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3 Remaining Needs: NL Central

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Our 3 Remaining Needs series slides west to the NL Central, another lively offseason division with a surprise player moving to the fore. Though heavy lifting may have concluded in many of the NL’s charter cities, others still have piles of work at hand. Let’s get to the most pressing needs for each of the five teams in the NL’s staunchest division last season (teams listed in order of 2018 standings) . . .

[Previous installment: NL East]

Milwaukee Brewers

  • Address second base. The keystone was a black hole for an otherwise prodigious lineup last year, with midseason acquisition Jonathan Schoop performing so badly at times that 6’4, 230 pound Travis Shaw was asked to learn the position. With the likely impending departure of 3B Mike Moustakas, Shaw will slide back across the diamond, leaving a gaping hole at second. Top prospect Keston Hiura is on the way, but may still be a year or so off, and the options at hand are, in the interim, woefully insufficient. The club has been connected to free agent Jed Lowrie, but may prefer a short-term stopgap to keep Hiura’s spot warm.
  • Add a proven arm to the rotation.  Milwaukee’s rotation consists, at current, of three number-five starters, three rookies vying for the fourth and fifth spots, and a rehabbing Jimmy Nelson set to make his return at some point early in the season. Ideally, the club would be a perfect fit for a top-end hurler, but seems to have neither the financial nor the prospect capital to make such a deal happen. Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta all had promising debuts last season, but the Crew would do well to somehow slot a proven commodity into the mix.
  • Find a legitimate backup shortstop.  Former top prospect Orlando Arcia’s 2018 season was, to put it mildly, not a good one. The purported defensive wiz was anything but magical on that side of the ball last season, to say nothing of his league-worst 54 wRC+. If he again slumps out of the gate, the club can’t exactly look to Tyler Saladino or Hernan Perez to hold down the fort, especially given its question marks at second. A veteran backup capable of handling the bat against both sides (and, perhaps, handling second-base duties in a pinch as well) would be a perfect fit for the reigning division champs.

Chicago Cubs

  • Solidify the back end of the bullpen. An aging Cubs pen that struggled with the free pass last season faces further uncertainty at present, what with the loss of Jesse Chavez and the hazy future of closer Brandon Morrow, who’s found it nearly impossible to stay healthy for a full major-league season. Upper-minors reinforcements are scarce, so the club will likely have to dip into what little reserves it has or scour the fringes of the market for a bargain pickup.
  • See if Jason Heyward’s albatross can be moved (with cash incentive). This is speculative, at best, but the Cubs have as few holes as any team in baseball, and still lurk at the edges of the Bryce Harper market. Finding a team willing to take on at least some of the $118.5MM still owed to Heyward could be just enough to lift the free-spending Cubbies to the Harper Sweepstakes’ fore; the club, after all, would still boast a number of capable right-field options for the upcoming campaign even if they were to deal Heyward and miss on the 26-year-old superstar.
  • Add depth in the upper minors. Star-caliber graduations from 2015-17 have decimated a farm that was once the jewel of the National League. At current, the system offers little in the way of high-impact talent, which could be a major impediment to a big mid-season acquisition, should the Cubs be hit by injuries and/or ineffectiveness. Both Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber could be leveraged in this way – with multiple years of team control remaining for each, the prospect capital acquired could be, come July, the lone bullet(s) in the Cubbies’ gun.

St. Louis Cardinals

  • Find a taker for Jose Martinez. Martinez has raked to the tune of a 130 wRC+ after years of uneven performance in the minors since debuting for the club in late 2016.  The acquisition of Paul Goldschmidt, however, and the 30-year-old’s frightening defense in an outfield corner, make him a much better fit elsewhere, ideally on an AL club. Though the return might be insubstantial, even with his four years of team control remaining, it’ll likely add more value to the club than Martinez will as a part-time fill-in and occasional pinch-hitter.
  • Continue to add to the bullpen. Despite possessing a hothouse of flame-throwers in the pen, the 2018 unit was arguably the NL’s worst (4.50 xFIP, 4.34 BB/9). The club took a major step to address the issue with last week’s signing of Andrew Miller, but it’s still a unit light on track record and heavy on control issues. The Giants’ Will Smith and Tony Watson, former Central stalwarts both, have each been linked with the Redbirds this month, and either could catapult the club to a place very near the projected top of the division.
  • Add a lefty bat. In addition to the perennially-awesome Matt Carpenter, the Cards’ only other left-handed regulars are the mercurial Kolten Wong and the will-be 33-year-old Dexter Fowler, who often struggled to hit the ball out of the infield last season. The bench, too, is stacked mostly with solid right-handed hitters of all types – there is, it seems, scarcely a club out there in more dire need of left-handed infusion, and this one might need a couple.

Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Add to the rotation. The unit, though possessing of four proven MLB arms, is arguably the division’s thinnest – after the 3-4 of Joe Musgrove and Trevor Williams, the latter of whom has posted consecutive shaky-peripheral (4.54 xFIP, 6.64 K/9 in ’18) seasons, the club has little on which it can depend. Chad Kuhl, dreadful anyway in ’18, had Tommy John in September, and youngsters Nick Kingham and Clay Holmes showed little in their scattered opportunities. Top prospect Mitch Keller is close, but the team would be well-served to add a couple proven, back-end arms (in addition to the newly-signed Jordan Lyles, who’s spent much of the last three seasons as a reliever) to cover their backs.
  • Find a shortstop. Following the departure of longtime Pirate Jordy Mercer, the club is left with just a combination of Kevin Newman and newly-acquired Erik Gonzalez at the position, neither of whom inspire much confidence on the offensive side. The Buccos have long prized defense at the position, and may indeed be content with a combination of the two, but a sub-70 wRC+ anywhere on the diamond is a gaping hole, regardless of defensive prowess.
  • Assemble more depth on the bench. Gregory Polanco will already miss the first two months of the season, at the very least. If Starling Marte or Corey Dickerson incurs an injury, the club’s outfield mix will look exceptionally weak. Positional versatility, a hallmark of the successful Pirate teams of the mid-decade, is in short supply on the current version, and the club will need to bolster its depth if it harbors any real hope of contending in an increasingly difficult division.

Cincinnati Reds

  • Make another impact move. The club, which for years has been an absentee on the free-agent market, and hadn’t made an industry-shaking acquisition since 2011’s trade for Mat Latos, has already announced its intention to contend this offseason, jettisoning far-away talent for short-term impact in a pair of December trades to acquire Tanner Roark, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, and Matt Kemp. But, given the quality of the Central, the returns aren’t nearly enough; the Reds are still at least seven, and perhaps closer to ten or twelve, wins away from seriously challenging for a playoff spot. Landing an elite-level talent via trade – which the club, with a throng of upper-level projected regulars on the farm, is certainly capable of doing – could catapult them squarely into the mix.
  • Shore up center field. Following last week’s procurement of Kemp and Puig, the Reds are flush with outfield thump from both sides, but are still left without a true center fielder in their midst. It’s true that Great American Ballpark has less space in the outfield than most, and that the club has been successful with a decaying Shin-Soo Choo manning the position for much of a season, but the rotation is a contact-heavy one that will undoubtedly suffer with a subpar defender left free to roam.  Top prospect Nick Senzel could be an option, but the club will likely be best-served to pluck its feast from outside the organization.
  • Add depth to the bench/pen. Both units here are severely undernourished – an infusion would require perhaps three 85 FIP- or lower bullpen arms, and bench bats capable of handling multiple positions and offering adequate output at the plate. It’ll be a tall task to imbue the club with this much reinforcement, but a necessary one if Dick Williams, Nick Krall, and Co. hope to contend next season.

Cardinals Reluctant To Bid For Bryce Harper?

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  • The Cardinals have been an oft-speculated landing spot for Bryce Harper but have not been rumored to have any meaningful interest in the market’s top free agent. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explored the situation in his latest Q&A with readers, explaining the numerous reasons that the Cardinals feel a pursuit of Harper would differ from their prior pursuits of huge contracts for David Price, Jason Heyward and Giancarlo Stanton. Above all else, it seems that the sizable discrepancy between Harper’s asking price and even those other substantial contracts is a roadblock for the St. Louis front office. The Cards also don’t have the personal connection with Harper that they had after a year of having Heyward in the clubhouse, and they’re generally averse to the leverage that opt-out clauses provide players on lengthy free-agent deals.

