Waiting for Fuentes. . . and Furcal
The potential signing of shortstop Rafael Furcal by the Atlanta Braves has got folks excited again about Yunel Escobar of the Braves. But Atlanta is likely to keep both if Furcal does return to Atlanta. Meanwhile, the Brian Fuentes watch continues. Should the Cardinals wait any longer?
Q: Mr. Commish, I really enjoy your blog and thanks for taking time to do it. Do you think the pursuit of Yunel Escobar of the Braves is back open? IF Furcal signs with Atl it seems as if it’s only a matter of time before Yunel or Johnson is shipped elsewhere. I know he is a SS but I believe he has played 2nd a bit also. I’d love to have him, he’d be valuable to the club as a starting 2B and when Kahlil misses his three weeks he could fill in at SS. May make Kennedy angry, but oh well.
Harold
A: Worth pursuing if Furcal signs with Braves. But word is that if Furcal signs with Braves, he would be asked to move to 2B with Kelly Johnson going back to OF, where the Braves are notably weak. I think Cardinals are focused almost solely on pitching _ at least as we speak.
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Q: Commish, thank you for your continued keen insights into the Cardinals off-season. Assuming Furcal resigns with Atlanta and assuming truth to the rumor of at least some talk between Atlanta and Pittsburgh around an Escobar for Maholm deal, might the Cardinals still be able to acquire Escobar? I believe Yunel to be on a similar career track to that of Hanley Ramirez. Given a chance to acquire a 6-2, 200-pound 26-year old with good defensive skills, developing power and a proven OBA I would gladly move Ludwick to the Braves. We might then either flip Khalil to another team or ask him to play second base for a season. Atlanta would be much better off with Furcal at short, Johnson at second, and Ludwick in the OF. A Cardinal infield of Pujols, Greene, Escobar, and Glaus might be good for 120 homers and 330+ RBIs. A Ludwick for Escobar deal would appear to be a win-win for both teams. Thoughts? Thank you!
Flyfish
A: I would hate to move Ludwick for a shortstop when you already have one, even if it was Escobar. With Ankiel and Duncan coming off surgeries, you have to be careful about giving up your only righthanded-hitting regular outfielder and a guy who was No. 2 in slugging percentage in the National League last year.
Q: Rick, thanks for keeping the hot stove warm. Couple of points: Wallace and Freese: Who is the leader after Glaus? My view is Freese is a suspect as he was given to the Cardinals in a salary dump of Edmonds, thus, not considered a great prospect. Can Wallace play third?
I would hate to throw Motte and Perez out too early. We once did that to a guy named Looper
I am concerned that the Cardinals are giving us this great vision of the Redbirds of the future. The names of Alan Watson, Brian Barber, John Fulgham, Manny Abyar, Blake Hawksworth………do you see something different with the Cardinal player development?
I feel that you carry the mantel for Cardinal baseball from Bob Broeg and the Bench Warmer, Bob Burnes. Thanks for keeping the winter warm.
JC
A: Thanks, JC. If he continues his rapid development, Wallace probably has the lead although Freese is higher in the organization at the moment. Either would seem a good replacement for 2010 and beyond although Wallace, as a No. 1 pick, will get every chance when he is deemed ready. Third base is the only spot I hear people assigning to Wallace although I’m sure at some point he’ll get a tour in the outfield. The failed pitchers you named are not unique to the Cardinals. Every organization has a similar litany.Yes, I’m sure the Cardinals are worried about giving too much responsibility too early to Perez and/or Motte.
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Q: Joe Strauss says the cards offered Fuentes two years at eight million or so. Commish, when do these low-ball offers begin to insult players and their agents? Does Mo risk gaining a reputation as unrealistic and a bad judge of the market? I realize he has made some good trades, but they have all been at bargain rates when it comes to free agents. Isn’t low-balling a risky move for a new G.M.? Thanks, Mr. Hummel.
Roger
A: Inasmuch as Fuentes was removed from his closer’s role in the second half of the 2007 season _ when the Rockies won the NL pennant _ I don’t think he should be insulted. However, you may be right. A two-year offer of $8 to $9 million a year probably isn’t going to get him. Fuentes, in a sense, is irritating the Cardinals because he and his agent are waiting to see if the Angels, Fuentes’ preferred team, are going to re-sign Teixeira. It seems clear the Cardinals are Fuentes’ second choice.
