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Cardinals Sign Tyler Heineman

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The Cardinals announced they’ve signed catcher Tyler Heineman to a minor-league contract. He’ll receive an invitation to spring training.

Heineman, 29, has seen sparse major league action over the past two seasons with the Marlins and Giants. In 62 MLB plate appearances, he owns a .208/.288/.302 line. The switch-hitter boasts a much stronger .287/.353/.430 slash over parts of five seasons in Triple-A.

The St. Louis organization is facing some uncertainty behind the plate for the first time in recent memory. Franchise icon Yadier Molina is on the open market, where he’s seeing rather robust interest. Also hitting free agency is Matt Wieters, leaving Andrew Knizner as the only catcher currently on the 40-man roster. The addition of a quality depth piece on a minor-league arrangement certainly doesn’t prohibit the Cardinals from brining Molina back. If the 38-year-old were to wind up elsewhere, St. Louis would likely bring in additional names from outside the organization to work with Knizner.

Mets, Yankees Have Shown Interest In Yadier Molina

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Both the Mets and Yankees have reached out to Yadier Molina’s camp to express interest in the veteran catcher, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The Cardinals icon has also heard from at least three others, per Heyman.

It’s not surprising that either New York club would at least explore the possibility of bringing the 38-year-old Molina into the fold. As noted here at MLBTR last week, signing Molina would be a major narrative shift in the Bronx, where Gary Sanchez’s defensive struggles and prolific strikeout rates have drawn the ire of many fans. Molina, of course, is a generational defender at his position and still possesses some of the best bat-to-ball skills in baseball (13.5 percent strikeout rate in 2020).

As for the Mets, they’ve been oft-connected to J.T. Realmuto since it became clear that Steve Cohen would purchase the club from the Wilpon family. Wilson Ramos is a free agent, leaving Tomas Nido atop the team’s depth chart behind the dish. For a club with immediate postseason aspirations under new ownership, that doesn’t cut it. Molina would be a more affordable option than Realmuto, leaving more resource available to pursue other top free agents and trade targets (e.g. George Springer, Trevor Bauer, Francisco Lindor). Outgoing White Sox catcher James McCann stands out as a younger alternative as well.

Agent Melvin Roman told Heyman a couple weeks back that he’s seeking a two-year deal for Molina, and Roman told MLB.com’s Jon Morosi last week that they’ve heard from at least three clubs beyond the Cardinals. At this point, there’s no reason to call any club other than St. Louis a favorite, as the Cards clearly have the most motivation to keep Molina through the end of his career. Ostensible interest from other clubs — particularly big-market organizations out of New York — will only increase fan pressure to make a deal happen, though to this point it’s not clear that any of the teams that have expressed interest have shown a willingness to offer the two-year term that Molina and Roman seek.

Quick Hits: Cardinals, Molina, Minor League Affiliate Changes

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Four teams, including the Cardinals, are in on Yadier Molina, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals still seem the safest bet to re-sign their veteran catcher. The Cardinals have been the most eager, and Molina likewise for the Cardinals, per the Post-Dispatch. It’s frankly difficult to picture Molina in any uniform but Cardinal red, but stranger things have happened, especially in the time of COVID. The 38-year-old backstop has 17 seasons under his belt in St. Louis having appeared in 2,025 games with a triple slash of .281/.333/.404. Now, let’s check in on some affiliate changes…

  • The Columbia Fireflies learned during owner Steve Cohen’s introductory press conference that they are no longer among the Mets’ minor league affiliates, per the Athletic’s Tim Britton (Twitter thread). The Fireflies anticipate joining another organization’s affiliates, though where exactly they’ll end up is very much up in the air for now, as is the case for many minor league teams. As Britton notes, the Florida State League is moving from High-A to Low-A, which is sure to cause some upheaval among those minor league affiliates.
  • Rochester, New York will no longer house the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, writes La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. Popular local team the St. Paul Saints of the independent league are being looked at as a potential replacement – one of two independent league teams that are likely to join minor league baseball. The Twins have spent the past 17 seasons (not including 2020) with Rochester as an affiliate, though it’s hard to argue that St. Paul doesn’t make more sense simply from a logistics standpoint. Wichita and Sioux Falls are also being considered, per Neal.

