- Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak is frustrated with his team’s “attitude and culture” and might look to make changes to improve those things, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes. The Cardinals are now 47-49, and their exact plans for the deadline aren’t quite clear. They were linked, and then un-linked, to J.D. Martinez before he the Diamondbacks acquired him, and they recently dealt Marco Gonzales to Seattle. “I feel like I don’t have that silver bullet to say, ’Hey if we go do this, we will be greatly improved,'” says Mozeliak, who also bluntly expressed frustration with the way the Cardinals’ players have performed. “I feel like I’m not going to make excuses for people or players. Everybody points the finger upstairs to try and find the solution or the move. Well, maybe 25 [players] need to look in the mirror.”
Cardinals Rumors
Mariners Acquire Marco Gonzales From Cardinals For Tyler O’Neill
The Mariners have acquired left-hander Marco Gonzales from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league outfielder Tyler O’Neill, as per a Mariners press release.
[Related: updated Cardinals and Mariners depth charts at Roster Resource]
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The 25-year-old Gonzales is only just making his way back from a pair of injury-plagued seasons. Gonzales missed a good chunk of 2015 due to shoulder problems and then all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery. The southpaw posted a 2.90 ERA, 3.35 K/BB rate and 7.5 K/9 over 11 starts and 68 1/3 IP at the Triple-A level this season, and Gonzales made it back to the big leagues for one start this season, a 3 1/3-inning outing on June 13.
St. Louis drafted Gonzales 19th overall in 2013 and both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus ranked him as one of the top 52 prospects in the sport prior to the 2015 season. BA ranked him as the #1 prospect in the Cardinals’ farm system that year, giving particular praise to Gonzales’ outstanding changeup. The Cardinals thought enough of Gonzales that they promoted him to the majors barely a year after drafting him, and the lefty even made the Cards’ postseason roster in 2014, not allowing a run in five of his six outings in the playoffs.
Seattle was known to be looking for young pitching, and while Gonzales doesn’t project as an immediate upgrade for the current M’s rotation, he still possesses quite a bit of upside. Beyond his potential on the mound, Gonzales also offers over six remaining years of team control; he isn’t eligible for arbitration until after the 2020 season, and won’t be a free agent until after 2023. With Drew Smyly scheduled to miss most or all of 2018 recovering from Tommy John surgery and Hisashi Iwakuma and Yovani Gallardo both questionable to have their club options exercised for next season, Gonzales projects to be an important rotation piece for the 2018 Mariners.
In acquiring Gonzales, the M’s gave up a well-regarded young player in O’Neill, who was comfortably positioned within preseason top-1oo prospect lists from MLB.com (36th), Baseball America (38th), Baseball Prospectus (53rd). Power is O’Neill’s calling card, as he has 89 homers over 1794 minor league plate appearances, including 19 this season at the Triple-A level. O’Neill got off to something of a slow start in his first taste of Triple-A action, though he has recovered to post a .244/.328/.479 slash line through 396 PA. He has cut down on his strikeouts over the last two seasons, though he still gets more than his share of whiffs, with 108 strikeouts this season. O’Neill’s plate discipline and average corner outfield defense are also works in progress, though the 22-year-old Canadian has so much raw power and overall hitting potential that the Cardinals are surely willing to tolerate some growing pains.
O’Neill joins several other interesting young outfielders in the St. Louis farm system, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale speculates that the Cards could now look to move an outfielder from their MLB roster in the offseason. This could imply that Randal Grichuk or Stephen Piscotty could become trade chips, though the Cardinals would be selling low on either player in the wake of lackluster 2017 seasons.
Cardinals Add Grichuk, Kelly, Duke To 25-Man Roster; Designate Eric Fryer
The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game. Outfielder Randal Grichuk and lefty Zach Duke were both activated from the 10-day and 60-day DL, respectively, while catcher Carson Kelly was recalled from Triple-A. Righty Sam Tuivailala and outfielder Magneuris Sierra were optioned to Triple-A last night to open up two roster spots, and catcher Eric Fryer was designated for assignment today in another corresponding move.
[Related: MLBTR’s Cardinals News & Rumors page on Facebook]
Fryer signed a minor league deal with St. Louis this winter and has hit .155/.277/.197 over 83 PA serving as Yadier Molina’s backup. This is Fryer’s second stint with the Cards, having originally joined the club on another minors deal in the 2015-16 offseason and then spending part of last season with the Pirates after being claimed off waivers.
Kelly, a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball, will replace Fryer in the backup catcher role. Kelly made his big league debut last year, a 14-plate appearance cup of coffee that saw him appear in 10 games for the Cardinals. The 23-year-old Kelly has only added to his lofty prospect status by hitting well in his first full season at Triple-A, batting .283/.375/.459 over 280 PA.
With Molina freshly signed to an extension though the 2020 season and Kelly seemingly ready for an extended look in the big leagues, it is possible that this callup could be Kelly’s audition for teams interested in a trade for the young catcher. He would certainly be a major trade chip for a Cards team that may be looking to land some controllable but established MLB talent for 2018, or even still make a run at the NL Central.
Grichuk returns after a brief stay on the disabled list due to a back strain. He’ll add depth to a Cardinals outfield that is still missing Stephen Piscotty, though Grichuk is still looking for consistency during a disappointing 2017 season that has included a minor league demotion. Grichuk has continued to struggle since returning from the minors, and is batting just .215/.270/.408 in 241 PA.