Prior to this morning’s agreement with the Twins, slugger Nelson Cruz received “competitive” offers from both the Rays and Astros, according to Juan Toribio of The Athletic (Twitter link) and Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Specifics aren’t known, but it seems likely that the Twins would’ve had to outbid either by a fairly notable margin, given that the Rays won 90 games last season while the Astros won the 2017 World Series and appeared in a second consecutive American League Championship Series this past season. Minnesota ultimately secured Cruz with a $14.3MM bid that includes a $14MM salary for the 2019 season and a $12MM club option ($300K buyout) for the 2020 campaign. If Houston or Tampa Bay is still keen on adding a notable right-handed bat, there should be numerous options in play. The rebuilding Tigers, for instance, would likely be willing to move Nicholas Castellanos as he enters his final season of club control. The Cardinals, meanwhile, could move Jose Martinez to an American League club that’d be better suited to mask his defensive shortcomings at the DH spot.

Cardinals To Re-Sign Francisco Pena

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The Cardinals have agreed to a minor league contract to bring catcher Francisco Pena back to the organization, tweets Mark Saxon of The Athletic. Although Pena won’t be immediately added to the 40-man roster, Saxon suggests that Pena is being re-signed to serve as Yadier Molina’s backup in 2019.

Pena, 29, logged a career-high 142 plate appearances with the Cardinals in 2018 while Molina missed time due to injury, though he hit just .203/.239/.271 in that time. He’s generally turned in strong pitch-framing marks and caught-stealing percentages throughout the upper minors, but Pena struggled at the Major League level in both regards this past season — particularly when it came to controlling the running game (1-for-15 in throwing out base thieves).

Pena has demonstrated some power at the Triple-A level, where he’s a career .252/.296/.452 hitter with 59 home runs in 1376 plate appearances. For the Cards, it’s possible that they find a more experienced option at a palatable rate as the offseason progresses, but it seems that for the time being, the plan will be for Pena to function as the backup in place of the recently traded Carson Kelly.

Eventually, it stands to reason that well-regarded catching prospect Andrew Knizner will surface in the Majors as a backup to Molina. With Kelly traded, Knizner is now the heir-apparent to Molina, who is signed through the 2020 season. However, Knizner is entering just his age 24 season and has only 61 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, so the Cards understandably will get him some more minor league development time before giving him his first look in the Majors.

Cardinals Believe They Can Make Strong Offer To Extend Goldschmidt

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Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cardinals believe they have a sense of what it would take to extend recently acquired first baseman Paul Goldschmidt as well as the ability to make a “strong, market-right offer” to the slugger. A five-year extension offer from the team “would look something like five-years, $150 million,” per Goold, who suggests that it’s possible that the Cards could tweak an offer to technically be for six years and subsequently include a bump in Goldschmidt’s 2019 salary. All of that, of course, depends on how comfortable Goldschmidt is in betting on himself, how strongly he wants to test free agency and how he takes to his new environs in St. Louis. And, it should also be emphasized, it does not appear that any formal offer has been made at this point. The suggested terms would align closely with the $151MM extension signed by Jose Altuve in Houston last offseason, although Altuve’s new contract begins in his age-30 season, while any deal extending St. Louis’ control of the already 31-year-old Goldschmidt would begin in his age-32 campaign.

Looking For A Match In A Jose Martinez Trade

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Jose Martinez was the Cardinals’ second-best hitter in 2018, he has a .309/.372/.478 slash line over 915 career MLB plate appearances, and he isn’t eligible to hit free agency until after the 2022 season.  On most clubs, Martinez would be considered a valuable building block — in St. Louis, he has already become an afterthought.  Paul Goldschmidt has taken over as the Cards’ everyday first baseman, and with Marcell Ozuna in left field and Dexter Fowler slated for right field duty and hoping for a rebound, Martinez is now a man without a position, making him an intriguing potential trade chip as the Cardinals continue their offseason business.

Of course, there’s a good case to be made that St. Louis might not want to deal Martinez at all.  Since Goldschmidt is only under contract through 2019, the Cards may want to keep Martinez in the fold as long-term insurance if case Goldschmidt leaves in free agency.  Secondly, Martinez’s inexpensive pre-arbitration salary makes him a good asset for St. Louis to have as a bench bat.  It’s easy to imagine the Cardinals hanging onto Martinez for late-game pinch-hitting duty, or the occasional spot start should Goldschmidt, Ozuna, or Fowler require a day off.  Plus, should Fowler’s struggles continue next season, Martinez could find himself getting more regular playing time in right field.

