- While Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez’s name has come up in connection to St. Louis, the fact that the Cardinals are 11.5 games out of a wild-card spot might steer them away from position player rentals, notes Olney. As of now, the Redbirds only have one realistic path to a playoff berth – by winning the NL Central – but they also have plenty of ground to make up there (5.5 games). Moreover, they may have a sleeping giant to contend with in the reigning champion Cubs, who are 2.5 games behind upstart Milwaukee for the division lead.
Cardinals Rumors
Matt Adams Discusses Cardinals Trade
- Matt Adams has done nothing but mash since joining the Braves, though the first baseman knows he could be on the move again once Freddie Freeman returns from the DL, Adams tells Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While he enjoys playing in Atlanta, “whenever Freddie comes back, wherever the next spot may be…I either finish out the season with Atlanta or go somewhere else,” Adams said. “I’m open to anything right now. I’m taking it day by day.” The interview is well worth a full read, as Adams discusses his time with the Cardinals and his reaction to being dealt last month. Adams has a whopping 1.013 OPS and nine homers over just 114 plate appearances in a Braves uniform, making him a very attractive potential trade chip if Atlanta indeed does look to swap him again at the deadline.
Could The Cardinals Trade Lance Lynn?
- The Cardinals are one of several teams that could be both buyers and sellers at the deadline. For instance, St. Louis could consider trading Lance Lynn (a pending free agent) and then replace him in the rotation with one of the organization’s several young arms. After missing all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery, Lynn has rebounded to post a 2.69 ERA, 8.67 K/9 and 2.37 K/BB rate over 73 2/3 IP this season. Peripheral numbers (.207 BABIP, 86.5% strand rate) indicate that Lynn has perhaps been a bit fortunate, as his ERA indicators (4.75 FIP, 4.40 xFIP, 4.35 SIERA) are well above his actual 2.69 ERA.
[SOURCE LINK]
Cafardo: Cardinals Linked To J.D. Martinez, Avisail Garcia
- Given that they’re five games back in their division and 10.5 out of a wild-card spot, the Cardinals don’t look like surefire buyers at the moment. Nevertheless, a pair of right-handed-hitting right fielders – the Tigers’ J.D. Martinez and the White Sox’s Avisail Garcia – have been frequently linked to the Redbirds this year, relays Cafardo. Martinez, a free agent-to-be who’s on an $11.75MM salary, is hitting a torrid .310/.398/.681 with 11 home runs in 133 plate appearances for the scuffling Tigers. Garcia, who’s much cheaper than Martinez ($3MM) and under control through 2019, is in the midst of a career year (.337/.378/.549 with 10 HRs in 262 PAs) for the soon-to-sell White Sox.
[SOURCE LINK]
Cardinals Release Jhonny Peralta
The Cardinals have released infielder Jhonny Peralta, per a club announcement. The veteran had recently been designated for assignment.
It’s no surprise that Peralta cleared waivers. He’s earning $10MM in 2017, the final season of the four-year free agent deal he signed when he joined the Cards.
At 35 years of age, Peralta seems to have hit a wall. After struggling through an injury-riddled 2016 campaign, there was hope that he’d bounce back this year. But he’s hitting only .204/.259/.204 through 58 plate appearances.
The story is similar on the defensive side of the spectrum. Generally regarded as a solid, albeit unspectacular shortstop, Peralta has drawn negative reviews for his glovework since the start of 2015 — even after moving over to third base last year. DRS and UZR have both pegged him at average thus far in 2017, though that’s in a sample of just 114 innings.
Still, it’s easy to imagine rival organizations taking a look at a player who was an All-Star in 2015. That’s especially true since Peralta can be had for the league-minimum salary, with St. Louis continuing to pay the vast majority of his salary. Even if he’s not capable of handling short on a day-to-day basis, it helps that he brings so much experience at the position. All said, for clubs in need of some versatility around the diamond, taking a chance on the 15-year MLB veteran may hold quite a bit of appeal.
Marco Gonzales To Return To Big Leagues
- Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales will make his first big-league appearance since 2015 in a start on Tuesday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes. Gonzales made it to the Majors barely a year after the Cardinals picked him 19th overall in the 2013 draft, but he struggled in 2015 and missed the entire 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery. Now, after six mostly successful minor-league starts, he’s back.