Remarkably, Duke is back in action after undergoing Tommy John surgery just over nine months ago, far outpacing the procedure’s usual recovery timeline of 12-15 months. Duke has posted strong numbers as a reliever for the Cards, Brewers, White Sox and Reds over the last four seasons, and he’ll join Brett Cecil, Kevin Siegrist and Tyler Lyons as left-handed options out of the St. Louis bullpen. With this much lefty depth on hand, the Cards could potentially shop one of their southpaws to needy teams at the deadline.
Royals Monitoring Lance Lynn
- USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Royals are closely monitoring Cardinals right-hander Lance Lynn to see if St. Louis makes him available between now and the deadline. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported earlier today that the Royals are looking around for not one but two rental starters to try to make one last run with their current core, and as a free agent at season’s end, Lynn would fit that mold. If the Royals are indeed watching, they probably didn’t mind what they saw today when Lynn tossed six innings of one-run ball against the Mets, though he did allow his 21st homer of the season, which is already far and away a career-high.
Cardinals Not Likely To Pursue J.D. Martinez
- If Gray is the top starter who’s likely to be dealt, the best position player on the market is probably Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez. The Cardinals were said previously to have looked into the high-powered slugger, but Nightengale says they won’t spend big on a rental of his ilk. Rather, he says, the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks are the three clubs that have “shown the most interest” in Martinez. We’ve also heard of a few other organizations poking around on the righty slugger, so there seems to be no shortage of interest.
Cardinals Among Teams With Most Interest In J.D. Martinez
- The Cardinals, Dodgers and Royals seem to be leading the chase for Tigers contract-year slugger J.D. Martinez, according to Cafardo. As AL Central rivals of the Tigers, the Royals are especially familiar with Martinez, who has slashed .298/.379/.602 with 14 home runs in 219 plate appearances this year. The $11.75MM right fielder would significantly boost a below-average Kansas City offense that has received awful production from longtime franchise cornerstone Alex Gordon in left field. Meanwhile, with Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk on the disabled list, the Cardinals are shorthanded in the outfield. Winners of 40 of their past 51 games, the 62-29 Dodgers seemingly aren’t lacking for quality players anywhere, but picking up Martinez would make them all the formidable as they vie for a World Series.
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Cardinals Place Stephen Piscotty On 10-Day DL
The Cardinals have announced that they’ve placed outfielder Stephen Piscotty on the 10-day DL with a right groin strain. To take his place on the active roster, they’ve recalled outfielder Magneuris Sierra from Double-A Springfield.
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The move leaves the Cardinals conspicuously short in the outfield, having placed Randal Grichuk on the 10-day DL yesterday with a lower back strain. In place of those players, the Cardinals will lean on Jose Martinez and Sierra to flank Dexter Fowler and Tommy Pham in the Cards’ outfield.
Grichuk has struggled this season and Piscotty hasn’t been outstanding (.236/.348/.371), so the 28-year-old Martinez has out-hit both players in his first sustained bit of big-league action, with a .280/.321/.464 line over 135 plate appearances. The 21-year-old Sierra, though, might be over his head if given much playing time — he’s batted a good, but not excellent, .293/.326/.403 for Springfield and has limited experience above the Class A level. He did fare well in two brief big-league stints earlier this year. MLB.com rates him the Cardinals’ eighth-best prospect.
The Cardinals also have another strong outfield prospect in Harrison Bader who’s hit very well for Triple-A Memphis. Unlike Sierra, though, Bader isn’t currently on the club’s 40-man roster, which might be why the Cardinals promoted Sierra instead for a stint in the big leagues that might again be short.
Mozeliak On Cardinals' Deadline Approach
- The Cardinals are in an uncertain position with the trade deadline looming, and president of baseball ops John Mozeliak tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’ll have a very open-minded approach at the deadline. “The nuances of trying to determine how we think about improvement between now and July 31st still seems a bit unclear because of our inconsistencies,” said the recently promoted Mozeliak. “…“The point is over the next (18) days we have to be open-minded and really be willing to explore anything that we can put on the table.” Goold writes that while the Cards have a desire to bolster this roster — specifically, by adding a middle-of-the-order bat and/or a shortstop — it’s also possible that they could at the same time sell off some short-term assets like Lance Lynn.
Latest On Cardinals' Search For A Bat
- The Cardinals are still looking into adding a middle-of-the-order bat and will continue to do so up through the deadline, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote in a recent chat with readers. The Cards expect that type of pursuit to perhaps run right up to the deadline, however. Goold notes that he’s been told recently that St. Louis isn’t keen on adding rental bats (e.g. J.D. Martinez) but could rethink that mentality and take a late shot at a rental if their pursuits of longer-term assets don’t prove fruitful over the next couple of weeks.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/10/17
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game:
- The Yankees have released first baseman Chris Carter, per the MLB.com transactions page. While Carter accepted one outright assignment from the club previously, with the Yankees calling him back up shortly thereafter, he’ll return to free agency this time around. Despite his struggles — a .201/.284/.370 slash over 208 plate appearances on the season — there ought to be a fair bit of interest in the 30-year-old. After all, Carter mashed 41 long balls last year and carried a .221/.318/.474 batting line over the five prior seasons. For organizations interested in getting ahold of some righty pop off the bench, Carter ought to hold appeal — particularly since the Yankees are paying his $3.5MM salary.
- The Dodgers have acquired outfielder Todd Cunningham from the Cardinals, also per the transactions page. Cunningham, a 28-year-old switch-hitter, has seen brief MLB action in three seasons but has spent the bulk of his time at Triple-A in recent years. Since joining the Cards as a minor-league deal over the winter, he has slashed .270/.401/.400 with as many walks as strikeouts (37 apiece) over 286 plate appearances at Triple-A Memphis.