There’s also the fact that the Cardinals seem to have already completed their biggest winter additions.  After landing Goldschmidt and Andrew Miller, the Cards’ remaining needs are relatively minor — a backup catcher, a left-handed bench bat, and perhaps another bullpen arm.  Any of these could be addressed in free agency rather than by trading Martinez.

With those arguments in mind, let’s now look at the case for why St. Louis might want to swing a deal.  For starters, trading Martinez now could be a sell-high move.  He was an unheralded prospect, who bounced around three other organizations (White Sox, Braves, Royals) before landing with the Cardinals, and Martinez didn’t really show much at the plate until 2014, when he was a 25-year-old on Atlanta’s high-A ball team.  Since Martinez turned 30 last July, he doesn’t really project as a long-term piece for the Cards.

There’s also the fact that “man without a position” is something of an apt description for Martinez even when he was getting everyday at-bats, as he has been a below-average defensive player whenever he has played around the diamond.  In 637 2/3 innings as an outfielder, Martinez has a -10.6 UZR/150 and minus-13 Defensive Runs Saved.  He hasn’t fared much better even at the less-stressful position, posting minus-6 DRS and a -2.8 UZR/150 over 936 1/3 frames at first base.  While Martinez’s defense isn’t really an issue if he’s only limited to a spot start, or an inning or two at the end of a game after a pinch-hitting appearance, his poor glovework makes him a liability should the Cards actually need him for an extended fill-in capacity in case of injury.

The Rays and Dodgers have both reportedly shown some interest in acquiring Martinez, who makes some sense on either roster.  Los Angeles is looking to add some right-handed pop to its mostly left-handed lineup, though the Dodgers could be aiming for bigger-ticket additions (such as J.T. Realmuto or A.J. Pollock) than Martinez.  It’s possible that Tampa’s recent acquisition of Yandy Diaz could have taken them out of the Martinez hunt, as Diaz is another right-handed hitting complement to Ji-Man Choi in the first base/DH mix and Diaz also offers more defensive flexibility.

The Cardinals also tried to use Martinez as a trade chip to land Will Smith from the Giants, though it doesn’t appear San Francisco had much interest.  While the Giants need corner outfield help, Martinez would be a poor fit in the spacious AT&T Park outfield, and first base is already spoken for in the form of Brandon Belt (plus, Buster Posey handles first when the Giants spell him behind the plate).

We’ve already seen some significant action within the first base market this winter, as the likes of Goldschmidt, Edwin Encarnacion, Carlos Santana (twice), Justin Bour, C.J. Cron, Matt Adams, and Steve Pearce have all been traded or signed with new teams.  Daniel Murphy will also be serving mostly as a first baseman with the Rockies, which addresses arguably the most glaring first base hole on any contending team.

It doesn’t leave much in the way of a wide-open trade market for Martinez, particularly since NL teams could be less likely to make a push given his lack of defensive prowess.  On the plus side, his four years of team control could attract rebuilding clubs as well as contenders.

The Royals or Tigers make some sense as a Martinez suitor, though K.C. has a lot of right-handed hitters already and Detroit has youngster Christin Stewart slated for some DH duty due to his own defensive shortcomings.  Martinez’s low price tag could appeal to the Mariners as they continue to cut costs, though the Cardinals would likely have to bring a third team into the trade to acquire Encarnacion, who obviously isn’t a fit in St. Louis with Goldschmidt on board.  The White Sox could use Martinez as a part-time outfielder and platoon partner with Yonder Alonso in 2019, with an eye towards a more regular role if one or both of Alonso and Jose Abreu depart in free agency after the season.  The Astros have been reportedly checking around for first base/DH help, though with Yuli Gurriel and Tyler White already provided right-handed bats, Martinez could be overkill.

Returning to the National League, one interesting option could be Goldschmidt’s former team.  The Diamondbacks are planning to give Jake Lamb some time at first base this season, though Lamb is coming off a rough 2018 and didn’t even hit left-handed pitching well even when he was in good form.  If the D’Backs added Martinez to the first base mix, that would allow them to situationally shuffle Lamb to third base, Eduardo Escobar to second, and Ketel Marte potentially to center field.  While Martinez-to-Arizona makes sense on paper, however, one would imagine the idea was already floated between the D’Backs and Cardinals when they were discussing the Goldschmidt trade.  While that doesn’t necessarily mean the Diamondbacks wouldn’t pursue Martinez in a future deal later this winter, Martinez’s non-inclusion in that initial trade could indicate some lack of interest on Arizona’s part.

