The Reds are making some changes to their scouting and player development departments, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Scouting director Chris Buckley, who has been in charge of overseeing all aspects of the amateur draft, and director of player development Jeff Graupe have both been reassigned to new positions. It’s not yet clear how the Reds plan to address the new vacancies, with one Reds source telling Nightengale that the team has not yet determined whether it’ll look outside the organization for replacements or promote from within.
A bit more from the NL Central…
- Though Kris Bryant’s absence has undoubtedly been longer than the Cubs had hoped, the slugger may not be on the shelf much longer. Manager Joe Maddon tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he expects Bryant back by September, which would give the former NL MVP a month to round into form in advance of a hopeful postseason run. Bryant feels he’ll need only three or four games on a minor league rehab assignment before he’s ready to return. It’s been a “down” season for Bryant, though only by his own lofty standards. Through 358 trips to the plate, he’s hitting .276/.380/.474 with 11 homers, 21 doubles and three triples.
- Though some Cardinals fans in the past have clamored for third base coach Jose Oquendo to receive managerial consideration, Oquendo tells Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’s previously made it clear to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak that he’s not interested in managing. Going further, Oquendo emphatically threw his full support behind current interim skipper Mike Shildt, telling Frederickson that the Cardinals already have “the right guy” and that the front office should “decide now” and make Shildt the permanent manager. Oquendo raved to Frederickson about the manner in which Shildt prepares the team and works with the players.
- The Pirates believe they’ll have righty Chad Kuhl back at some point in September, writes Kent Youngblood of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said the plan for Kuhl is to start a throwing program during the next homestand before moving up to a minor league rehab assignment. Kuhl hasn’t pitched since late June due to a forearm strain. It’s not clear just yet if there’ll be rotation work available for Kuhl, as the Buccos have Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Ivan Nova, Trevor Williams and Joe Musgrove in the starting five now, with Nick Kingham also in the wings in Triple-A. Kuhl tossed 85 innings earlier this season and worked to a 4.55 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 36.2 percent ground-ball rate in 16 starts.
Jose Oquendo is a class act!!! If he says the current Cardinal interim manager is absolutely the right fit, then owners need to take steps immediately to hire Him as their manager for the next 3 years. On another note….Owners need to do something with John Mozeliak. Over the past 3 1/2 – 4 years, Mozeliak has misused ownership’s funds in obtaining/signing players to extended contracts who were and are dead weight of which the organization is going to have to eat millions of dollars. If those millions of dollars squandered had been lumped into a contract for a high profile, all-star type, middle of the order impact bat, the Cardinals might have avoided their poor offense over the past 2-3 years.
you need to look at what he has accomplished…then you need to look at other bad contracts with other teams…Red Sox, Yankees, Giants, Dodgers…and so on…all GM’s make bad moves…but most don’t even come close to the success of Mo
Just wow….what color is the sky in your world?
Under Mo’s guidance the Cardinals have achieved:
2 World Series appearances (2011, 2013) with one win (2011)
4 NLCS appearances (2011-2014) winning in 2011 and 2013
2 N.L. pennants (2011, 2013)
4 N.L. Central division titles (2009, 2013, 2014, 2015)
2 N.L. Wild Card entrants (2011, 2012)
10 regular season winning percentage above .500 (2008-2017)
Franchise record 5 consecutive seasons with playoff appearance (2011–15)
Impressive in anyone’s book. It’s also worth noting that John Mozeliak has won 3 Executive of the Year awards during his tenure:
MLB.com Executive of the Year (2011)
GIBBY Executive of the Year (2011)
Andrew “Rube” Foster Award as NL Executive of the Year (2012)
Wow, a real statistician you are…
Seems kind of funny but most of those date are 5, 6, 7 years ago….and pre-scandal. Hmmm.
I will counter this: one could reasonably argue the Cards are in a rebuild. One could further argue they have not bottomed out yet. And yet even further one could argue they could conceivably finish 4th place in the divison this and next year. And then we have a respected cardinal player and now manager publically not interested in managing gods gift to baseball…
Again, curious the color of sky in your world.
lol who cares if they were 5 years ago and a lot of them were not more than 5 years…don’t worry i struggle at math sometimes also…one could argue that they will be in second place after the weekend…one could argue that they are not in a rebuild and could possibly finish first in the division this year…lol Oquendo said a long time ago he didn’t want to manage…pre scandal? it has been proven that Mo had nothing to do with it by the FBI…plus the Cardinals didn’t even gain anything from the scandal…you can further argue all you want but i think the odds are against you…I want to know what drugs you are on because sharing is caring…get a clue bud
Well you certainly arent going to be a GM candidate anytime soon. Good GMs are successful when they manage in the past and ride the wave.