Kolten Wong Has Heard From “At Least” Six Teams

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The Cardinals made what was an unpopular decision among many fans last week, buying out Kolten Wong’s $12.5MM club option for the 2021 season and making the now-two-time Gold Glove second baseman a free agent for the first time in his career. Wong spoke to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the team’s decision in a must-read interview for Cards fans, calling it a “punch to the gut” after he’d given his “heart and soul to the organization.”

Goold reports that Wong has heard from “at least” six other clubs since free agency began — the Angels among them. It stands to reason that others will filter in as teams get a greater sense of their 2021 budgets and/or make other transactions that could create a stronger fit for Wong within their organizations. That said, Wong made clear that he’s “absolutely” open to a reunion with the Cards, even if he sounded somewhat disappointed that the team didn’t make an effort to work out a more creative alternative. Wong plainly stated that he’d have been open to restructuring his contract or backloading a deal to help offset the 2020 revenue losses.

Whether a return to the Cardinals is plausible remains unclear, however, given the apparent financial constraints that ownership is placing on the front office. President of baseball ops John Mozeliak must also determine how to proceed with franchise icons Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright — both free agents themselves. Goold writes that the Cardinals have yet to initiate negotiations to re-sign Wong but hope to be in touch with him as his market develops.

Wong now joins a free-agent class of second basemen headlined by DJ LeMahieu and also featuring Jonathan Schoop, Cesar Hernandez and Tommy La Stella, among others. While LeMahieu obviously carries the most earning power of the bunch, Wong is arguably the second-best option on the market thanks to his blend of elite glovework, strong contact skills and perennially high on-base percentages.

The 2020 season was a down year in terms of power for Wong, who hit just one home run in 208 plate appearances, but he won his second Gold Glove and posted a strong .350 on-base percentage. Over the past four seasons, Wong has posted a combined .273/.356/.398 batting line with 25 home runs, 74 doubles, 11 triples and 43 stolen bases. In that span, Wong ranks 14th among all Major Leaguers, regardless of position, with 37 Defensive Runs Saved. He’s 16th in composite Ultimate Zone Rating in that same span.

Cardinals, Three Other Clubs In Touch With Yadier Molina

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Cardinals icon Yadier Molina has heard from three non-Cardinals clubs since free agency has begun, agent Melvin Roman tells Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link). Unsurprisingly, Roman did not specify which clubs have reached out to this point in the very young offseason. So far, this is shaping up to be something of a public-facing free agency for Molina, as Roman has already been willing to put his name on record in stating his client’s hope for a two-year deal as well.

It’s difficult to picture Molina in the uniform of any club other than the Cardinals after the 38-year-old has spent the past 17 years in St. Louis. But Molina raised some eyebrows among Cardinals fans earlier this year when he declared that he wanted to continue playing and was willing to do so even if it meant signing with a new club. Roman previously indicated that Molina is seeking a two-year deal that would carry him through age 40 and, perhaps, through the end of his likely Hall of Fame career.

While we don’t know yet — and may not know — which clubs plan to seriously pursue Molina, it’s not hard to look around the league and pick out some potential landing spots. There’s already speculation about the Yankees moving on from Gary Sanchez, for instance, and there would be few more dramatic ways to flip the narrative in the Bronx than to move from the free-swinging, defensively challenged Sanchez to the high-contact, defensively revered Molina.