Cards Could Add Another Reliever, Catcher, Lefty Bench Bat

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  • Having acquired Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Miller, most of the Cardinals’ heavy lifting for the offseason is already done prior to the New Year. The club hasn’t ruled out picking up another reliever to join Miller & Co., though, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests. The Cards will also land a backup catcher – potentially by way of a minor league contract, per Goold – and perhaps another left-handed bench bat. St. Louis did acquire lefty-hitting reserve Drew Robinson from the Rangers earlier this month, but the 26-year-old utilityman hasn’t produced much in the majors and still has another minor league option remaining.

Cardinals Had Interest In Brad Hand

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Cardinals Designate Ryan Meisinger For Assignment

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The Cardinals announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Ryan Meisinger for assignment. His roster spot will go to left-hander Andrew Miller, whose two-year pact with the Cards has now been formally announced.

St. Louis claimed Meisinger off waivers from the Orioles just last week. The righty made his big league debut with Baltimore this past season, pitching to a disappointing 6.43 ERA with a 21-to-10 K/BB ratio in 21 innings out of the Orioles’ bullpen. Meisinger did, however, enjoy a strong year between Double-A and Triple-A, where he pitched to a 3.13 ERA with averages of 10.8 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings pitched through 46 frames. Meisinger’s 91.1 mph average fastball velocity in the Majors this season checked in well south of the league average, though he still managed a solid 11.4 percent swinging-strike rate in that time.

Cardinals Sign Andrew Miller

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10:50am: The Cardinals have officially announced the signing of Miller to a two-year contract with a vesting/club option for a third season.

10:41am: Rosenthal tweets that Miller will be guaranteed $25MM over the next two seasons with a $12MM vesting/club option for the 2021 campaign. Miller will be paid $11MM in 2019 and $11.5MM in 2020, and the option carries a $2.5MM buyout. He’ll receive a full no-trade clause as well — something Heyman suggested was a priority for the left-hander last week.

Per Rosenthal, the option will vest if Miller pitches a combined 110 games between the 2019-20 seasons. He can earn another $500K annually based on incentives.

Dec. 21, 10:34am: The Cardinals and Miller do indeed have an agreement, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. Frank Cusumano of KSDK News in St. Louis tweets that it’s a two-year deal with a vesting option for a third season.

Dec. 20, 6:55pm: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports that the two sides are close to a multi-year deal (Twitter links). Miller, according to Passan, has received multiple two-year offers but has been seeking a three-year deal. It’s not yet clear whether the Cards went to three years or made a sizable increase to the value of a two-year offer. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Cardinals could announce a deal with Miller as soon as tomorrow.

6:49pm: The Cardinals are closing in on a contract with left-handed reliever Andrew Miller, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had reported shortly beforehand that the Cards were still looking at Miller and Zach Britton, and that there could be some movement in the market before the holiday week (Twitter link). Miller is represented by Frontline’s Mark Rodgers.

Andrew Miller | Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Miller, 34 in May, had a down season in 2018 as he missed brief stints due to hamstring and shoulder issues while also spending a more substantial period on the 60-day disabled list owing to a right knee injury. The result was a 4.24 ERA with somewhat diminished K/BB numbers in just 34 innings of work.

Of course, in the four preceding seasons, Miller was arguably the game’s best reliever, pitching to a ridiculous 1.72 ERA with averages of 14.5 strikeouts and 2.3 walks per nine innings pitched from 2014-17. With the exception of the 2017 season, he’s posted at least average ground-ball tendencies on an annual basis, and dating back to the 2013 season, the only pitchers in all of baseball with a better swinging-strike rate than Miller’s 15.7 percent are Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen.

A healthy Miller would give the Cardinals the high-end left-handed presence they’ve been seeking at the back end of their bullpen in recent seasons. St. Louis’ four-year contract with fellow southpaw Brett Cecil has yet to pay dividends halfway through the life of that contract. Tyler Lyons, meanwhile, showed promise in 2017 but was cut loose this past summer after struggling badly early in the season. The Cards have been linked to both Miller and Britton on multiple occasions this offseason, and it’s long seemed that bolstering the relief corps (ideally with a southpaw) was high on the team’s wish list.

