TheFutureIsNear

I don't think anybody needs to waste the effort of discussing Matt Kemp. Not happening.

So I think we can all agree that Hahn should at least be exploring trade possibilities for 1 of young LH SP's? We should make up a list of all of the teams actively looking for SP and what they presumably could/would realistically offer. I'll start... La Angels - Their rotation is very weak beyond Wilson and Weaver. Even more so after letting lefty Vargas walk. They are also in championship or bust mode given their pay roll. Who they could give up- Howie Kendrick, Mark Trumbo, Taylor Lindsey, CJ Cron, Kaleb Cowart Not sure how they look as a trade partner to be honest. I want to move in the opposite direction of the Trumbo's of the world and Kendrick is a little old for us. Plus their top position prospects leave a lot to be desired. Anyone wanna try another team?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 22, 2013 -> 07:29 PM) Even with Jay traded there is four outfielders there..? Bourjos will be 27 at the start of next year and has a grand total of 1100 AB's in the majors with a .251/.306/.398 career slash line. Bourjos is hardly penciled into the starting lineup.

QUOTE (SoIL @ Nov 22, 2013 -> 04:19 PM) I work with a knowledgeable, but slightly cynical Cardinal fan. He claims Jay is "brutal" in centerfield. His -7 uzr backs that up. This could be nothing more than dumping freeze for a 4th OF/defensive replacement. Bourjos has done nothing in his career to warrant an immediate starting spot anyway.

QUOTE (beautox @ Nov 22, 2013 -> 03:45 PM) I would love to see the cards empty the warrens for Tulo. Would they really have to empty anything? Martinez or Shelby Miller + Adams + Piscotty would get them real close to Tulo I would imagine. And that barely makes a dent in their future plans because of their incredible depth. I' incredibly jealous of that franchise.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Nov 22, 2013 -> 03:36 PM) That prospect is the Angels number 2 prospect and was selected with the pick before Mike Trout. He has had a tough time with injuries which has stunted his develop but is still young and has upside. Pretty even swap of arb eligible players that fills holes for both clubs. 2nd best prospect in the 3rd worst farm system in baseball....Not saying Grichuk cant or wont become a player, I just don't think he's anything more than a B level prospect that is still quite far away.

Salas and Freese for Bourjos and a prospect who struggled his first season in AA? Seems like a pretty good deal for the Halos. Although knowing the St Louis organization that prospect will probably be amazing in 2 years.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 08:00 PM) I don't think Semien is a true 3B just like Beckham wasn't and they forced him there.. I want Semien to play but not at 3B unless somehow Beckham turns it around. Right now I would rather have Gillaspie then Beckham in the line up. Ehh ok, I can't even argue with that. Im all for Beckham not starting, somehow I dont think its going to happen though.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 07:46 PM) I have a feeling they will try Semien at 3B which would be a mistake IMO. Unless Beckham or Ramirez gets traded Mistake in which way? You really like Gillaspie huh? If Semien hits in the Spring he absolutely deserves AB's over Gillaspie.

4 years is definitely 1 year too many, but can't really argue $8 mil for a SP who is going to eat a bunch of innings and keep his ERA around 4. Good deal for a team in contention.....except thats not the Royals.

Jeez now I'm kinda sorry I brought up the freeze thing. Remind me to never mention him again lol

Something tells me we will end up with 1 of the power arms that throw 95+. Wouldn't hurt to see if a guy can develop on the fly into a hard throwing late inning guy. Not like they can be worse than guys like Axelrod or Leesman

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 03:54 PM) Well what about the year before when he did this? 20 HR 79 RBI .297 AVG .372 OBP 567 ABs you know, when he was relatively healthy. Last year was his worst year in the majors, and he missed 24 games due to injuries, and still was just as good as Conor Shhhh don't bring things like facts and com mon sense into this argument. Not allowed.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 02:53 PM) They must mean depth as in minor league OF help. Their OF is already full and their #1 prospect is waiting in the wings. Not necessarily....with Beltran presumably walking I'm not sure they have a ton of depth in their OF. It will come down to what they do with Craig/Adams. I'm not so sure Adams is going to play OF for them. Especially since he's already developed a nagging foot injury. Also, Jon Jay is kind of a butcher in CF so a late inning defensive replacement guy who can hit a little could help them a lot. Not saying they have a huge need or anything, but its plausible. I got a good chuckle out of whoever said Gillaspie is better than Freese by the way. Good one.

Rosenthal reporting that the Cards are looking for OF depth in exchange for Freese. DeAza for Freese? Makes a lot of sense to me, but I seem to like Freese a lot ,ore than most here.

Perhaps Elmore is a way to have a utility infielder while allowing the likes of Semien and Garcia to get everyday AB's in AAA? I'd rather not see a young infielder on the bench only getting a few AB's a week this year.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 04:20 PM) I cannot believe the Cardinals let him go. I am honestly shocked. What sense does that make? This guy would be in our top 10 prospects. Especially when you consider Kozma is their starter!?!!? I was thinking the same thing. Rare you see a young short stop who can field his position and get on base at a decent clip just let go. I would think he is at worst a good utility guy off the bench. I imagine the Astros had 1st waiver claim and snatched him right up too. Lucky them.

