him he's one that probably being triple-a next year and
00:41:11
Speaker
I don't see him as having an impact if Moselok is true to what he said that they're going to pick up starting pitchers in the off season. Look for him as an injury replacement type and see if he can make it work.
00:41:30
Speaker
You know, so for what we got, or what we gave away and what we got, I don't know. I still think we could have got more. I realize you're dealing with free agents, potential free agents, so your value is a little limited. But I'm going to give this a C minus. It has the potential to be a C plus if Roby can
00:41:52
Speaker
progress to the level that they're putting him at. If he can get that control issue figured out then I think you're looking at a C plus but I don't think King's gonna stick around and I don't see Sigasi sticking around and you know we gave up two players for one basically one
00:42:10
Speaker
minor leaguer, and that's why I'm giving it such a low grade. Paul DeYoung goes to Toronto for Matt Svanten. This move is for roster space. That's all it is to it. I knew we weren't going to get much out of DeYoung, but I was hoping we'd get something a little bit more useful. Svanten is a 24-year-old right-hander. He's been up and down in the minors. He's been a starter, but lately he's been coming out of the pen.
00:42:40
Speaker
Not a top 30 prospect. As a matter of fact, of the 55 prospects moved at the deadline, he was ranked 54th. Now a lot of people are happy to get rid of Paul DeYoung. I've heard so many people say, trade him for a bag of used baseballs. Well, he was worth a lot more than that. And I think he was worth a lot more than what we got. So this is a definite C-minus. I don't see this getting any better at all.
00:43:07
Speaker
Now for an overall grade, how the Cardinals did, if you want to throw the, I'm not going to put the Cabrera thing in there, because that basically was another one, I think it was just to change the scenery trade. I'm going to give this a solid B, could get up to a B-, depending on how some pitchers, even a B+, if you get a couple of these guys, like Plafnstein and Rom and Robey.
00:43:32
Speaker
You know kind of get their their act together quickly and make an impact then yeah, you could see this is a Solid like I said a solid B minus B plus But You know the time will tell All right, I'm gonna give you my final final thoughts here at a moment But I first want to talk about staying protected in life.
Cardinals' Rebuilding Challenges
00:43:56
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:44:24
Speaker
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00:44:52
Speaker
So you can email Sean, Sean Wiley at Allstate.com. Ask him about your coverage options. That's S-E-A-N-W-I-L-E-Y at Allstate.com. And remember, you're in good hands with Allstate. Alright, as I said, the trade deadline lacked some real ump. The teams like the Rangers, Dodgers, Astros made moves to this
00:45:17
Speaker
stay where they were at and improve themselves, give themselves a little bit more option in the post-season. Other teams like the Cardinals, White Sox, Mets, chose to regroup. When it comes to the Cardinals, after their 21 and 22 seasons, fans thought, we all fought. We knew the drill. We knew the drill.
00:45:39
Speaker
You got to pick up a couple of guys because you're close and you'll make the run in the second half and you'll make the playoffs. Well, you know, we weren't in that position at the trade deadline, so we got to see something we haven't seen in a while. The Cardinals getting rid of pieces.
00:45:56
Speaker
Now of the players they picked up, there's no one that really stands out as meeting the team's needs for 24. So in the respect of where Mosaylock said, we're looking not only to improve this team as it sets, but improve it for next year in the, you know, next year, 24. Well, I don't see any of these kids doing that. Now that does not mean they couldn't trade one of them or a couple of them.
00:46:26
Speaker
Get what they need for 24. So, you know, the jury is actually in one way or another still out on that, you know, the Cardinals are going to need a They're gonna need a number one starter not necessarily have to be an ace but somebody that you're gonna be able to put in that in that that one slot as a starter that's gonna go out
Cardinals' Roster Improvement Needs
00:46:49
Speaker
there and
00:46:49
Speaker
every five days he's going to give you six, seven innings and you're going to have a shot at winning a ballgame when he walks out of it. That's not necessarily an ace type. That's just somebody that's a number one pitcher for your particular team. So now where does he go from here to get that kind of stuff? Well, he indicated that either by trade or free agency, they were going to come up and shot. They were going to be shopping for three starters.
00:47:19
Speaker
If you ask me, do I believe that? No. I do not believe he's going to come up with free starters and free agency or by trade. I, or at least what we as fans are going to think of as three starters, uh, because you've got going into the next season, Michael listen, Matt, you've got libertor who he's had a couple of good outings, but then he's had a couple of stinkers.
00:47:47
Speaker
I don't know what you're going to get out of Libertore. So I get where Mosaillock's coming from. They need to go out and get three starters, three pitchers. But I also think that Libertore's going to get his shot, that Hudson's going to get his shot.
00:48:06
Speaker
you know, whether that puts mats in the bullpen. I don't know. I really don't know, because I can't see that I can't see the Cardinals going coming up and getting three starters for next year. Because if you look at the top, top end type starters, you're going to be looking for that number one guy, you're looking at a market value in that 20 to $25 million range.
