Join Cardinals beat writer Derrick Goold for his live chat at 11 a.m. Friday
Bring your Cards questions and comments to Friday's 11 a.m. live chat.
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He is planning for 2023, given the nature of his shoulder injury and recovery. I do wonder if he might get one of those spots in the Arizona Fall League, just to get some competition and confidence in the arm coming out of his rehab. It's not clear the timing would be right. -
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What we know at this time is that it won't be before 2023. I recently was told that the Cardinals may be part of the last group, if they're involved at all. The plan is for all 30 teams to eventually get them, but it's noticeable that the Cardinals and Yankees have not appeared yet. That said, there was a Nike t-shirt at the MLB story in NYC that include a THE LOU logo with the Arch, so that does seem to indicate the direction Nike's current design has leaned with STL gear.
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Walker may be super special. But remember when Carlson was Mo’s “cold dead hand” prospect? Not sure Carlson is projecting to be that player. My point is that it is great that fans have access to more team information but the FO also uses that against fans by making us feel like the next Pujols or Waino could be traded away if they made a move at the deadline. Who was the last system prospect who went on to be a multi-time All Star? Albert?
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Yadier Molina. Matt Carpenter. Both homegrown All-Stars with multiple appearances.Impact hitters have been missing from development. Don't need advanced stats to see that, and it's good that the fans have that information. I hope some of them get that information from the coverage. We can disagree on Dylan Carlson, and that's fine. Information should not be used against you, at all. It sure seems like the information you have has made you aware of what's been missing.
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You’ve mentioned the Nats motivation several times. Given what was become a public spat between them and Soto (making the offer public and the petty refusal to give him travel to the ASG), hasn’t it become inevitable that they trade him? Doesn’t this give teams negotiating a trade more leverage? Not sure what the Nats accomplish by souring the relationship with Soto.
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I don't see it as inevitable. Nats control the situation. Their relationship may have soured, but it's not going to cost them in the standings (they're already out) and it certainly isn't going to change his likelihood of signing an extension (that's off the table). Plus, the Nats have the benefit of a new owner coming in who can say bygones be bygones, new sheriff in town, forget all the past, yadda yadda yadda. So, no, I don't think it's inevitable.I stand by what I said: The Nats' motivation needs to be clear.-- Shed cash for sale. Package top talent to make that possible.-- Reboot the farm system and fast.If it's not either of those two things, then there's no deal to be made, and count me in the camp with Scott Boras that suggests maybe the new owners would like to choose what happens to the best 23-year-old hitter on the planet and franchise-level talent.
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We always hear that the Cards checked in on certain players or explored possible deals. But it seems like they take a very passive approach of just asking what the other team wants (and rejecting the cost as too high) rather than actively engaging with other teams and aggressively negotiating to sell a proposed trade. They also seem to eliminate quite a few teams and only end up doing deals with a handful of AL teams like the Guardians. Do you think this is accurate or is the process just too guarded so fans don’t really get a true picture? Thank you.
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I don't agree with the description of "passive" unless you're ready to describe all 30 teams as passive, because those calls are happening all the time.The Cardinals are conservative. Call them risk-adverse.In my experience, they have talked themselves out of making a deal because of the cost, rather than talk themselves into a deal because of the talent. That does not make them unique. Other teams are also risk-adverse. It's the game these days. But at some point in time the need has to create an urgency to overspend to get a certainty, because the highest cost in the marketplace is certainty. Cardinals know that with Goldschmidt and Arenado. They have yet to put that into play for a pitcher, free agent or trade.
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Friday DG chat, nice! It's funny to me this idea of the Cards giving away top end prospects and maybe absorbing $70m in Corbin's salary plus Soto's $50m+ thru 2024 when all this team really needs is an ace. Where was an ace available that cost no prospects and only wanted a deal thru 2024 for $130m (probably less if we had signed him)????? And don't forget the $44m saved in not signing Matz.
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Both. They're looking at what the possibilities are for both. I am endlessly fascinated by the front office's comments that seem to be trying to retire Wainwright, when he has said nothing about being ready to retire. If anything, he's pitching well, and next year could be that year to get 200 wins. That does matter to him. Maybe it will be with Atlanta. He would prefer to stay with the Cardinals, and given how he's pitched and where the rotation is, there's every indication that even with a move that includes 2023, they'll need him.
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Does it? I'm skeptical about making decisions on such a small sample size. Nootbaar has had a good stretch. Nootbaar is a solid player with some upside. He's got the look of a left-handed hitting Piscotty with the potential for more power, it seems. Consistency has to be there for that to happen, and consistency is the hardest step for young players to make. That said, I stand by this premise: Every team has an outfielder that they like as much as the Cardinals like Nootbaar. So, a team already thinks they have that player, why trade for him?
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Not a question, more a comment. I am concerned if the Cardinals trade for Soto soon. The longer it goes, the greater chance the Nationals give a team time to negotiate with Soto for an extension. I know that's not likely and Boras wants to go to free agency.
I have no issue with including Walker, Winn, etc in a package for Soto IF (and it's a big if) they can sign him long term. That's a lot of controllable years to give up for a couple years of one player, no matter how good that player is. -
Rest assured, if there is a window to negotiate a contract extension the Nationals will have to agreed to that window, and it likely won't be a secret that's happening because they'll have a deal in place that hinges on that extension agreement. I wouldn't fret about the timing in the way you describe. Nats grant the right to a window to negotiate an extension, not Boras.
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It sure doesn't sound like they're insinuating. They're out and out saying that the team needs assistance to improve. They do include performance from internal options in those answers. Please keep that in mind.I'm not sure what you mean by "accountability." I've not heard that used before as a synonym for improvements or additions.We'll find out how much weight it has, I suppose.
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What about the other side of the business model- trading for players who don't end up being a fit or sign elsewhere? Ozuna, Heyward, and possibly Arenado if he opts out. You have to trade with an extension on the horizon right? Will they regret the prospect cost if there isn't an extension? Alcantara is probably in the back of Mo's mind while deciding this!
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You do not. They didn't for Heyward or Ozuna. And don't seem bothered at all by moving on from both of them. In Heyward's case, they made an offer -- a big one, too -- but he declined. They didn't make a multi-year play for Ozuna, at all. But they got two years to know they didn't want to, and not five years of commitment that they would later regret. They traded for that flexibility, too.
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Clearly you don't know his thought process, but is it fair to assume that Juan Soto didn't reject the $440 million extension because he wants more money, but it's because he doesn't want to spend his career on the Washington Nationals? When he eventually signs it will still be huge but I can't imagine $440 million "wasn't enough"
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