Mediocrity, but then again, you are used to it, now arent you?
lol what? never said i was going to be a GM candidate…I guess you are trying too be a GM for what team?
“Good GMs are successful when they manage in the past and ride the wave.” What the hecht are you talking about…seriously what drugs are you on? Mo took over after 2007 in which the Cardinals organization was in not so good shape…he then rode his wave in to all the accomplishments i just mentioned…so the organization took a down turn for a couple seasons…in which by the way they weren’t even losing seasons…now they are already pushing for a wild card and if they continue to play the way they are could win the division…lol
your post are less than mediocre ..so please stop and save yourself the embarrassment
Mr Hecht, its called sarcasm. Take a few minutes out of your mediocre day, look up how sarcasm is used, determine how it was applied in this case,and rethink the message. If you need step-by-step, let me know. Secondly, please respond to the original question. What color is the sky in your world?
3rd, just stop, you’re proving how much of a tool you are.
Lol yea and I used sarcasm back ….seriously dude just stop lol you are out of your league…you really like the word mediocre lol tough living up to those standards in your life or is it the word of the day for you?
Out my league? Well, if you mean I have to lower my standards to talk to obtuse, myoptic card’s fan in denial, well I guess you got me. And honestly, i should expect nothing less, since we all know the cards are gods gift to baseball.
Still curious what color the sky is in your world.
It is funny because you think he is the one who is misguided. He breaks it down for you, gives you facts and draws comparisons. You just regurgitate random sentence fragments.
One could do us all a favor and pull his bottom lip up over his head and swallow … what a tool.
The Cardinals won when they were built through the farm system. The Cardinals drafts since Luhnow left have been atrocious. The Astros drafts since Luhnow was hired have been historically great.
But go on and credit Mo for presiding over successful seasons from 2011-2015.
lol yea Luhnow had great picks because they were tanking and he had top draft picks…you are giving him way to much credit
Mark Appel over kris Bryant in 2013 yeah that was a good pick. & Brady Akin pic over Kyle Schwarber or Aaron Nola worked out great for them. Back to back years of overall #1 bust pics. Just looking at cards current roster ur claim picks are atrocious is an idiotic statement.
Not saying he isn’t a good Gm but when you are picking at the top of the draft it can’t be to hard to be “historically great.”
“The Cardinals draft picks after Lunhow have been atrocious.” Lol all these young arms-flaherty, Ponce, Weaver, Hicks, Gomber and plus Bader in cf have all been draft picks after him…please know what you are talking about before posting
Dan Kantrovitz drafted 13 major league players in drafts from 2012 thru 2014 with Cardinals. There are only 2 of Lunhow’s picks still with the team. Wong & Tsunami.
Kantrovitz drafted those players at the back end of the classes too. Luhnow sold an owner an idea to build by tanking, it worked. Mo has guided a franchise to more success then Lunhow without tanking.
And FYI Mo was Lunhow’s boss, not other way around.
Also, Carlos Martinez wasn’t a draft pick. He was a rookie free agent signing out of Latin America.
Leave MO alone! Which high profile players are you talking about ? Heyward, Price, Stanton, Darvish? He went after all of those guys. Aren’t you glad the Cardinals didn’t sign them? Yes Leake, Holland and Fowler were all bad signings, but I’m sure you could’ve done much better as GM
Reds contract to Homer Bailey is probably the worst contract in recent memory
Or Red Sox with Sandoval
Pujols with Angels lmao
Only bad contract the Cards have is Fowler and he can make a comeback next year. The Cards are swimming in money. It’s not like they’re the Bucs, Reds, or Brewers.
well…Cecil isn’t necessarily a good contract either…but you’re right…Fowler and Cecil are the only bad contracts
Joltin’ Kolten Wong’s contract is baaaadddd.
How? He is one of the best defensive second baseman in the game…that alone makes his contract worth it…and he suffered under Matheny…ever since matheny was fired he is hitting over .300
He’s made mistakes, but he’s drafted very well and it’s paying off. The thing is Matheny shouldn’t have never been hired and it shows, because they have the best record in the NL since Shildt took over.
You’re an absolute moron. As soon as I see someone say something about mozeliak not being good at his job I know they’re an idiot
MLB has set the Cards up for success. The Cardinals are the only team in baseball that’s top 10 in revenue, top 10 in expenditure, and get treated like a “small market” team. It’s easy to keep the farm stocked when you get 2 of the top 40 amateur prospects every year, and 4 of the top 100. The prospect game is a numbers game. The more of them you have, the better chance you have of finding a gem.
