Cardinals chat with Derrick Goold
Bring your Cardinals questions and comments, and talk to Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold in a live chat starting at 1 p.m. Monday.
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After posting a story about Nolan Arenado and racing to grab a bite to eat during this chat, suspensions broke loose through baseball. So, I apologize for the belated start to the chat. Had to try and run down a few phone calls, one loose end, and then get back here to answer your questions. Plenty to talk about. There's, obviously, the questions you'll have about Nolan Arenado. There will be questions I imagine about Ozuna, Astros' penalty, and whatever fallout comes from MLB's investigation.We'll get to as much as we can today. You have the wheel.Well, in a moment.Let's begin the chat the same we have at this time of year for the past few years. I don't show my whole Hall of Fame ballot until there's a chance to do it here, in the chat, so you can see it first -- and ask questions about it. Here goes. -
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Evidently I did. I realize that by doing so there will be a large group of people mad at me -- the Never Roiders -- and there will another group of people frustrated that I just voted for them now. I've spelled out my process in the chat and in print, and I have wanted to stay true to those standards. In this case they are:-- A ballot is like an article; my signature on it is in my byline. I should rely on the same level of information for my ballot that I would for an article.-- If the Hall put transgressions on the plaques, I'd vote for them.-- If the Hall went to a yes/no ballot (and thus there were 10-player limit) I would have voted for them before, but I needed to use the sportsmanship clause as a scalpel to reduce my ballot to 10.Those were my standards. You can disagree with them, argue with them, or suggest that I didn't stick to them. I did try.
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There are a lot of reports AND rumors out there about Arenado. Seems to be more than just connecting the dots for a fit, but less than anything specific about what the Rockies would want. Knowing this would be a tremendously complex trade, with the opt-out, sliding scale on prospects vs. taking on salary, etc. What is your read on the situation, and as a fan what should where should we set our expectations?
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Aaron, thanks for asking right off the hop today to start the chat (this was the first question into the pool), and I spent about 1,300 words or so explaining everything I know and what I can confirm and what other have reported in this article: https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/birdland/obvious-interest-complex-trade-cutting-through-the-clutter-on-arenado/article_701e2984-8c17-5c0a-8097-04dea967e45d.html
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They are both expected in Jupiter this month. Reyes had a normal offseason, and the Cardinals purposefully gave him a break from the complex, from the rehab, from everything that he's just gone over and over and over and over again the past few years. There was a real Groundhog Day fear for the team, so they wanted him to get out, get away, and do his work where he didn't have any echoes of rehab. I spoke to his agent last month and he said the time helped and Reyes was in "a great place." The Cardinals opened the Dominican complex up to him if he wanted. Martinez has been going through a rehab/strengthening program and is, by every indication, on schedule where the team wants him to be for his January checkup. That is supposed to be here in STL, right around the time of the Winter Warmup. He'll be with docs then.
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Do you see the Cardinals give Matt Wieters a contract soon? I see the A's are interested in him, and I do not really want to lose the former All-Star to a team like the A's. If Oakland sign him, who is left in the back-up catchers out there. I want to see Knizner with 100+ games this year too.
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It's not a matter of the Cardinals giving Wieters a contract. It's a matter of him accepting the one they have for him. It's all about the playing time. He knows the situation here. He knows the offer. It's whether he can find a better one with more playing time than being Yadier Molina's backup. The Cardinals want him back. The decision is Wieters at this point.
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Hi Derrick - thanks again for your time and insight!
I assume you'll have a couple questions about the third base position - so I'll go elsewhere. If that trade does go through - would that end any realistic possibility of Ozuna returning? If Wieters winds up signing elsewhere - would the Cardinals look to fill that back-up catcher role externally or go with Knizner (assuming he's not a part of that alluded to trade)? And lastly - are you more excited for pitchers and catchers reporting or the return of Pearl Jam to St Louis? -
Pearl Jam -- and especially because they'll be here when I'm in town. Fantastic. Would be tough to miss their swing through St. Louis because I'm on the road with the Cardinals, but that's how it would be. I'm glad it works out.Knizner would be the backup, yes. Though there would be competition, and there would also be some times when Knizner would go to Class AAA to play a lot, if possible.If if if if the Cardinals pull off a trade for Arenado, there would be little interest in chasing after Ozuna because they'd be taking on a huge salary for the coming season, and they would need a position open to at least discuss with Carpenter playing.
