The Cardinals farm system has produced plenty of impact players the past few years. Seriously, it has.
But the organization squandered some of them – compromising the depth Jeff Luhnow and Co. built quickly through drafting and player development.
The Padres took reliever Luke Gregerson from the Cards last year for shortstop Khalil Greene, who became an unmitigated disaster. Greene’s bizarre struggle with social anxiety disorder knocked him out of baseball.
Gregerson, a 28th-round Cards pick in 2006, quickly became an elite set-up man in San Diego. He has appeared in 142 games in two seasons. Opponents are hitting .173 against them this season. He has a tidy 0.84 WHIP.
The Indians took relievers Chris Perez and Jess Todd from the Cards last year for infielder Mark DeRosa, who almost immediately suffered a career-damaging wrist injury. DeRosa departed as a free agent after the season but never recovered from that injury.
Perez, the 46th overall pick in the 2006 draft, became the Indians closer this season. He is 2-2 with 20 saves and a 1.82 ERA. Opponents are hitting .186 against him.
The Cards traded two of Luhnow’s big success stories and got almost nothing in return.
Both trades looked like good ideas at the time . . . and then misfortune struck. Stuff happens in sports. Men not machines, like Tony La Russa says.
But just imagine how keeping Gregerson and Perez would have changed the Cards’ fortune in 2010.
With Gregerson excelling in the bullpen, Kyle McClellan could have moved to the starting rotation for this season – where he would have become a far more reliable option than the likes of Blake Hawksworth, Adam Ottavino and P.J. Walters. McClellan has the bulldog mentality and pitch repertoire to succeed as a No. 4 starter.
Perez could have strengthened an already solid bullpen, preparing to take the closer’s baton from veteran Ryan Franklin.
With Jaime Garcia and McClellan in the rotation and Perez, Gregerson, Jason Motte, Mitchell Boggs, Fernando Salas and Todd stacked up in the bullpen (here and in Memphis), the Cards would have had one of the best collection of young arms in the sport.
There would have been no need to rush Ottavino into the big leagues a year early. There would have been no need to give Walters and Hawksworth more than they could handle.
There would have been no need to deal Ryan Ludwick for Jake Westbrook to fortify a depleted rotation. In short, this team would still be in contention and Dave Duncan wouldn't be fretting about the lack of playoff-caliber pitching support from the minors.
(Other fast-developing Luhnow picks were sacrificed in the Matt Holliday deal, but spending infielder Brett Wallace, pitcher Clayton Mortensen and outfielder Shane Peterson paid a huge dividend. None of those prospects would have helped the ’10 Cards – and the valuable Holliday re-signed here as a free agent.)
Despite this player development success, Luhnow emerged as a villainous character in Cardinal Nation. His ascension to player development czar led to Walt Jocketty’s departure.
That unfortunate rift made him a marked man with Jocketty loyalists inside and outside the organization.
But on his watch, the sporadically productive Cards farm system sent a steadier supply of talent to the majors. That most of the farm teams won this year is a nice bonus; while the Cards were finding new ways to lose at the major league level, prospects were finding ways to win in the minors. There is some value in that.
La Russa is clamoring for more impact players, which is understandable. His team came up well short this year. Once the big injuries hit, he didn't have the horses.
But isn’t Colby Rasmus an impact player? Isn’t Jon Jay an impact player?
Aren’t Garcia, Perez, Boggs, Motte and Gregerson impact players? Isn’t Wallace destined for a long and productive offensive career?
Moving forward, Tyler Greene, Allen Craig, Daniel Descalso, Bryan Anderson, Lance Lynn, Eduardo Sanchez, Shelby Miller and Adam Reifer figure to make a mark here or elsewhere. Some will become front-line players, others will fill in -- but all figure to play if they stay healthy.
General manager John Mozeliak made some significant changes to further improve the development process. Given this organization’s stated philosophy – to build a self-renewing talent base, freeing it to allocate huge dollars to core players – the Cards must do a fabulous job grooming youngsters.
Luhnow and his acolytes brought some new-age philosophies to the process. But old-school fundamental instruction is more important than ever and these management changes address that need.
This organization is in great shape. It has plenty of assets, perhaps more than La Russa realizes.
The Cards need to protect and develop those assets while using other means (like raising payroll a notch and spending more money on veteran help) to augment the talent already in place.
If the organization sticks to that approach, the Cards could afford to pay Albert Pujols, appease La Russa and live happily ever after.