Roger
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Q: Mo seems to like to make trades with the Blue Jays (see Glaus for Rolen) and they have six lefthanded relievers on their current roster. BJ Ryan has 30+ saves 3 of the last 4 years. He does make 10 million a year.
Do you like Ryan? Is the price too high? What about Ankiel and Brad Thompson for BJ Ryan?
James
A: I’m not too keen on trading a regular outfielder like Ankiel for a reliever although Ryan, when healthy, certainly seems to be one of the best. Again, I’m not anxious to move Ankiel at all and I wouldn’t think other teams would have a lot of interest until they see that he is healthy this spring after having abdominal surgery.
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Q: .Hey Commish, I am going to go out on a limb and declare last year’s 30 blown saves as a fluke. I think the attention needs to be focused on SPs. What’s the word on Derek Lowe? He seems to be the perfect pitcher for Dunc and LaRussa. A sinkerball pitcher that gets groundballs and has lots of postseason experience. What is Lowe looking for? If the Cardinals can get him for 3 or 4 years for $12 MM a year, they should go for it. Let Perez take over the closer role. I do remember a rookie in ‘06 taking over the closer role in September and into October and recording some the biggest outs in Cardinal history. If it isn’t working out in ‘09, there will be lots of trade opportunities by mid-season.
Thanks,
Scott
A: Lowe certainly is a serviceable pitcher but coming up on 36 years old, too. The Cardinals won’t be offering him three or four years at that age and are concerned about committing to another long-term deal to a starting pitcher when the already have done so with Carpenter,Wainwright and Lohse. I’m sure Lowe is looking for three or four years, though, at $10 million a year-plus. After all, Lohse got $10 million a year and he hasn’t had the career Lowe has had.
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Q: I will vote the Commish in as MLB commish for life! I agree totally with your ideas for the game. Couldn’t the $10 million we’re talking of spending on Fuentes buy a good lefty now for the pen and a starter and utilityman in the spring? The market for mid-line starters is saturated right now. And do you see any chance of a return for Looper and Villone?
Thanks, Commish!
Roger
A: Thanks, Roger. I would commit $10 million or to Fuentes for two years, but not three. And I’m fully convinced starters are going to be there by the bushelful a month from now when their agents see that the big money isn’t out there for everybody. Given that scenario, I wouldn’t eliminate Looper. I haven’t heard talk of Villone coming back.
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Q: Commish, as usual, excellent job. You were especially right on your answers if you were the ACTUAL commish of MLB. What can we as fans do to get MLB to realize that games ending at 1a.m. do NOT interest us? These games should start at 7p.m. local time and go from there. So what if the Mets, Yankees or Red Sox see the game starting in the third inning? Baseball has missed an entire generation of fans due to the lunacy of the almighty buck and it’s a shame. We need to reverse this trend. Suggestions? Thank you!!!!
Greg
A: Thanks, Greg. I think even 7:30 Eastern time is a legitimate time. That’s an hour ahead of when most of the World Series games start now. That’s only 4:30 on the West Coast, but there hasn’t been a West Coast team in the World Series since 2002 anyway.
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Q: Commish. Do you see Mo doing anything GOOD to help the Cardinals between now @ Christmas or will it be after Jan 5-09, if then???
Bryan
A: I see Mo doing something both before Christmas and in January. I don’t think you can rate his off-season performance until spring training starts and we see who’s on the club. If you look around, most teams have done about as much as the Cardinals, or even less, so far.
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(10 votes, average: 4.9 out of 5)
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A few days ago ESPN published a report that Mark Mulder is working with a new stretching routine and has seen positive results. IF he makes it back to big league pitching standards, what chances are there that he would contact the Cardinals or vice versa? After paying him for so many years where he could not perform, does he feel any obligation at all to the organization? Is there too bad a taste left in the mouths of management to even entertain the possibility?
Dear Mr. Hummel,
With all due respect, not every team has as much work to get done as the Cardinals do this offseason. At least some of those who did have much work to do have already gotten a lot done. Having plenty of money to throw around no doubt helps with that. I wanted to ask if you think the Cards should wait for Fuentes? A Texeira deal could be weeks down the road and there aren’t a lot of closers on the market. It seems to me that the Cards need to look elsewhere and make other offers/trades or risk finding nothing decent left by the time something happens with Fuentes. Cincy already took Rhodes out from under Mo and the Mets got Putz via trade. Can Mo afford to give Fuentes much more time? Thanks very much for your time!