Elsewhere, the Mets are on the lookout for a new backstop with Wilson Ramos hitting free agency. The Phillies could lose J.T. Realmuto this winter, and the Marlins are also expected to explore catching upgrades on the heels of their surprising playoff berth. The Angels could use an upgrade, too. Wherever Molina does go, it’s logical to expect him to sign with a club that has clear postseason aspirations — one that can offer him regular playing time. The nine-time Gold Glover and four-time Platinum Glover already has a pair of rings on his resume and surely would like to add another in the waning stages of his career.

Molina’s bat has tailed off since a solid 2018 showing, but he’s put together a respectable .268/.310/.388 batting line with 14 home runs and a lowly 13 percent strikeout rate through 608 plate appearances over the past two seasons. That level of production — an 86 wRC+ — is well south of the league average hitter but isn’t far off the mark of the performance of the average catcher. And Molina still has well-regarded defensive numbers, including above-average framing marks, a 31.7 percent caught-stealing rate since 2019 and his reputation as one of the game’s premier game callers.

One of the more intriguing storylines — or, for Cardinals fans, more unsettling storylines — to follow this winter will be the future of Molina and fellow Cardinals icon Adam Wainwright. Both aim to continue playing in 2021, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote last month that the longtime teammates have even discussed the possibility of signing elsewhere as a pair in free agency. All else equal, both would prefer to return to St. Louis, it seems. However, the Cards do have a younger option behind the plate in Andrew Knizner, and there’s already been plenty of talk about the financial limitations the front office might face this offseason.

Cardinals Transactions: Schrock, Crismatt, R. Sanchez

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  • The Cubs announced that they have claimed infielder Max Schrock via waivers from the rival Cardinals. Chicago also outrighted lefty Rex Brothers to Triple-A Iowa. Schrock picked up just 17 plate appearances for St. Louis in 2020 and collected three hits (two singles and a homer). Brothers, 32, threw only 3.1 innings with the Cubs and allowed three earned runs.
  • Speaking of the Cardinals, they announced outright assignments for righty Nabil Crismatt and lefty Ricardo Sanchez. Crismatt was successful for the Cardinals in 2020, notching 8.1 frames of three-run ball with eight strikeouts and one walk. Sanchez had some difficulty across 5.1 innings, though, as he gave up four earned runs and issued five walks.

Braves Interested In Adam Wainwright

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Longtime Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright hopes to remain in St. Louis, but he’s keeping his options open as he nears a trip to free agency. That could mean returning to his native Georgia, as the Braves have interest in Wainwright and have already contacted him, David O’Brien of The Athletic reports.

This could be a full-circle move for Wainwright, who began his career with the Atlanta organization, even playing under current Braves manager Brian Snitker in Double-A ball. Wainwright never appeared in the majors for the Braves, though, as they traded him to the Cardinals in 2003 in a deal that sent outfielder J.D. Drew to Atlanta.

For St. Louis, the Wainwright acquisition couldn’t have worked out better. Now 39 years old, Wainwright’s a three-time All-Star, a World Series winner and a Cardinals icon who has provided the club 2,169 1/3 innings of 3.38 ERA/3.41 FIP pitching. He’s also third all-time for the team in wins with 167, trailing only Bob Gibson and Jesse Haines. And Wainwright showed this past season that he still has plenty to offer, as he amassed 65 2/3 frames of 3.15 ERA/4.11 FIP ball with 7.4 K/9 and 2.06 BB/9.

The type of production Wainwright put forth in 2020 would be welcome for the Braves, whose rotation dealt with its share of adversity. Mike Soroka and Cole Hamels, whom they were counting on to play major roles, each missed almost the entire season because of injuries; Mike Foltynewicz ended up on the outs; and several other options logged awful numbers over multiple starts.

Going forward, the good news for the Braves is that their rotation doesn’t appear to need a ton of help. While Hamels is a free agent, Soroka’s coming back to join Max Fried and Ian Anderson atop the Braves’ staff. That trio provides the team with an excellent top end of the rotation, and adding someone like Wainwright would give the Braves a more-than-capable No. 4 and a well-respected veteran who would be able to mentor their younger starters.

