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2020 Stl Cardinals thread of....who knows?


pops

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Can carlson be an every day player?  Will they get any hits?  Can the rotation get any wins?  Will dewitt and mo ever spend any money on an FA?  Will kk be the most fun to watch?  Can carp and bader get their fucking bats back?  Is schildt in over his head?

Who fucking knows, but per usual, I'm all in. Time to fly motherfuckers. 

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I think the pitching is going to be good again, and the bullpen will be better.  

Very worried about the outfield.  Bader has to hit at least a little bit -- maybe not bat him right in front of the pitcher?  Goldschmidt told me: "Carlson is a stud."  Let's just hope they don't dick him around too long on service time.  I keep thinking TO'N is going to put it together and I'm sick of being wrong.  That much strength and speed has to eventually translate into results... doesn't it?  I think he's seriously the key player this season.  Not even going to mention 34-yo Dex, other than to say that they should trade him for a bucket of balls.  Or even an empty bucket.

 

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You're right, pitching will be the biggest strength again.  As far as Carlson, I think it's going to be like what the Cubs did with Bryant.  Send him down just long enough to get the additional year on the back end of the contract.  Regarding TON - I see a ton of potential, but his plate discipline is horrid, but then again so is half of the line up.  Dex and Carpenter both need to go to clear room for the youngsters.  Gorman will be a very good player.

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JUPITER, Fla. — To introduce the oddest story of spring training, let's go straight to Cardinals president John Mozeliak, who spoke with reporters Saturday morning in foul territory down the right-field line at Roger Dean Stadium.   

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"Last week, he hopped on a plane and flew to the Dominican Republic," Mozeliak said, "unbeknownst to us."

"He" is Yairo Munoz, the 25-year-old utility player who played 196 games for the Cardinals over the past two seasons, but will not be suiting up for the Redbirds going forward. He was given his unconditional release after the team sorted through his disappearance. 

"We just decided that, based on what we're hearing from his agent, cutting ties makes the most sense. He just wasn't happy here," Mozeliak said. "Frustrated with how he was used last year and didn't like the writing on the wall, I think, that he was seeing this year. 

"The bottom line is he left the club, and we could wait this out, but I don't think that's really in our best interest because the likelihood of him coming back and being happy didn't seem very high probability."

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Munoz left the team on March 1, Mozeliak said, and the team learned about it when he just didn't show up to the ballpark that day. Munoz texted a teammate — it wasn't revealed which one — what he'd done, and the teammate told the Cardinals. 

It's a strange situation, to say the least. Munoz had 16 PAs in six games this spring — third-most on the team at the time — before departing, batting .375 with a home run, four RBIs and a stolen base. And he figured into the Cardinals' plans again in 2020, even more than previous years with the extra roster spot giving more opportunities for the types of switches that versatile players like Munoz thrive in. 

But what about the gap? Munoz left about a week ago, and the Cardinals just now revealed what had happened. He had injured his hamstring on a game Feb. 29, and the team told reporters he was out of camp going for an MRI.  

Piscotty trade looking even worse now.

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I was just coming here to post the MLBTR version of that story. 

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The Cardinals announced this morning that they’ve placed infielder Yairo Munoz on unconditional release waivers. The move leaves an opening on the 40-man roster.

In an important detail, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that Munoz “left the team, flew home” without notifying the Cardinals. Manager Mike Shildt told Goold and other reporters that Munoz frequently complained about playing time last season. That’s certainly an interesting twist to the story, and it seems clear that Munoz wasn’t released for any baseball reason, but rather as a result of his own decision to excuse himself from camp.

As a matter of fact, Shildt stated that Munoz “had an inside track to a roster spot” as the team’s utilityman, according to Mark Saxon of The Athletic. Munoz, 25, has fulfilled a similar role for the Cardinals in each of the last two years, and he’s by no means been an unplayable Major Leaguer. There’s value in a player who can capably man six positions on the diamond, and Munoz has been just that over his first two big league seasons. That said, it would be hard to argue that Munoz, who owns a .273/.331/.391 career slash line over roughly a season’s worth of plate appearances, is deserving of the expanded role that he apparently coveted.

That’s especially true given the presence of established veterans in the St. Louis infield, which is where Munoz fits best. He had little chance of unseating either Matt Carpenter or Paul DeJong, the incumbent starters at Munoz’s two best positions. That starting combination has garnered four All-Star selections between them. The path to playing time in an outfield corner was perhaps less crowded, but even so: the team surely prefers Tommy Edman to Munoz after the former’s standout rookie performance; Dexter Fowler showed signs of life last year, and top prospect Dylan Carlson is waiting in the wings.

Munoz has five years of team control remaining, and that youth coupled with his positional versatility could make him an attractive free-agent option for several teams. It seems unlikely that Munoz is widely viewed as a starter in the short-term, so he may have to settle for a role similar to the one he played with St. Louis. It’s also fair to ask whether teams will hesitate given the circumstances surrounding Munoz’s release.

 

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Muñoz’s agent, Hector Faneytt, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking more details. Another oddity: The Cardinals apparently aren’t the only team Muñoz has fallen out with in recent months. According to Antonio Puesán, an official with Toros del Este, Muñoz last summer requested a trade to another Dominican winter league team.

“During the offseason, he kept insulting us, asking to be traded, using bad behavior. His lawyer was always in contact with us,” Puesán said.

In response to a tweet about Muñoz’s release, A.J. Burke, who played two seasons in the Oakland A’s minor-league system with Muñoz tweeted, “If you know Yairo personally, this is far from shocking.”

 

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  • 4 months later...

I dont know what you do with mikolas being done for the year,  but geezus fucking christ martinez is not a starter. He tried. So does a steer. Late relief, fine,  but if he's one of your 5 best pitchers then when do pitchers and catchers report in 2021?

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Ha, gotta love this year.  Cards; talk (like everyone else) is Bubonic Plague strategies.  What is this "baseball" of which you speak?  Doesn't apply here anyway.

This might be the year to get my glove out and ready - I stand an excellent chance of being called to play for them by the end of the summer.

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Contact tracing indicated the three new positive cases originated in Milwaukee before the Cardinals traveled back to St. Louis together Wednesday and had two workouts at Busch Stadium. Mozeliak said the medical experts they consult told them they could travel.

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6 hours ago, You don't know me said:

And another series cancelled.  At what point to the Cardinals just say "fuck it, we're out"?

feels like about now. Watching mo's zoom interview on stltoday Saturday and he was pretty down. Was asked that exact question and he basically said he didn't know if and when that call would be made. He seemed pretty pissed with the testing protocol. Didn't know how they could get the green light to travel with 3 guys that end up testing positive the next day. 

Given martinez silence,  I dont think it is a stretch to say he is patient zero from the start of it. 

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