So much for Ryan Jackson being a trade target from the Cards, Astros just claimed him off waivers.

QUOTE (mike65 @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 11:09 AM) Thanks, Iamshack. I actually enjoyed posting here back in ther summer. I had convinced myself that Ramirez was the Cardinals main SS target. I still believe that. Piscotty is not a 2nd tier prospect. I expect Piscotty to rank just behind Taveras when new rankings come out unless Martinez is still ranked. The Cardinals minor lague system is really in good shape and there are some quality players beyond the ones that everyone hears about. I would offer Tim Cooney, Stephen Piscotty, Lee Stoppleman, Greg Garcia, Alexander Reyes, and Mike O"Neill as strong players. Ryan Jackson is interesting. I believe he is an above average defensive SS with a modest offense. He is buried in STL and needs a change of scenery. I hope that happens for him soon. He is currently behind Garcia and Kozma. And, before I close, let's take a look at all the possible starting pitchers: Wainwight, Wacha, Lynn, Kelly, Garcia, Gast, Lyons, Martinez with Cooney and Whiting at AAA and Rosenthal, Maness, and Siegrist in the bullpen. Appreciate the response....So I take it the Cards front office would be pretty reluctant to part with Piscotty for Ramirez is what you're saying? Guess we will see how bad the Cards want a SS and how serious the rumors of Tulo are. Its pretty scary to the think the Cards could get a guy like Tulo and not even come close to emptying the farm.

Anybody who wants Salty is crazy. Last year was the only year of his career that he showed the ability to hit what so ever in the big leagues. 470 AB's of above average hitting is not worth $40+ million. Pass on him, let someone else overspend. There's no need to throw $ around at a C who will only be around for a year and doesn't change the fact that the team isn't a playoff contender either. Stopgap and rebuild just do not go together, regardless of how long or short of a rebuilding process it is.

QUOTE (mike65 @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 09:43 AM) Hello. I was last here around the trade deadline because I thought the Cardinals had interest in Ramirez. Back then, everybody was talking about Adams and Martinez as the possible trade chips. Now, with that pressure off, I am assuming the Cardinals still have interest. I read the other day that the four teams the Cardinals are speaking to regarding a trade are the Diamondbacks, Angels, Rangers, and White Sox. I don't believe the Cardinals will go the free agent route. Peralta doesn't fit the "Cardinal way" and Drew's being LH is a problem for the Cadinals because our GM has already said he doesn't want to go anymore left than the team is right now (Adams, Taveras, Carpenter, and Jay). What do you guys think the cost would be these days as compared to July? Can you provide any insight on the Cardinals 2nd tier of prospects? I was looking at guys like Ryan Jackson and Stephen Piscotty. Something like that make more sense for Ramirez on both sides? Any catching prospects worth a darn in the farm? Thanks.

That Carlos Ruiz contract just made the catcher market look kinda scary. Trading for a catcher seems like a much better idea now, Salty has to be looking for 4 years and at least $40M now right? No thanks

I like Jaso as well. He would be my 1st option at catcher. Ryan Hanigan would be my #2 option. Very similar to Jaso, just bats RH

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 13, 2013 -> 02:54 PM) Your splits are probably optimistic. Admittedly, my OBP was low, but expecting anything more than .220/.320/.460 is expecting too much. Adam Dunn is comparable to a durable Travis Hafner at this point in his career. Hafner got $2 million on the open market and it took until February 1st to sign him. He's a last resort sort of guy anymore. Unless the Sox eat about $7.5-10 million of his deal, they aren't going to move him and even then they'd get jack diddly in return. IDK, I think your view of Dunn may be a little slanted. I understand the resentment, but I don't think Hafner is really comparable. I would say Mark Reynolds is more comparable and he got $6 million last year in free agency after putting a similar slash line to Dunn but with 11 less HR's. Teams pay for home runs.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 13, 2013 -> 12:24 PM) Because all of that likely results in a .220/.300/.460 line (or something similar) with absolutely nothing defensively. Teams are just as likely to get that production out of a free agent or a minor leaguer for cheaper. They might prefer a left handed slap hitter who can play all around the field to a guy in Dunn who really should not be playing the field at all. $10 million is very expensive for a guy who is the definition of a 1 dimensional player, regardless of what other guys are earning around the majors. A guy like Marlon Byrd can play a passable CF and is decent to good in the corners while also providing good value on the bases and at the plate. He may not be the player he was last year, but he should still be worth 2+ WAR. Dunn is going to be lucky to be worth 1 WAR. .300 OBP is way off, things really couldn't have gone much worse for Dunn the past couple of years and his OBP still didn't dip below .320. It would more than likely be something like .230/.340/.470. Great? No way, but still only a 1 year commitment and he still probably has more upside. Don't forget Dunn was actually pretty darn good for a 3 month, 300 AB stretch. That kind of production is huge for a payoff team in contention. Byrd had a career year that was fueled by an extremely unrealistic .353 BABIP. A blind guy can see that Byrd is in for a huge regression.