Join baseball writer Derrick Goold for his live Cardinals chat at 11 a.m. Monday
Bring your Cards questions and comments to Monday’s 11 a.m. live chat.
-
-
The length of Jacob deGrom's contract stands out. But not as much as San Diego being involved in every single free agent and the whopping offers on the table. Goodness. Check their market size some time and consider how other teams in markets of a similar size act. Looking at you Pittsburgh. -
-
-
-
-
-
-
You're right. I did commit a lot of ink to the topic in Sunday's paper. That was the goal -- to outline the situation and give details ahead of the coverage elsewhere. Extending Mikolas seems like a spring training discussion. That's the Cardinals' usual approach to these things. They can get back into the business of the annual Jupiter extension. Maybe even do it twice this coming spring.The framework for the deal? Well, as outlined in Sunday's paper, the price has been set by this market and it's going to be in that three-year framework, and Mikolas could definitely command an average salary similar to what Wainwright has. That's a three-year, $51m-$55m framework, and the safe bet is it would be closer to the higher number if not just over it.
-
DG, Someone has to start the silly season talk so I am game. While, we are not the Yankees or Dodgers I wanted to suggest that the Cardinals should / would be willing to go big on prospects and money to trade and sign Ohtani. $500M / 10yr would sink a team if the player didn't perform to the deal due to injury or other. Talk about the ultimate Hedge... (If) Ohtani hurts his arm and misses time on the bump he still plays great defense and hits 40 bombs? If the risk adverse birds were ever willing to go big I see this as the time... Oh, and he is the face of the franchise for the next 10 years.. We know how Pujols like players can make a team money. I know... I am nuts.
-
-
-
I haven't reported that, and I try not to comment on coverage from others unless a) I can confirm it and want to give credit for their strong reporting or b) I need to address a false, damaging, or misleading report that is gaining traction despite no explanation from the initial reporter where it came from or their source for it.
-
-
-
-
An unconventional and probably wrong-headed question I will dare to ask anyway - if Adam Wainwright's late-season shakiness rears its head again early next season, could he benefit from a move to the bullpen, where he could perhaps pick up a tick of velocity and just throw that curveball as much as possible? Aside from whether this makes sense or not, it would be fascinating to see him end his career in relief the way he started it so epicly...
-
Adam Wainwright has said that he would be open to that if it was the best way for him to help the team. He brought it up before being asked, but when asked he's also said the same thing. His point: He doesn't want to be overlooked as a starter for the postseason or for the rotation because he's pitching too well for the team not to want more innings from him. That is a driving force for him.
-
-
-
Derrick, I am tired of hearing the club announce that payroll is going up. When we fans hear that, we take it differently...as in going up exponentially. When I read your calculations that it would probably only go up by $15 million I was sorely disappointed. On paper, the Cardinals' current roster is actually a long, long way from where the Padres, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies and Braves are. And, I'm tired of the narrative "just get in and anything can happen." The truth of this is that we'd have to get really really lucky to win a World Series right now. So, I guess the question is, do you Derrick Goold think the Cardinals have another A-list acquisition on them or will it be dumpster diving?
-
I have no idea what to tell you, honestly. A team says that payroll is going up. And fans say yes but your up is not our up and thus you didn't go up at all is just incorrect. That's not how facts work. Criticize how "up" it went, but don't argue it didn't go up. Criticize how much it went up. By all means do that.Fans can freely and rightly say it did not go up enough.Fans can freely and rightly say it did not go up enough to assure a title team.Fans can freely and rightly say it did not keep pace with the cost of contention.Those are all fair and right and good and defendable things to say. There are facts on your side to make these statements, just as the Cardinals can point to the fact that payroll has gone up, as of right now.That's math.Which brings me to your question. I don't know. I don't know what your frame of reference is for an A-list addition and I don't know what player you would belittle by saying he's a dumpster dive. I just don't know. On Twitter, I shared the story of the Cardinals signing Contreras, and one reply scolded the Cardinals for once again not spending and refusing to add a free agent. Cool. It's all relative. And so is your question.And so is how much "up" the payroll has gone and needs to go.
-
Hi Derrick, and a happy holiday season to you! I was surprised the Cardinals didn't bring back Jose Quintana. He seemed like a great fit for the team, including both their needs and the salary/years he sought. Could you discuss why the team did not bring him back please? Thanks!
-
It's a good question, and going into the chat I wanted to try to find out more -- and just didn't really pin it down. What I have so far is a sense that the timing was off but also the Cardinals' willingness to promise the best opportunity for him was not there. I don't know whether they would have met the same price. I don't. I should. But I haven't been able to pin that down yet. Their payroll seems ready to make that kind of move, but it also seems elastic enough to go sign a pitcher they would put ahead of their fifth spot, and it's possible they would not make that commitment to Quintana.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Quite a bit. More the more you look into it. Xander Bogaerts, a year younger than Nolan Arenado and playing a premium position but not nearly as well as Arenado plays third and a good hitter but not as good as Arenado, got an 11-year, $280 million deal. Several of the players who signed got deals that take them to their age 40 season (or more). A year older and a better player at a position not quite as in demand, why that still puts Arenado at a nine or 10 year market with an AAV greater than Bogaerts. Goodness. Maybe chatters will believe me now when I mention how much he's enjoyed being a Cardinal.
-
Thanks for taking my question! Have the Cardinals ever had one of these get-to-know-you meetings with a potential free agent signing before? (Not counting players whom they re-sign as FAs, that is.) I found that whole aspect of the Contreras signing fascinating, esp given how much it seemed to mean to him. Or do they have the meetings and we just don't hear as much about it?
-
Oh sure, they've had several. Heck, Contreras isn't even the first one in Orlando. They met with Jhonny Peralta in Orlando before signing him. They had dinner with David Price in Nashville and thought they had a deal in place with him. They met with Matt Holliday in Austin to push forward the negotiations that got that deal done ...
-
Don't see how the Cards will ever compete against the high dollar Dodgers, Padres, Mets, and Phillies without leaving their comfort zone. The fact that there are FOUR teams that will keep throwing spaghetti against the fridge until something sticks means one of those four is likely to have something stick every year, even if the other three fail. And we know the gap between the teams that throw silly money at their problems and those that can't/won't will only grow bigger.
-
I like this description of the Cardinals bind. They either become to the National League what the Tampa Bay Rays are to the AL East and know that may mean shrinking into a quick rebuild that fans may not like at all, or they start closing that spending gap. They can still be a development-driven and trade-driven team, but the NL is raising the floor or what it means to contend for the pennant.
-
-
-
-
-
-
And perhaps a follow-up question - do you think any of their remaining roster depth that wasn't burned in a trade for Murphy or Jansen could go in a trade for an ace type? The asking price for such things right now does seem... exhorbitant. But then, I suppose it will always be.
-
-
Be real, DG. You aren't surprised by Brandon Nimmo getting an EIGHT year deal? C'mon, there is zero precedent for that kind of player getting that length of free agent deal. Fangraphs fan-sourcing and their pro writer, both predicted a 5-year contract. That would be faaar more logical for a very-good-but-not-HOF-type player with a shaky health history.
My question: what happens if the impossible occurs in Spring Training and DeJong hits the ball? -
Did you see who signed him? I'm not surprised by that at all. Good for Nimmo. He had a career year at the right time and he did so for the right team. Perfect storm for a contract that was going to wow people. Not surprised at all. Even talked to someone in the game late in the year who pegged it. Kudos to him.
-