Managerial/Front Office Notes: White Sox, Kantrovitz, A’s, Cards

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There’s quite a lot of intrigue in the front office and managerial arenas this offseason. Let’s check in on the latest bits of information …

  • WGN broadcaster Dan Roan crafted an eyebrow-raising tweet regarding the next White Sox manager. Indications are that the organization is preparing to make a swift and dramatic decision to fill the top dugout opening. Roan hints at a forthcoming announcement that Tony La Russa will be tapped for a return run on the South Side. It’s certainly not a firm report of an imminent agreement, but Sox fans may want to keep an eye on the news wire on Thursday.
  • The Angels have a new potential target in their GM search, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). The Halos have asked the Cubs to green-light a chat with Dan Kantrovitz, the current VP of scouting in Chicago. Kantrovitz, who has been with the Cubs for less than a year, could in theory be considered for the top job in Anaheim or targeted as one of two hires if the club decides to bring on both a president of baseball ops and a general manager.
  • This time last year, Kantrovitz was still with the Athletics — a team that now appears to be looking at the end of an era with the potential departure of Billy Beane. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle addresses several elements of the situation in response to reader inquiries. Unsurprisingly, she anticipates that GM David Forst would step into Beane’s shoes in the event of the latter’s departure. Kantrovitz might’ve been in line to succeed as GM had he remained. As things stand, Slusser suggests that AGM Billy Owens stands to move up the ladder if he’s not first snatched up by another org.
  • The Cardinals are planning to trim costs in player payroll after a round of front office cuts. It turns out that the recent departures included a trio of notable former players, according to Mark Saxon of The Athletic (via Twitter). Former Cards Chris Carpenter, Jason Isringhausen, and Jim Edmonds are no longer being paid as special assistants.

Mozeliak On Cardinals’ Payroll Outlook

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The Cardinals front office is preparing for some austerity in the 2020-21 offseason, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak indicated to reporters including Mark Saxon of The Athletic (Twitter link). Details remain unclear, but Mozeliak left no doubt that payroll will decline.

The St. Louis organization already passed on a chance to retain second baseman Kolten Wong at a $12.5MM salary. That decision would’ve been a close in “normal” times, but came as little surprise in the current environment.

It seems fair to presume we’ll see wallet tightening around the game, but Mozeliak suggests the Cards may be uniquely impacted. COVID-19 closures have battered revenue in 2020 and left ample uncertainty for the ensuing season.

Mozeliak explained:

“Obviously, the success of the Cardinals the last 20 years has been our gate revenue. I do think we might be more negatively affected than others.”

It’ll certainly be interesting to see where the mainstay organization ultimately sets its payroll. In recent seasons, the Cardinals had carried Opening Day payrolls in the $160MM range.

The club is presently committed for just under $100MM in salary for 2021, with fairly minimal anticipated arbitration payouts to be added. It’s possible there’ll still be a fair bit of financial flexibility to work with, but a major paring of payroll would likely take the Cards out of the market for premium free agents.

Paul Goldschmidt Undergoes Elbow Surgery

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Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt recently underwent surgery to have a bone spur taken out of his right elbow, according to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak (via Jeff Jones of the Belleville-News Democrat).

Goldschmidt is recovering well from his procedure, which is welcome news for a Cardinals team that can’t afford to go without him. After having a pedestrian season (by his lofty standards) in 2019, Goldschmidt returned to form in a big way this past year. The 33-year-old took 231 trips to the plate and slashed .304/.417/.466 with six home runs, reminding the Cardinals why they paid a hefty price to the Diamondbacks to acquire Goldschmidt heading into 2019.

Goldschmidt was easily the Cardinals’ main offensive threat this year, and barring a major acquisition(s) over the winter, that will remain the case next season. Despite Goldy’s best efforts, the Cardinals only finished 19th in wRC+ (93), and most of their regulars recorded below-average numbers at the plate.

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