If and when the deal is completed, Miller will join a bullpen that was completely overhauled on the fly over the summer. Frustrated by his bullpen’s inconsistency, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak released Greg Holland, outighted Lyons and traded Sam Tuivailala to the Mariners within a matter of days in late July. That shakeup, combined with some late-season promotions, gives the Cards a potential relief corps consisting of Jordan Hicks, Dakota Hudson, John Brebbia, Chasen Shreve, Luke Gregerson and Dominic Leone. Top prospect Alex Reyes and veteran Adam Wainwright, too, could both be options in manager Mike Shildt’s bullpen.

Both Gregerson and Leone were 2017-18 offseason additions but, like Cecil before them, underwhelmed in their initial run with the team. This’ll be the third consecutive offseason in which Mozeliak, GM Michael Girsch and the rest of the front office do some heavy lifting in the bullpen, with the organizational clearly hoping that the “third time’s charm” adage rings true.

The addition of Miller will mark another aggressive, high-profile signing for the Cardinals, who have already acquired Paul Goldschmidt from the D-backs in a trade that sent young MLB-ready assets to Arizona in the form of Carson Kelly and Luke Weaver. After three straight postseason misses, it’s no surprise to see Cardinals brass acting aggressively in an effort to surpass the NL Central champion Brewers and a perennially contending Cubs team. Cardinals fans have come to expect postseason-caliber rosters on an annual basis, and the three-year absence from October baseball is the organization’s longest “drought” since missing the playoffs each season from 1997-99. As such, it won’t be the least bit surprising if the Cardinals continue adding to what already looks to be a much-improved roster as the offseason progresses.

Cardinals Notes: Fowler, Yadi, Roberts, Reyes

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Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler admitted to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this week that he felt “depressed” in 2018, the worst season of an otherwise solid career. Only three position players finished behind Fowler in fWAR (minus-1.2), whose offensive production fell off a cliff in the second season of a five-year, $82.5MM contract. Despite a nightmarish campaign which ended in early August on account of a fractured left foot, the soon-to-be 33-year-old Fowler still “truly loves” baseball and is gearing up for a rebound next season. It helps that Fowler still has the confidence of Cardinals president John Mozeliak and manager Mike Shildt, and he has grown particularly close to the former, Goold explains. On the other hand, Fowler suggested he lost the belief of former manager Mike Matheny, whom Shildt replaced in July. In an effort to bounce back to his previous levels, Fowler has enlisted the help of the legendary Barry Bonds this offseason for both workout and hitting advice, Goold details. On Bonds, Fowler said: “My whole mindset is if I’m going to learn from the best, I’m going to do everything that he says to do, and if I fail at it then I can always look back and say I did it. I did everything. I did everything and it’s not in the cards.” Goold’s full piece is worth checking out for more from Fowler.

Here’s more on the Redbirds, courtesy of Goold:

  • Cardinals stalwart Yadier Molina underwent surgery Thursday to remove a bone spur from his left knee, Goold relays. After a two-week recovery, Molina should be ready to resume his typical offseason workouts, general manager Michael Girsch informed Goold. A healthy version of the franchise catcher is all the more important to St. Louis after it parted with young backstop Carson Kelly to acquire first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
  • The commissioner’s office has suspended Cardinals pitching prospect Griffin Roberts 50 games after a second positive test for a drug of abuse, Goold reports. The 22-year-old Roberts, whom the Cardinals chose 43rd overall in last June’s draft, will serve his suspension at the start of next season. Now the Cardinals’ 10th-ranked prospect at MLB.com, the right-hander combined for 9 2/3 innings at the rookie and Double-A levels last season after the team drafted him.
  • The Cardinals aren’t yet sure whether they’ll deploy righty Alex Reyes as a starter or a reliever in 2019, per Goold. Reyes, one of the most promising young pitchers in the sport, saw injuries derail his previous two seasons. The 24-year-old missed all of 2017 because of Tommy John surgery, and after returning to throw just four major league innings last season, he suffered a torn tendon in his right lat and had to go back under the knife. Fortunately, St. Louis expects Reyes to be “close to full speed” when spring training rolls around, Goold writes. Then, based on how Reyes looks in camp (and how the club constructs its rotation and bullpen), the Cardinals will decide on his role and whether he’ll begin the year in the majors.
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