The Cardinals are receiving trade inquiries into closer Bud Norris, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with the Rockies and Red Sox among the teams that have shown interest to this point. In a second column, Goold adds that the club is “open to discussing offers” for both Norris and first baseman/outfielder Jose Martinez.
The Red Sox have been tied to countless relievers of late, it seems, and Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM tweets that they, along with the Phillies, Astros and Mariners, are “in” (to varying extents, of course) on practically every bullpen arm that is available on the market at this point.
Norris wasn’t supposed to be the Cardinals’ top bullpen addition of the offseason — far from it — but that’s unequivocally how things have played out. While the Cardinals gave Greg Holland a one-year, $14MM contract to serve as their closer and also signed Luke Gregerson to a two-year, $11MM deal, Norris and his one-year, $3MM deal have been the lone bullpen signing to pay dividends. Holland was released on Friday amid a seismic shakeup of the St. Louis pitching staff, while Gregerson been plagued by injuries all season and owns a 7.11 ERA through just 12 2/3 innings thanks to multiple DL stints.
Norris, meanwhile, stepped up and seized the ninth-inning gig from Holland and Dominic Leone (another offseason ’pen addition who has yet to pan out). Through 43 innings, the 33-year-old Norris boasts a 3.14 ERA with 11.7 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9 and a 41 percent ground-ball rate. His fastball and sinker are both averaging nearly 95 mph, the best of his career, and Norris’ ridiculous 38.3 percent chase rate (that is, out-of-zone pitches that have induced a swing from opponents) ranks seventh among 158 qualified relievers.
Earlier this month, Norris spoke to the Post-Dispatch’s Rick Hummel about his hopes to sign a long-term deal to remain with the Cardinals, though his affordable salary and excellent results could make him as appealing a trade candidate as they do an extension candidate for the St. Louis front office. As it stands, he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season and is still owed $1MM of his $3MM salary, making him affordable for any team in search of a upgrade.
As for Martinez, there’s little question about the late-blooming 30-year-old’s ability to produce at the plate. He’s mashed at a .304/.371/.487 pace since making his Major League debut in 2016, and his current .294/.359/.461 output is considerably better than that of a league-average bat (23 to 24 percent better, when adjusting for park and league, per OPS+ and wRC+). Martinez’s power is down a bit from 2017, but he’s still walking at a solid 8.9 percent clip and has improved his strikeout rate, which sits at just 16 percent. He can be controlled through the 2022 season and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until after the 2019 season.
While all of that is decidedly positive, Martinez’ glovework is on the opposite end of the spectrum. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak candidly acknowledged earlier this month that Martinez’s defensive shortcomings at first base were “putting a lot of stress on everyone,” and the team has since shifted him into a part-time role and given him more time in the outfield recently. Martinez, though, has played 328 innings in the outfield and turned in dismal defensive marks (-8 Defensive Runs Saved, -5 Ultimate Zone Rating). He hasn’t fared any better at first base, though, and there’s been speculation that he could ultimately land on an American League club where his bat would be better serve in a DH capacity.
mack22 2
Norris is a cancer, no way
teddy 3
Pretty bold critique from someone who, most likely, has no idea what he/she is talking about. Read and repeat is a terrible way to live.
astick
Whoa. It is a comment section, man. Calm down.
teddy 3
I was just commenting too.
michaelw
at Teddy. You sound like a cry baby St,L fan who hasn’t got his way for 4 years now. No one wants garbage players from St. L shame Yoddie has to go out embarrassed and shamed. The whole club should just pack up and sell the team and move to Canada and start over. Montreal is calling. Every other sports team in St.L did it the baseball team should follow suit.
STLCards33
Shut up troll
tomabsolon
You sound like a very unhappy person in life. The Cardinals are a great organization and have a lot of top pitching prospects coming out of the minors right now. We have fallen on hard times due to lack of a couple star players with real talent and we had a Manager that ran the bullpen in the ground while not wanting to work with young players and make any good baseball decisions…. I do expect all this to change while Mozeliak knows it must or he’s out of a job. I’m not the biggest Mozeliak fan but I do Love my Cardinals and know we must improve. So if your really that salty and hate our Cardinals please take your rude rude and salty outlook and go rain on some other web sites parade dude. We are hear to talk baseball and how this team can improve. Go Cards!
mack22 2
He gets off of bullying rookies, and ultimately through his actions has help lead to the decline of the cardinals
EndinStealth
That’s one of the dumbest comments I’ve read in awhile. Kudos. Even Hicks said the “news” was greatly exaggerated.