Stlouis is the easiest GM job in baseball.
You’ll regard this as oh just a cubsfan but understand the Cubs are my team of choice but I absolutely love baseball…. that being said. Mo has done just fine. Cardinal fans can HONESTLY say he won’t drop the coin for a player, it just happens that the player hasn’t lived up to the contract. Cecil, holland, ozuna, Fowler, ca’mon man those were as good as you get coming in at the time. Cardinal fans were crazy excited when they signed and other central division fans were a touch nervous. That’s a fact. They just regressed on the cardinals dime. It happens. As for extensions, wong, grichuk, piscotty, those were fair gambles at a reasonable price. Solid players. The cardinals just haven’t had an identity the last few years but it sure looks like a new one is taking shape and it kinda looks like whitey ball!
Just sayin, leave mo be for now.
I’m the same as you, Cubs fan + huge baseball fan and I agree. When Fowler signed with STL it was my worst nightmare, obviously things have worked out better for the Cubs. i love Fowler, always will, i seriously feel bad for him he’s struggling this much. Getting Matheny has awakened the sleeping giant, what amazes me is every, and i mean EVERY July everyone says STL is done, and by the time September rolls around here there are again. Putting pressure on the Cubs, knocking Milwaukee back to their customary 4th place no one cares about the pieces of **** they really are.
I love baseball, but does anyone really like Milwaukee and their fans other than themselves? Didn’t thinks so. Glad STL is back again, good luck the rest of the way and I’ll toast to anyone winning the division other than Milwaukee.
What has Milwaukee done to you? You seem like you need some counseling, I’ve heard Craig Counsell is available.
Kudos on the measured and reasonable take on the Cards situation. Mo is firmly in the top 5 GMs in MLB during his tenure especially when factoring in market size and the appeal, or lack thereof, of STL as a destination for FAs compared to bigger markets. The teams of the last 3 years came in projected the same of the 2015 100 win team. The problem has literally been horrible luck with a combination of injuries to key contributors and unprecedented and virtually non- projectable simultaneous regression from veterans. Ozuna became a 110 mph singles hitter, and Fowler is the worst RF in baseball and swinging a wet noodle. All this and the Cubs are getting 200+ IP from mid 30s starters with little to no depth. I guess that’s just the way the pendulum swings, but Cards fans have gotten ridiculous with this fire Mo stuff.
More like LaRussa ball with a touch of Whitey
I respectfully disagree. Tony’s teams had a swagger, a grit, a fight and if were just two guys having a beer here…a nastiness. No? With the exception of lean in vina, who on Tony’s team’s took educational fastballs to the ribs? you are definitely getting that education in kind and maybe another on the batter after that just so the situation was understood. That’s nasty! And you didn’t plunk them because the next guy would obliterate your next pitch. Tony’s teams were solid 1-8 and the pitchers did the part exceptionally.
Whiteys teams were no one special that would double, single and triple you into submission. They were fast & professional. Hitters, not clubbers.
This team is more whitey than Tony. There not angry, there’s no real swagger, there just playing the game now. 2 weeks ago the season was over. Not anymore!
There’s no real individual there.
Just seems more whitey to me. Just my humble opinion
There is more of an edge since MM was fired.
Before that though, to a man the team looked like they were playing out the string..
Shildt has got their attention, and they have stopped beating themselves, and started to play a hard 9 everyday.
Can’t honestly say…. not can honestly. Sorry
I think the past couple decades have afforded Cardinals fans to have unreasonable expectations. If the team has any period of mediocrity I think you will see little patience for it. I think you are seeing a little of that with the Fowler injury and the lack of sympathy. Truth is front offices are going to make mistakes, teams go through highs and lows.
As a Cleveland fan who lived in STL for 4 years, I absolutely agree with this statement. Kudos for the goal of playoffs every year, but that’s just not realistic. Even for good teams
If ever there were an appropriate job for Chad Kuhl, pitching out of the bullpen is it. Because he pretty much guarantees a loss as a starting pitcher. But if the Pirates are keen on continually losing every 5th day, then Chad Kuhl is their man.
Kuhl isn’t a bad pitcher at all, but he is a pitcher who seems to me to get hit more as a game goes along, i.e. the second or third time he goes through a team’s lineup. Pitching out of the bullpen would alleviate that issue, so this isn’t a bad idea of yours. Besides, the current rotation members, plus Kingham, either have performed better or have better potential than Kuhl.