00:48:30
Speaker
You know, then if you're looking for a number two or middle of the rotation guy, you're talking another 15 million. So to save free agency, yeah, maybe they go after that 25 million dollar guy and then settle for a 15 and hope like heck they can pick a couple of guys up and trade. I mean, I don't know. Who do you go get?
00:48:52
Speaker
Julio Arias are the Dodgers. He's going to be available. Aaron Nola. I don't think they'd even be opposed to trying to win Jordan Montgomery back of that group. I like Aaron Nola as a target for the Cardinals.
Potential Cardinals' Targets in Free Agency
00:49:06
Speaker
I think it makes a lot of sense. And I think he would be, he would do very well. I think your riots would do, uh, some lower cost options.
00:49:14
Speaker
could include Lucas Seravino or Luis Seravino. The Yankees could be looking at the Giolito, Blake Snell, guys like that. Then you also, if you want to look at the back end of the rotation, you've got guys like Oderizi, Martin Perez, Kyle Gibson, James Paxton, you know, trade-wise,
00:49:41
Speaker
We were all hoping they'd make that mid-season trade for Dylan Cease. Of course, the White Sox didn't put him up for trade, or at least not seriously. Cease was the guy I wanted last year. I wanted to see them pick him up last year, but they decided they didn't want to do that.
00:49:59
Speaker
You know, but it's not sure where the white Sox are going. So cease may not be available. Logan Gilbert from Seattle is another one that I think would be a good, a good get if they could do it or George Kirby, although I think you put you better off getting Gilbert than Kirby. But, you know, if I'll pay, I'll take either one at this point. Zach Wheeler is another one I think they could trade for. But, you know, he's a free agent 25.
00:50:25
Speaker
So with the right combination of prospects and maybe a bullpen piece like Gallegos, you could start some talks on that. You could get something moving. Because like I said, he's a free agent after 25. So whoever picks him up next year has only got him for two years. So there's not going to be a high price for him. A better price or a higher price than you'd pay for a rental.
00:50:47
Speaker
but not a completely high price. As far as who we got to trade, well, clearly we've got a gluttony outfield with
00:50:56
Speaker
O'Neill and Carlson, Newt Barr, Burleson, Walker, and then you can add guys like Yepes, Moises Gomez, and even there's that fast rising, the kid that he's been rising up pretty fast, center fielder Victor Scott. I think the two guys that are safe in this respect are probably Newt Barr and Walker, but then again, they get the right deal for Newt Barr and he might be gone.
00:51:27
Speaker
So, but they're going to have to deal from the outfield. Infield wise, I would not rule out catching wise. I'd not rule out getting rid of either.
00:51:39
Speaker
Herrera or Kiesner. Edmund or Donovan I think either one could be on the block. We'll see how Wynn does here since he's been called up. If it looks like he could be there short stop of the future then you could see an Edmund or a Donovan being moved unless they move
00:51:59
Speaker
two or three outfielders and then you could shift Donovan to the outfield, Edmund to the outfield and they can still be their utility selves if you will. Some prospects I see that on the block besides Herrera
00:52:15
Speaker
Yepes, Baker, Gomez. In addition, I think the new guy, Prito, he could be a trade piece. I think if you're looking at the infield for next year, I think you're seeing
00:52:32
Speaker
Aeronado, Gorman, Mason Wynn, and Goldschmidt. I don't think any one of those guys are going to be traded. Now, like I said, when you look at the rotation, you look at pitching, you look at the bullpen, I think what they really need, I would go after at least two starters and one bullpen piece, for sure. If you can get three, you get three. But I would take two starters and a bullpen piece.
00:52:54
Speaker
And then you could, cause that, that number five slot, you could use Hudson, Thompson, liberator. You know, there's no reason to get rid of everybody, uh, off the roster, except for two guys with contracts. Um, so you could do it that way. And I thought that's the way I think it's going to go. I think you're not going to see three starters coming in. I think you're going to see two starters. And then it's either going to be liberator, Hudson, Thompson, or Woodford, uh, as your number five guy.
Show Wrap-up and Social Media Engagement
00:53:23
Speaker
I've talked enough tonight, so I'm going to get out of here now. I want to remind you, check out gateway city sports.com. Check out the writers and contributors like Russ Robinson, Brian Swope, Gene Bonds. Check out the other podcast, the team of rivals with Ron Nuttle, Pete Geddes and Elliott Dewey. It's a place where Cubs and Cardinal fans come to talk. Two for three with the Moose, Mike Stevenson, and coming soon, but Derek King sports show with Derek King.
00:53:52
Speaker
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00:54:12
Speaker
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00:54:36
Speaker
Have fun and we're going to see you again when we are talking sports on the bleacher. Good night everybody.