Robertowannabe
What led to the decline of the Cardinals is injuries and a lack of MLB talent at the moment. Couple of bad FA signings did not help either
bigkempin
“The 33-year-old Norris has been mercilessly riding 21-year-old rookie Jordan Hicks since spring training, reminding him to be at meetings on time and publicly calling him out when he is lagging in any of the details a visitor might not notice, but other players do.””
Wow. How dare a veteran try to remind a rookie to hold himself accountable.
mack22 2
Not Norris’s job to do that, plus this is Norris’s first year with the club. Now if it were Molina it would be a different story.
murphy
Sounds like Bud did something to upset you.
Rob B
Norris and Hicks are both relief pitchers, they attend all the same meetings, drills, workouts etc., it is only natural.
vtadave
It’s his job.
teddy 3
Hahaha….sure does
EndinStealth
That’s exactly what veterans do. Mack22 are you new to sports?
fabulous61
Veterans do that on all teams and they should, so you have no idea what you’re talking about.
atticusfinch
How is it not his job? He’s a veteran… Do Sr’s in High School not show the younger kids on the team the ropes? It’s called a mentor… sounds like you might need one… I’m not available, FYI
mack22 2
Now for a guy coming in to a new team. It bad etiquette. I guess is worked out for some Cards fans, it got rid of Mike Matheny.
mack22 2
No are you?
carlsoce
He has been one of the very few good BP arms the Cards have…he has helped with the decline? Dumb comment
Rob B
That is not why Matheny got fired at all. I’m sure it didn’t help him any but I doubt if it contributed to the decision either. Just shut up.
Gary R
My team they did not
mack22 2
You maybe you’re dumb
matanzas1962
He is not far off. He was not liked in Houston nor in Anaheim. He has been known to be a complainer.
realgone2
According to Dave O’Brien from the AJC many guys on the Braves didn’t like him either.
fabulous61
A lot of people don’t like Dave O’Brien either but that’s life. You shut your pie hole and deal with it. Not everyone likes everyone else.
mack22 2
Yeah, I don’t like you, see there ya go!
Gary R
About time Cardinals woke up to these 2. I wonder if anyone inquired about Mozeliak?
Cardinals17
We’ll take any offer for Joh Mozeliak!!! Hopefully the Cardinals Ownership has had a wake up call!!! Mozeliak has wasted the ownerships millions upon millions of dollars on Low Hanging Fruit and other teams cast offs. If he is allowed to rebuild the Cardinals the Ownership will just get more of the same from him. Plus, attendance will just keep dropping and season ticket owners as myself, will pass on renewing our season ticket
Purchases until Mozeliak is gone. Everybody has been fired that Mozeliak can blame for his poor choices and inability to land quality, impact players for the Cards. Now…it’s very obvious a Mozeliak is and has been the the reason of the Cardinals decline over the past 4 years. For 2 1/2 years he has done absolutely nothing at the trade deadlines or off seasons but talk, lie and cover up his inabilities to negotiate deals other than Ozuna to benefit the Cardinals with true impact players. His philosophy is obsolete. Time for the Cardinals to go with Michael Girsch. Who at least has a great personality, respected by other organizations and has new modern visions for the club.
matanzas1962
You want a numbers guy with hardly any baseball knowledge to be your general manager?
ray_derek
Mike Girsch is the GM lol
jdgoat
Why do you assume these “numbers guys” have no baseball knowledge?
matanzas1962
In name only. He was given the title so that they could justify paying him more.
Mo makes the decisions. Girsch crunches the numbers.
matanzas1962
Let just say that I am very familiar with the situation.
Cardinals17
You at least would like a numbers guy who has played baseball over a long period of time. A person who can recognize positive abilities along side of the numbers. Obviously Mozeliak isn’t that person. Maybe I’m wrong about Girsch. But I’ve visited with him several times over the past 4 years while covering Spring Training for a radio group. He’s great to discus baseball in general. He has indicated to me on several different interviews there is an important other side of impact players other than the numbers. Last Springs interview he indicated he thought they needed an additional impact bat to go along with Ozuna. He was the one who was knocking on the Orioles door for Machado in January. The rug got pulled out from under that deal.
Cardinals17
Exactly
mojowo11
“He served as an assistant within the scouting department and later spent five seasons as Jocketty’s assistant GM. He became the assisting scouting director in 1998. The next season, Mozeliak was promoted to scouting director and oversaw the drafting of talent such as Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. He garnered much attention as a major up-and-coming GM in the industry and interviewed with the Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros.”