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I don't want to get in the practice of shooting down other reports. I want to respect my colleagues, and I also believe it's an important part of the equation here that they are accountable for their reports, as I would be with mine. There have been a lot of inaccurate reports in the past 72 hours. There have also been some situations where a reporter's speculation has been repackaged as a report, and that's not fair to anyone -- the reporter, the readers, or the reporters who suddenly have to answer for it. That is what concerns me most.That said, in this instance, I don't see what Colorado gets out of this deal, and I don't have any reason to believe the Cardinals would trade 2/5 of their planned rotation when they have built this roster around pitching and couldn't spend to get it.
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Anything I might have missed! Here's the story to get you started: https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/birdland/obvious-interest-complex-trade-cutting-through-the-clutter-on-arenado/article_701e2984-8c17-5c0a-8097-04dea967e45d.html
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I am not, honestly. An on-field action traces back to the people he's hired to be in charge of that on-field product. The fine for him and his organization is stiff, and now MLB has put him in the spotlight for how he responds. Do the people suspended return to the job they had when they left? Crane gets to decide. Pressure is on.
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You laid out (as much as you can on Twitter) that Carpenter's NTC is in effect now. Any sense that he would waive that in a potential deal with the Rox? I still find it hard to believe they will trade Arenado -- who will go to the games in Colorado? -- and to do it and get Carp in return seems really suspect. But, if you are doing one dumb thing surely another could happen too. (And conjecture seems to be that either Carp or Fowler would have to go in return?) Did I ramble too much?
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They have? Mozeliak was asked that question once that I recalled and he said, no, it has not been something they planned. I continue to say that it's at least something that they would have to discuss. Again, I didn't pull that thought out of thin air. This winter, one position that had a bunch of offensive talent available is third base. The Cardinals need to improve the offense. I asked around about that possibility during the season, about what they could do, could they chase a third baseman for that offensive upgrade, and the answer I got was that Carpenter can play other positions. And LF might be open.
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Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa -- let's call them finalists for a vote. Jeff Kent was the last person I left off my ballot, and I'm still somewhat bothered by that. But it got to a point where I saw so so so so many similar players. They were great at times in their careers. They were remarkable hitters, all. They had elite seasons or they were elite at their position, But did they rise the best of the best? So, I started comparing them against my other votes, and I had to draw a line -- all-time greats, or those who compared well to the all-time greats, above and that meant putting some really good players below because I don't have unlimited space on the ballot. Ramirez has the suspensions to consider, as well. Let's not ignore that his transgressions actually cost him time on the field, as did Alex Rodriguez's.
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Not necessarily. I've heard one scenario where the Rockies wouldn't trade him until spring training. I've heard another -- and this one is from a trusted source -- where they don't trade him until closer to the trade deadline. There is no deadline here until July 31. There is one person who can apply the pressure to get a deal done now, during spring training, or later in the season: That's Arenado. It's not clear that Colorado's ownership really wants to move their prized player this close to selling tickets, etc.
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I will report here what I reported elsewhere: Jeff Albert, who was in the Astros' minor-league system in 2017, does not face any punishment from MLB. I have confirmed that with a source in the know. He cooperated with investigators. He assured the Cardinals he was not involved, and the investigation did not come up with anything to disprove that.
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Hey DG – The punishment seems too light. Correa was banned for life hacking into the Astros scouting system stealing data. Coppolella banned for life for cheating on signings of international players. Luhnow and Hinch sign stealing significantly increased the odds of their team winning. I get that they weren’t directly involved in the scheme… so maybe the 1 year is okay, but IMO Cora should be banned if the guys mentioned above were banned. What are your thoughts?
