12:03pm: SI's Jon Heyman writes that Cohen told him says it's "better than 50-50" that Edmonds signs by the end of next week.
WEDNESDAY, 9:01am: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports talked to Edmonds' agent Paul Cohen yesterday. Edmonds is serious about playing in 2010. He's open to a platoon arrangment, possible time at first base, and teams in either league. Morosi believes Edmonds will lean toward teams with smaller ballparks.
MONDAY, 2:10pm: B.J. Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat has comments from La Russa regarding Edmonds. La Russa initially thought Edmonds was joking, but now says a "serious discussion" is in order.
8:05am: At Tony La Russa's animal rescue benefit last night, Jim Edmonds publicly challenged his former manager to bring him aboard for the league minimum in 2010 (MLB.com's Matthew Leach reporting). Leach is unsure whether Edmonds was serious, however. Prior to Edmonds' comments, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted that the Cardinals were "not entertaining inviting Edmonds to camp." GM John Mozeliak specifically told Strauss's colleague Derrick Goold (Twitter), "That wasn't in the plans."
Last offseason it appeared that Edmonds planned to play in 2009. But like Frank Thomas, Luis Gonzalez, Geoff Jenkins, and a handful of other veterans, Edmonds was left out in the cold. If nothing else, Edmonds demonstrated in '08 that he could still hit right-handed pitching.
Why wouldn’t the Cardinals offer him a league minimum contract to be their left handed bat on the bench? He can still spell Holliday and Ludwick in the corner outfield positions and he has payed first base before too. There are worse options out there. And he is a fan favorite.
Because usually you would want to know that your “left handed bench bat” can still HIT before you throw money at them. and IMO bench players need to be able to play solid defense. That is a key part to being a good guy off the bench, and I really doubt Edmonds can still play any outfield position well. It just doesn’t make alot of sense for the Cards unless he can still mash!
Because usually you would want to know that your “left handed bench bat” can still HIT before you throw money at them. and IMO bench players need to be able to play solid defense. That is a key part to being a good guy off the bench, and I really doubt Edmonds can still play any outfield position well. It just doesn’t make alot of sense for the Cards unless he can still mash!
The idea of him backing up Rasmus and Luddy is appealing. It is always nice having a fan favorite and veteran in the clubhouse. This guy has a bad UZR but could help in MANY other ways.
This may make my gray Cardinals #15 Edmonds Jersey worth something (Why did Matt have to pick #7?)
Why wouldn’t the Cardinals offer him a league minimum contract to be their left handed bat on the bench? He can still spell Holliday and Ludwick in the corner outfield positions and he has payed first base before too. There are worse options out there. And he is a fan favorite.
So according to this years rumors the Cardinals may have both McGwire and Edmonds in the lineup come september.
Let’s make this happen LaRussa!
So according to this years rumors the Cardinals may have both McGwire and Edmonds in the lineup come september.
Let’s make this happen LaRussa!
Edmonds is done period! When he signed with the Padres, he was atrocious in Petco park looking clueless, I would be surprised if he could cover a Pony field!
Not to mention is dilapidating offensive skills, flat out he is done in every aspect of the game, but none the less… a legend in his own mind, that cannot separate ego from reality!
Edmonds is done period! When he signed with the Padres, he was atrocious in Petco park looking clueless, I would be surprised if he could cover a Pony field!
Not to mention is dilapidating offensive skills, flat out he is done in every aspect of the game, but none the less… a legend in his own mind, that cannot separate ego from reality!
Looks like Edmonds is looking for LaRussa to rescue him too.
Looks like Edmonds is looking for LaRussa to rescue him too.
He’s done. Let it go, Jim.
He’s done. Let it go, Jim.
He’s worth the league minimum and roster spot just to be a mentor to Colby Rasmus.
This is the best comment on here, a guy that has 8 gold gloves metoring the cardinals young very good center fielder is definently worth league min.
He’s worth the league minimum and roster spot just to be a mentor to Colby Rasmus.
Do it Mo!
Do it Mo!
The Cardinals have never taken a washed up player who spent a decade as the teams star center fielder, then traded him to the Padres where it looked like their career was over then missed an entire season only to come back for one final year with the Cardinals… Except in 2004 when Ray Lankford did it.
excellent point……. forgot about that. lol
The Cardinals have never taken a washed up player who spent a decade as the teams star center fielder, then traded him to the Padres where it looked like their career was over then missed an entire season only to come back for one final year with the Cardinals… Except in 2004 when Ray Lankford did it.
If he is serious we should at least give him a ST invite and see what he’s got. We brought a 73yr old Juan Gonzalez to camp.. Why not Jimmy ballgame??
Haha, fair point.
Haha, fair point.
Wait what? The Cards did that? When?
2 years ago.
If he is serious we should at least give him a ST invite and see what he’s got. We brought a 73yr old Juan Gonzalez to camp.. Why not Jimmy ballgame??