Yeah, Mo really sounds like a scrub who can’t recognize talent.
dfinmozarks
Folks seem to forget the excellent deals Moz has got for the Cards. Oh was outstanding for a season. Motte was great. Rosenthal was great. Beltran was great. Matt Holliday was great. Lance Lynn was very good. Kyle Lohse was very good. Ed Mujica was great. Some were good or great for a year or two and others longer. Moz brought all of them here and got bargain deals on most of them.
GM’s don’t bat 1000 on their deals. I admit I wish the F.O. was most aggressive in going after the talent we need to get competitive again. I suspect the owner has something to say about how much Moz spends on name talent.
CardsNation5
Super Facts
atticusfinch
You want ownership to have a wake up call? Quit buying tickets… Quit selling out games… ownership is happy with the overall “health” of the team because it brings in Millions upon Millions of dollars… Hate to say, but things aren’t changing anytime soon!
snakebyte32
I always used to assume the same of a packed Wrigley Field a few years back. I think the biggest issue with the club and the front office is that Luhnow was more of a critical cog than thought. I mean Houston had a few tanking years to load up on quality young players, but not many and look at that team now. Some teams have been in the tank for decades without the type of success Houston has achieved. Even the Yanks have done some home growing. Can’t buy a team anymore and most Cards fans I know don’t want a sell off. I mean it’s not like selling low on the team assembled is a good idea anyway. Kinda painted themselves into a corner of trying for a wildcard every year if you ask me.
Gary R
I have not gone to a Cardinal game in 12 yrs. $20.00 to park, $8.00 for a hot dog& $10.00 for a beer? Not me
mack22 2
Check the prices at Yankee stadium, all about perspective
Gary R
It’s all about insanity, in my book.
dfinmozarks
Absolutely correct. DeWitt and Moz won’t get excited about bringing in new stars to make the team really competitive as long as we keep having sellouts hosting teams like the Reds, Padres, Mets, Marlins.
When TV starts complaining about half full outfield seats, DeWitt will act.
brewcrew08
Is this the Cards waiving the white flag?
Matt Galvin
Yes and others to maybe on the move.
c1234
Lol no.
brewcrew08
Why would you even consider moving a big part of your lineup if you expect to contend this year? .370 in base guys who will drive in 100 don’t exactly grow on trees. I get trying to get value back for Norris while he’s still pitching decently well but Martinez is controllable until 2023 and is still cheap.
brewcrew08
On*
spudchukar
Unfortunately, his defense offsets much of his hitting ability. So moving him to the AL makes sense, if and only if, they get a desirable return. That being a lefty bat. Don’t ask me who, cause perusing other teams’ rosters leaves me with nada.
ray_derek
plus he’s already 30, a late bloomer that doesn’t really fit too well in STL, it isn’t very difficult to see why they are shopping him, it’s not like they’re just going to give him away.
Rob B
Because if he can’t play D he can’t be a starter therefore it will be hard for him to attain those kind of countable stats such as 100 RBI’s in the NL.
dfinmozarks
The problem with some of our hitters like Martinez is that their sloppy play allows as many runs as they drive in – and it is contagious. That’s why we lead the majors in errors.
spudchukar
No, just trying to improve their roster, filling needs now, with an eye on the future.
floridapinstripes
Kahnle for Martinez.
rocky7
If I’m the Yankees I do this all day long!
spudchukar
Cards need a left-handed bat. Ideally one that can handle third base, if not then in the outfield. They are probably stuck with Fowler. For all their outfield depth (major and minor), none are left-handed.
troll
left/right doesn’t matter if you can hit
Triteon
We need a lot of lefty help, both on the bench and in the pen. There are two left-handed hitters (and one switch “hitter” in Fowler), and only five left=handed pitchers (includes Cecil) on the 40-man. That doesn’t make for a difficult scouting report for opposing teams.
spudchukar
Plus, the middle of the order is all right-handed, making match-ups easy for opposing managers.
troll
as i said before, left/right doesn’t matter if you can hit
spudchukar
It matters with late inning match-ups, making it easier for opposing managers. Currently, the Cards go Molina, DeJong, Martinez, Ozuna, and Pham. And with Carp unable to hit anywhere but, lead-off, and Fowler and Wong sucking, the Red Birds have only one lefty threat. That isn’t enough.
wrigleywannabe
His point is if the guy can hit righties, it doesn’t matter
troll
point was if you can hit, it doesn’t matter which side if the plate you stand on. are owners going to pass on mike trout if the lineup is full of right handers, just so they can have a lefty? same goes for teams with a lefty loaded lineup. oh, so and so bats right handed, we have to sign him just to get a right handed bat. were going to pass on the best lefty available.
spudchukar
The point is opposing managers have the luxury of knowing they don’t need to save their lefties either before or during a series with the Red Birds, cause they won’t need them. That is an advantage!