Lynda
Commish, we’ve decided that there will be plenty of mid line starters in the spring. This being said, what if the cards chose their favorite of the group and made a really legitimate offer? Something right along the lines the pitcher has been seeking. Not necessarily overpaying, but meeting his demands. Would this tactic make it more likely to get our real target, and make planning the rest of the team easier? Especially in light of Fuentes resistant attitude toward St. Louis. Would we really want him, knowing we are his second choice? I just hate to see the team low ball every free agent on the market just because they see the market one way while everyone else sees it another. Thanks for letting all us frustrated general managers rant, Mr. Hummel.
I believe this Cardinal rotation can’t be considered a finished product. I know the organization has no intention of getting into a long term 10 plus million dollar contract with a fourth pitcher, but surely there’s a solution out there that can both avoid that and be something better then “low hanging fruit.” I had a thought and I would appreciate your opinion on it. Toronto has a pitcher who is moving into the number two or three spot next year with AJ Burnett surely leaving named Dustin McGowen. If you check his numbers you may scratch your head at that,(6 and 7 with a 4.37 ERA in 19 starts through 111.1 innings with a K/BB ratio of 85/3Cool
but he was hurt for part of that season and in 07 he went,(12 and 10 with a 4.08 ERA in 27 starts over 169.2 innings with a K/BB ratio of 144/61). That’s not bad considering his park and his division. If you watch his highlights, he’s electric. I think the jays need an outfielder and a young catcher being that Barajas and Stairs aren’t getting any younger. Could Ankiel and Anderson get him?
Thanks
TommyG
Commish. Any chance we try to sign Bob Abreau ?? He would be a GREAT fit in the # 2 hole.
Hey TommyG,
I hear you on those rather intriguing young Jays’ pitchers. Not just McGowan, but Marcum had a great season last year, too, before going down with an injury. Problem is, with McGowan, he is coming off of shoulder surgery and there is no guarantee he will be ready for the start of the season. Furthermore, he had Tommy John surgery back in 2004, so he is no stranger to the disabled list.
Who knows, he could be like another injury-prone guy we got from Toronto a few years back - Chris Carpenter - and put up some excellent seasons for us. Then again, do the Cards really want to take on another starter with injury concerns when there are already questions as to whether Carpenter will be available for the full season?
Also, Matt Stairs is no longer in Toronto - he was traded to Philly where he won himself a World Series ring. The Toronto outfield looks like it will be Wells (30 at Opening Day 2009), Rios (28), and likely stud prospect Adam Lind (26) or Travis Snider (21). Meaning Ankiel (29) would actually be one of the more senior outfielders and potentially block one of their prospects. Of course, Barajas is getting on in age, especially in catcher years.
Interesting idea, though. It McGowan could go either way and at the moment, he and Ankiel are both sort of question marks as to whether they can stay healthy and contribute at the high level they’re capable of for a full season.
Commish. The Cardinals need to make a take or leave it offer to Fuentes with a time on it then move on to other free agent lefthanders or trades. I THANK 2008 @ 2009 is our best chance to go to the world series. We did NOTHING to help get there in 2008 at the deadline. That leaves 2009. After the 2009 season we lose Glaus,K.Greene,Kennedy,Ankiel,or 3 out of 4 of our infielders.A starting outfielder @ Startering pitchers Pineiro @ Wellemeyer. Relivers Franklin,Miller @ a back up catcher LaRue. 2010 will be another rebuilding year!!!! What do you thank??
Here’s a thought concerning signin g Fuentes: Defecate or get off the throne!!!!!!!!!!!
Commish, it’s fairly obvious the Cardinals aren’t going to make a play for a ‘big name’ starting pitcher, i.e. Jake Peavy, Derek Lowe. I was wondering if you thought they might have any interest in Jon Garland? He’s not the greatest option available, but he consistently puts up solid numbers. The last seven years of his career he has started at least 32 games and won at least 10 games in each of those seasons. He could kind of fill the role that Jeff Suppan had during his tenure with the Cardinals. Thanks.
Mr.Hummel,
I know you hear this all of the time but thank you for taking our questions its greatly appreciated by all. My question is when Rasmus finally does get to majors what do you think we can expect from him as far as production. I know he has been slow to start at every level. But is he going to be comparable to a Jacoby Ellsbury of the red sox? Ellsbury’s hit .280, hit 9 home runs, had 47 RBI, and 50 stolen bases in 145 games played. From what i hear does Rasmus have more power, maybe more home run potential? Also does Rasmus have the speed and more importantly the base stealing skills to steal 50 bases? Thank you very much Mr. Hummel.