The Pirates should try to determine if Kuhl is a relief pitcher in September.He could take the place of Glasnow and I agree that he is better for say three innings at the most.
Kingham will be out of options so it will be interesting to see what they do with him.
They need a lefthander in the bullpen and Brault needs to be tested from here on out to see if he is the man as he has had enough chances at this point.
I like their rotation as it is now.They just need some power in their lineup and some serious fielding lessons.
Thank you God for letting Bote play over his head this month. He will make a good 25th man for the postseason.
No kidding right! Sure it’s fun to watch and right on time when kris went down
These are the best kind on NL central articles…Nothing about Milwaukee.
This is kind off off topic but why isn’t Harrison Bader getting any love? Looking at his stats he is a top 5 OF defender in all of baseball and he has an above average bat! He should be in a heavy convo for ROY but he isn’t, can someone explain to me why that is?
I don’t know. Is Andruw Jones a HOFer?
One phrase…. sample size. Now don’t get me wrong I like him! I think he’s exciting and brings an “unknown” element to his team’s play. But I bet he gets more love next year if he keeps it up…. don’t wanna jump on the wagon to quick ala Tommy Pham
Because he hasn’t played that much and his not tearing it up at the plate. Honestly, he’s still finding his footing right now
he hasn’t played in enough games…they were arguing on the radio about Bader getting the gold glove…which most said he should but unfortunately they all agreed he just hasn’t played in enough games
thanks for clearing it all up for me! I think he’s a star CF in the making hopefully he’s not like Wong and is just good with the glove. I feel like he has more pop which he has been showing more of as lately. Looking at his minors stats he could be a 20 hr man. I love seeing Bader play!
Bader is ok vs. lefties but AAAA-level vs. righties.
Lol please…he is doing just fine against righties…have you actually watched the cardinals or are you just spitting out rhetoric that you have heard? Because if you watch the Cardinals you know he is doing fine against right handed pitching.
Hey Cards81 maybe you should look at his apo splits vs RHP throughout his minor league career before letting your eye test and recency bias do the talking. He’s got a whopping .721 OPS vs RHP this year to boot. The defensive metrics also are going to regress on him too, but he’s going to only need to be a league average hitter overall to be a 3+ WAR guy, which is awfully nice to have.
Awww…are you upset that he is doing well or what? He has a 2.65 BA, .330 OBP…compare that to most of the team he is doing just fine against Righties…lol my eye test seems to be doing fine…why does his minor league stats matter? Sure he came up as a batter who didn’t do well against righties but has proved in the MLB that he is doing fine…he is doing better than Ozuna…doing better than what Pham was doing…once again you are just spitting out rhetoric…let me ask you this…do you actually watch the Cardinals?…lol get a clue bud
Put Archer in the pen. Probably best way to try and salvage some form of value out of him. Can excuse it away with “we want to work through some things on a more daily basis with our new pitcher for a while.”
Based off his last start it seems they have already given up on having him use his long-lost Sinker again though, which is not a promising development. They keep him as a 1 pitch guy in the rotation and it will likely just be constant negative press as the trade becomes more and more their own version of the Gray deal. Should to do something to lessen that blow
He used 4 pitches in his last start. In the second inning, he gave up a squib and two bloops. In the sixth, he gave up a double and got charged for a run Santana gave up, also on a bloop. One hard hit ball in play through five plus innings.
Trade for Jordan Zimmermann and move archer to the pen. That’s their best move, right?
I think that they need to give Archer a few more chances than four starts!
Ray Derek, did someone from Milwaukee hurt you? Get a life man. You are the definition of a troll. Even in an article that says nothing about Milwaukee, you have to bring them Into it and take your little baby jabs at them. Go ask your mom for a hug.
Have you ever heard of rivalries??
Ehh Most cubs fans would say that Cardinals are their bigger rivals than Brewers… so if its purely a rivalry thing than he would hate the cardinals more
Unless Ivan Nova becomes a surprise waiver trade, Kuhl is going to the bullpen if he makes it back this year. If so, it could be interesting. He can hit 99 or 1oo mph in a short stint.
Whatever it is the Cardinals are doing,hope they keep it up. I was one of those who wanted them to go after Girardi to be the manager this winter,but with the younger guys in the mix I think Shildt is the right guy to take over full time. He saw these kids grow up in the minors and now they’re in the majors and up to this point are doing rather well. Though they’re back in contention now,I am not getting my hopes up on getting in the playoffs. They have a legitimate shot,but there’s A LOT of baseball left to be played. Anything can happen. Next year could be a different story.If the Reds get better,which they could,the NL Central will be the best division in baseball,but that’s just my opinion only.