I think that as long as he’s a 4th or 5th OF, he will be a great addition to the bench. Maybe not playing the field nearly as much would allow him to stay healthy and productive in a bench role. Sign him for the league minimum and if he doesn’t hit, let him go. Where’s the harm? He was productive for the Cubs in 08 and like someone said above, he’d be great for Rasmus.
I think that as long as he’s a 4th or 5th OF, he will be a great addition to the bench. Maybe not playing the field nearly as much would allow him to stay healthy and productive in a bench role. Sign him for the league minimum and if he doesn’t hit, let him go. Where’s the harm? He was productive for the Cubs in 08 and like someone said above, he’d be great for Rasmus.
Yes! Edmonds could spell Ludwick in right. We could sign Bonds to platoon Holliday in left, and with Big Mac taking over for Albert halfway through the season, after his elbow inevitably blows up, we’d have one hell of a nostalgic team. Can Ozzie still play short?
Imagine it, a heart of the order of Edmonds, Bonds, and Mac!
We’d be the best 1998 team of all-time.
We’d be the best 1998 team of all-time.
Imagine it, a heart of the order of Edmonds, Bonds, and Mac!
I heard Sammy Sosa might come back to the cubs to be a hitting mentor/player on the roster when the roster expands. Same for Bonds and the Giants!
I heard Sammy Sosa might come back to the cubs to be a hitting mentor/player on the roster when the roster expands. Same for Bonds and the Giants!
Yes! Edmonds could spell Ludwick in right. We could sign Bonds to platoon Holliday in left, and with Big Mac taking over for Albert halfway through the season, after his elbow inevitably blows up, we’d have one hell of a nostalgic team. Can Ozzie still play short?
Come on Cards sign him
Come on Cards sign him
Couldn’t be worse than Larry Walker at the end of 2005.
Hey, the Cards have stated that they needed a left handed hitter off the bench. They have also stated their funds are done to 7mil. SO, supposing Jimmy is serious, why not? He would be a good answer, the man could hit in his day, and if not in a daily role I think he could be decent off the bench. He’s a better answer than we have right now. I believe in second chances, and this guy deserves one. I don’t see how anyone could turn on him after the stint he had with the Cards. He gave us alot of good years in center and alot of good memories. For Colby Rasmus this would be amazing, heck even for Holliday and Ludwick. He is a very good veteran with alot of intelligence. I’m 100% for this!
Come on Redbirds, let’s make this happen! 😛
TA
Just sign him to a minor league deal. If he’s bad in Spring Training at least he retires a Cardinal, and if he is good you have a veteran presence on the team and a feel good story.
That would be cool for league min. with the Braves. Platoon with Diaz. Melky in right until Heyward is ready.
I’d say he’s worth a flier at league minimum. At least a non-roster invite to ST. If he shows value, sign him up. If not, time to start the HOF countdown.
Jim Edmunds in Cooperstown??? Not now, not ever!!!
You could put him in the HOF, by not what he did at the plate, but what he done in the field. He won gold glove after gold glove by defense. Not all players that is in the HOF is a .300 batter.
His bat work isn’t to be scoffed at either, but like any player, you look at the complete package. He’s got pretty good numbers, especially if he gets to 400 HRs. Plus 8 gold gloves… That’s a legit shot. Obviously any player is going to have a hard time getting in, but he’s got a legit chance.
The HOF committee do not need to look at the complete package. He play on teams with 100 win seasons, he won a ring, and play in 2 world series, He has silver slugger awards with the gold gloves and he has some of the best defense plays in the HOF anyway. He has a good batting average. He can go in because of the chance that Andre Dawson made it and Dawson broke through the wall to that made people like Edmonds to get in.
im soory but jim is a 2nd or 3rd year hall a famer 8 gold gloves 382 homeruns and no links to steroids or hgh.
Why not? It would be a great learning experience for Colby Rasmus. He probably could still hit better than Chris Duncan ever did.
Invite him to ST Cardinals. He wants to play, he’s willing to play for the minimum, and he’s a fan favorite over there. It really can’t be any harm
“You might consider getting over whatever this hatred is you have for Jim Edmonds just because your team traded for his old-man body. He was 38, what the hell did you expect from him?”
And at 40, after a year off, the Cardinals should expect what exactly? My expectation would be MTV Rock Jock softball gap power.
who cares if he is 40 if he is gonna be a backup,pinch hitter. Being around 40 sure didnt stop guys like Thome and Manny last season did it? Edmonds is just as good of a hitter as Manny if he wasn’t juiced. And Manny wasnt on the stuff last year, and look what happened to his numbers, still good (but not great).
Besides, think of the worse case scenario. He bats around .240, gives us about 10 home runs off the bench/backup, plays average to below average defense, and mentors Colby Rasmus and Ludwick. If im not mistaken, that is still a pretty welcome improvement over Ankiel and thurston from last season no?
Agreed. He would take the min and give us room to spend on pitching as well. and what if.. just what if he has a season like he did for Chicago. Its worth the shot to put him on.
in other news: Lohse has been challenging pineiro on the XBOX and says he is finally healthy.
W00t! if he is finally back to 08 form, we could potentially have one, arugably the best, rotation in baseball.
