Join Hall of Fame baseball writer Derrick Goold from the GM meetings in Vegas, 11 a.m.
Bring your Cards questions and comments to Monday’s 11 a.m. live chat.
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I have not made that comparison, though I've heard it. I'd like to see it explained further, and I hope to get the chance to ask some folks who have made that about it. I've also heard that Kris Bryant is a comp.Not complimentary? Jermaine Dye was a strong player. Top-five MVP voting. Gold Glove winner. Silver Slugger. Two-time All-Star. Career OPS of .826, well above average when compared to his peers. A 1.000 OPS in 2006, and four or five years of above 120 OPS+ performance. Ten years with at least 20 home runs. Ten.That's a compliment to be compared to Dye.
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You should include Tommy Edman in this list. Montgomery is a really interesting one. Either they commit big to him, or they could move on before he makes bank via arbitration. Just a real interesting spot for them to commit to what kind of pitcher they think they have. He's about to make middle-rotation money and an extension will definitely be closer to toward front-end pitching. Is he that guy? Well, consider that he also represented by Scott Boras.Goldschmidt might be ahead of the other two.Not sure how the Cardinals approach Flaherty at this time given the health and the upside. It's a riddle of an extension for both sides to even figure out.
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Derrick,
I think people are asking about the wrong former Cub in Wilson Contreras. Do you feel Anthony Rizzo could be a realistic target for the Cardinals? He could spell Goldy at first and be a LH presence in the lineup as a DH on other days. Goldy's defense (by the metrics) took a step back this year. He and Rizzo alternating first base and DH could also keep Goldy more fresh down the stretch and possibly help the defense too. Rizzo had an OPS+ of 131, got on base 34% of the time, and slugged .480. I think he could help fill Pujols leadership void and be a great veteran leader with Goldy, Waino, and Nado. I am not sure if he has been offered a qualifying offer before, but that is the only barrier I could see in what I consider a perfect fit. Thank you for taking my question. -
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Jermaine Dye was a fantastic player. Had the pleasure of being able to watch him patrol the outfield in KC when I was in college. Talk about a waste of talent in the OF... Dye, Beltan, and Damon for 4 years and nothing around them at all. If Jordan Walker is Jermaine Dye, I'll be ecstatic.
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All I see is this in the answer "Only really once that I could recall, and it turned out not to matter. They include it as a factor. But they also say that if they cannot get an extension done with the player, then they're not following their own business model as well as they need to .."
Pujols? -
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Do you have a sense of how the Cardinals regard the potential of Alec Burleson? He didn't get results in his short run in the majors, but surely his long-term impressive achievement in AAA must count for more than his few weeks with the Cardinals. If they have Burleson as a DH option, do they really need, using your suggestion, Anthony Rizzo more than they need improved pitching or offensive output as well as defense from their catcher?
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At the moment, the Cardinals' thinking is that they would like to add a proven bat to the lineup so that the young players are bonus, additions to the authority and depth and strength of the lineup, not the basis of it going into the season. If Walker, Burleson, Gorman, Carlson, et. al. can be the bounce that turns an excellent offense into an elite one is an approach they'd like to take. They way they are describing things currently, they don't want Burleson to be that protection for the Arenado, Goldschmidt tandem.
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To be fair, we didn't get to see Taveras for very long in the majors, and I have no idea what the hype will be like for Walker in the majors because there is still time for that to happen. We'll see how spring plays out.They are comparable in this way:When you list the top hitting prospects from the Cardinals organization based on their minor-league performance and their major-league upside, the top three in the past 20 years have been:1. Pujols2. Taveras3. WalkerThat's the list. That's hype. But that's the list, and that's not just from the Cardinals and their internal scouting. That is the view from other teams, too. There is a genuine feel in the game that Walker is the top hitting prospect the Cardinals have had in a long time.
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