Cardinals Claim Sean Gilmartin
The Cardinals have announced that they’ve claimed lefty Sean Gilmartin from the Mets and optioned him to Triple-A Memphis. The Mets designated Gilmartin for assignment earlier today.
Gilmartin struggled in Triple-A Las Vegas this season, with a 7.05 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 at the Triple-A level. He is, however, a controllable lefty with big-league experience — he posted a 2.67 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 for the Mets in 2015 after they took him from the Twins in the Rule 5 Draft the prior winter. He is also capable of starting and can also be optioned, which perhaps might have contributed to the Cardinals’ decision to take a flier on him.
Soclovich Accepts Outright Assignment
- Right-hander Miguel Socolovich was outrighted to the Cardinals’ Triple-A after clearing waivers. St. Louis designated the 30-year-old for assignment in late May after he allowed 18 runs in 18 2/3 innings of work. The well-traveled righty has a 4.25 ERA over the life of 82 2/3 Major League innings, and he’s averaged 7.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in that time. Socolovich could’ve elected free agency but instead accepted his assignment and will hope for another crack at the Majors later in 2017.
[SOURCE LINK]
Cardinals Designate Jhonny Peralta For Assignment
The Cardinals announced on Friday that they’ve designated veteran infielder Jhonny Peralta for assignment and activated second baseman Kolten Wong from the disabled list.
Peralta is playing out the final season of a four-year, $53MM contract, and while he was quite productive through the first half of that pact, his performance has cratered across the past two seasons. The 35-year-old Peralta tore a ligament in his thumb in Spring Training 2016 and never seemed to fully recover. He went on to have a second DL stint for the same thumb later that summer and finished up the ’16 campaign with a pedestrian .260/.307/.408 batting line in just 82 games.
[Related: Updated St. Louis Cardinals depth chart]
The 2017 campaign, however, has been infinitely worse for Peralta. He’s spent time on the disabled list this year with an upper respiratory infection and, when healthy, has struggled through one of the worst prolonged stretches of his career. In 58 plate appearances this season, Peralta has batted just .204/.259/.204. As GM John Mozeliak explained, Peralta simply wasn’t going to have the opportunity to accumulate much playing time. With Jedd Gyorko taking over as the primary third baseman, Aledmys Diaz at shortstop and Wong at second base, the best Peralta could’ve hoped for would’ve been a utility role. Instead, it appears that job will go to rookie Paul DeJong for the time being.
Peralta is earning $10MM this season, so it’s all but certain that he’ll clear waivers and be formally released in the coming days. At that point, he’ll be able to sign with any club for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time spent in the Majors. The Cardinals will be on the hook for the remainder of his salary (roughly $6.29MM through season’s end), minus that pro-rated league minimum sum he’d get were he to sign with another club.
Cardinals Notes: Grichuk, Trade Deadline
- As part of a Cardinals-related chat with readers, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch figures the Cards would prefer to make a trade relatively soon if one could be found, rather than wait until closer to the July 31 trade deadline to add reinforcements. A big trade that costs the Cardinals multiple top prospects (say, to acquire a player like the Marlins’ Marcell Ozuna) might be necessary to really shake up the struggling offense, Goold opines. The Cards may have a tougher time finding a bat this summer than their rivals in Chicago may have in finding a starter, however, as Goold hears that pitching is expected to be more available than hitting at the deadline.
- Goold’s mailbag piece offers several items about the Cardinals’ minor league core players, trade speculation and this intriguing tidbit: “watch for where he [Randal Grichuk] is assigned next. That will tell us if the Cardinals are trying to find out” Grichuk’s trade value. St. Louis recently optioned Grichuk all the way down to the Class-A Advanced level to work with team offensive strategist George Greer in an effort to overhaul Grichuk’s approach at the plate. The Cards would certainly be selling low if they did decide to move Grichuk, given his struggles this season and his troubles in getting on base (a .289 OBP) last year. Still, Grichuk turns 26 in August and is a former first-rounder who put up an .877 OPS over 350 for the Cardinals in 2015, so he could be an intriguing trade chip.