Carp
Waino
Penny..im gonna go for 3.60ERA..not terrible and reasonable
Lohse.. 08′ numbers
Garcia/boggs/hawskworth/McClellan.
Any rotation with Penny as a #3 could never be the best in baseball.
penny didnt do too terrible in the NL when he got his stuff straight. And he is gonna be working with dave duncan..id say its pretty stubborn to say that he wont improve. And why cant it be the best in MLB? the red sox rotation is good, but all 3 guys at the top have around a 3.50 ERA..that could be close to what penny will have with the cardinals..and waino and carp have sub 3 ERA’s…i guess you could argue that the braves are better but thats all it is..a argument.
I was wondering why he didn’t play this year!he had a solid 2008 with the cubbies
.937 OPS with them
because he couldn’t find a job. I doubt he wanted to play for a noncontending team either.
Dont bring up the padres, he didn’t choose to play with them, it was a trade.
I was thinking/hoping he’d go with the Braves…
but then they got garret anderson…
the most average hitter around
who can’t field or run, or take a walk
Edmonds is amazing in MLB 09 The Show
he’s got mad power
True That! hah. hes a stud on the show 09
If nothing else, have Edmonds sign the famous 1 day contract so he can retire as a Cardinal.
Man I used to love Jimmy Edmonds. That picture perfect lefty swing he has is beautiful to watch
I like it, for the minimum it’s worth a shot.
Sign Edmonds/ Gary Sheffield/ Garret Anderson/ Darren Ersted & Brian Giles and make a reality TV show about them fighting to make 1 major league spot….. I would seriously watch that show…lol
You gotta throw Bonds in there if you want must-see TV.
Garret Anderson and DARIN ERSTAD….really? im pretty sure they havent been out of a job….no wait im possitive. idiot. how about you spell the names right of the people youre trying to talk trash on. it might make you seem like you at least kind of know a little bit about what youre talking about. regardless of how idiotic your comments are.
There always seems to be 1 guy like this one… it’s a joke duder relax
GA an DE are out of jobs right now so that’s what it was implying…
Peace
How do you spell “possitive” again? Is it “youre” or “you’re”? Do you trash talk “on” people? Is it proper to begin sentences with capital letters anymore? Is “regardless of how idiotic your comments are” a complete sentence?
Relax.
at most it might be a minor league deal with a invation to spring training. *shrugs*
I doubt 40 year old Edmonds is coming out of retirement to play in the minors
“teams in either league”
I have been wanting the Cubs to bring him back, and if he is open to other teams besides the Cardinals, why not?
What do you guys think about maybe signing with the yankees if he dont sign with the cards. he could platoon with Gardner and would be playing in a great ballpark for lefties ask damon, he could play left maybe center little first and dh i love jimmy and i think he could be a fit and also i guess the yanks are operating on a budget and he fits with the price … thougts?
I’d like to see it happen.but I don’t think it will…if he couldn’t get a job last year after a solid season, he’ll have trouble getting a job this year, especially for the yanks…I could see cards brining him back… I’ll say 40% if he comes back, it’ll be with them; maybe another central team
If anyone can help a guy at his age and time off from the majors, LaRussa/McGwire can do it.
how can anyone put jim edmonds’ name in the same sentence as McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds?? Jim edmonds is a for sure hall of famer…these other cheating scrubs you name will never be in the hall of fame. dont talk sh*t on one of the best center fielders of all time. i dont care if he is 65 and he wants to come back. the best part is mcgwire needed steroids to “stay on the field” and here jim edmonds is, well past his prime and he doesnt need any of that.
Edmonds has a ring, a room full of golden glove and defensive player of the year awards, a silver slugger, and a hall of fame career under his belt. and you wonder why he still plays?
its because he actually loves the game of baseball. he obviously doesnt care about the money since he is willing to play for the league minimum. anyone else that loves the game of baseball would respect a man for wanting to keep playing the game he loves. and as fans you should feel privileged that you may have at least one more year to watch a great player in jim edmonds
Jimmy Ballgame still wants to play, but more importantly he wants 18 more HRs to get to 400 and lock up his HoF credentials. I’m guessing that given the Cards’ thin minors and remaining stated salary — he’s back.
I’d say 3 things need to happen here. A physical is number 1. A tryout to see how is batting is against ML pitching, and a fielding tryout. If these 3 things are done and given the blessings of TLR and Big Mac, then absolutely bring him back. Then set him down and make him understand his role. 1. Left-handed bat off the bench. 2. Back-up outfielder and first-baseman. and 3. Mentor for Rasmus, and clubhouse presence.
I don’t see how the cards management can overlook this. Its cheap and has more pros than cons. And being that lefty vs. righty batting is completely different in style, think what that adds to the hitting coach role. I wouldnt mind seeing that job as a platoon role. Far fetched maybe. but wow.
the cardinals are gunna sign edmonds because he is a fan favorite he would be good left handed bat off the bench and most important it would help put fans in the stands. first an formost baseball is a business and jim at league min and the possibilty of more fans going through the turnstiles would be a good business dicision.