CuddyFox
Pham should also be on the block. I heard some teams want him instead of Martinez.
baseballguru
SECOND BASE DAVE! SECOND BASE!!!
stan lee the manly
If Norris really wants an extension with St. Louis, they need to talk with him and trade him for a return, then ink him in the offseason. This season doesn’t look like it’s going to go anywhere and Hicks can close at this point, so might as well maximize the value of Norris. Maybe he even gets a ring out of it on a contender.
bravesfan
Was holland released? Kinda like to see the braves take a flyer on him. Minor league deal if possible. I’d also like to see us go after Norris. He kicked back up his career with us a few years ago, he liked it here
Chewbacca
it says right in the article that Holland was released.
Chewbacca
…but he was actually DFA’d.
CardsNation5
No, he was released
aknott1
Then why does this say DFA?
mlbtraderumors.com/2018/07/cardinals-release-greg-…
vtadave
Because he was DFA’d.
tutopelotas1
MARLINS could trade Brad Zeigler for Jose Martinez, as Justin Bour has been offensively pathetic this season with The Fish
spudchukar
Cards have pretty much answered their bull pen woes, and would need a lot more than Ziegler for Martinez. Plus the Marlins need younger guys.
seamaholic 2
Martinez is worth almost nothing. Yeah he can hit, but is a DH and AL teams don’t want full-time DH’s unless they’re David Ortiz level. He’ll be a part time pinch-hitter type and I doubt he’d be the best offer the Marlins get even for an old mediocre reliever like Ziegler.
spudchukar
If Ziegler is the best they can get for him then they will keep him.
JeremyR
Jose Martinez cannot play in the field. The Marlins are in the NL, last time I checked.
dfinmozarks
Martinez is much more valuable to an AL team where he doesn’t need to put on a glove. He is a nice guy, a great hitter and a fine, hard working team mate but he’s an error waiting to happen every time they put him on the field. A team like Tampa Bay which doesn’t have a good DH would be a good fit.
CJ81
Martinez seems like a wonderful DH, but there aren’t that many teams actually contending in the AL. who needs a DH?
spudchukar
Cards don’t “need” Archer, but have always coveted him, and they match up well with catcher Kelly, who is currently smoking hot in Memphis, and a number of attractive athletic outfielders.
matanzas1962
Reason for Mann teams wanting Archer: 3 years left in affordable contract for a quality big league pitcher. Most teams who are going nowhere are looking at the future. Of course. The Cards, who are the worse defensive team in the big leagues, could not help a #1 starter.
CompanyAssassin
Trade norris, keep Martinez
dfinmozarks
Trade our only closer and keep a guy who can’t play defense anywhere on the field?? You must be a Cubs fan.
javier 3
For the people who think the cardinals are done cause of this they are not, if you’ve read recent news about the cardinals they are just reconstructing the roster to make it better. Holland and Lyons were no good, Voit was in the minors with no room to come up, Tuivailala I did not understand but it had a purpose, Martinez is just sitting the bench when Carpenter starts at first or when Martinez does start he makes them lose from his defense, Norris is a great reliever and he’s a free agents at seasons end. So the cardinals are not going through a rebuild or anything just improving spots on the roster that are needed
rrddbb44
This is funny, well done
Chris 87
Mookie for Norris, Pham, Fowler, J.Martinez.
hahahahahahahahahaha
MrMet62
Maybe Mookie Wilson lol
cxcx
Moochie Norris.
MC77
Mookie Blaylock
tiredolddude
This is just not a very good Cardinals team. The very fact that they took Norris, who was always extremely overrated, makes you wonder
driftcat28 2
I could see the yankees making a run at Martinez to DH while Judge is out
spudchukar
Yeah I thought a Martinez/Drury deal might work for both teams, but that ship has left. Don’t know who would match up now.
stymeedone
Lucky then that they got the “overrated” version of Bud Norris.
dmarcus15
Is toronto calling yet?
stymeedone
As he’s controllable thru ’22, Martinez would not be a bad fit on Detroit. Vmart is gone at seasons end, and Miggy doesn’t want to dh.
Marlins#1
I wonder if the marlins can get martinez for bour and a low level prospect.
spudchukar
Maybe just Bour alone, but it would help if Your showed some signs of life.
dynamite drop in monty
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli