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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Roy Oswalt, Cardinals Reportedly Reach Agreement

More shocking than Roy Utah!

Earlier Friday evening, it seemed as if the Roy Oswalt sweepstakes were intensifying, as a report emerged that Oswalt was nearing an agreement with the St. Louis Cardinals. Well, now we’re taking things one step further. According to Gordon Edes, Oswalt has reached an agreement with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Oswalt headed to the Cardinals, source says.

It’s unconfirmed at this point, but Edes is reliable, and Joe Strauss tweeted earlier that the Cardinals were definitely interested and that a decision was expected soon. One figures that, as badly as Oswalt wants to stay around his home, this is probably true.

Repoz Posted: January 28, 2012 at 09:02 AM | 32 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: business, cardinals, media

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1. Flounder: Avowed enemy of inconvenience Posted: January 28, 2012 at 10:42 AM (#4048096)

Really?

Cool.

2. Smitty* Posted: January 28, 2012 at 10:46 AM (#4048098)

First Berkman, then Beltran, now maybe Oswalt. Next we'll convince Biggio and Bagwell to come out of retirement.

Oh, and don't you hate pants?

3. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: January 28, 2012 at 11:01 AM (#4048102)

So who is the odd man out - Lohse or Westbrook?

4. snapper (history's 42nd greatest monster) Posted: January 28, 2012 at 11:43 AM (#4048114)

St. Louis has done a real nice job compensating for the loss of Pujols.

Beltran, Oswalt, Furcal for a full season, Berkman to 1B, Craig in the OF.

If Wainwright's back, they should be as good or better than last year.

So who is the odd man out - Lohse or Westbrook?

Keep 'em both. Somebody will get hurt.

5. Flynn Posted: January 28, 2012 at 11:48 AM (#4048116)

I agree, it's a nice team. Old, but the obviously the window is now.

6. salvomania Posted: January 28, 2012 at 12:29 PM (#4048127)

Craig in the OF.

I'd still love to see just how competent Craig would be at 2b... he's reasonably athletic, he started 8 games there last year without embarrassing himself or the team, and a .900+ OPS from that position would be a great contribution to a terrifying post-Pujols lineup....

EDIT: Or put it this way: how much worse would his defense have to be than Daniel Descalso's for his vastly superior bat to not provide a net positive?

7. jdbkaput Posted: January 28, 2012 at 01:30 PM (#4048143)

That's a nice surprise. Not sure how much Oswalt has left, but I've had my fill of Westbrook, Game Six or no.

Craig isn't going to be a .900+ OPS player, and as much as I'd like to give him an extended tryout at 2B, he's coming off major knee surgery from December that will probably keep him out well into the season. I'd rather not have a talented hitter with bad knees trying to turn DPs on a regular basis, particularly when he's going to get plenty of ABs spelling Beltran, Berkman, and Jay.

8. salvomania Posted: January 28, 2012 at 01:43 PM (#4048146)

Craig isn't going to be a .900+ OPS player

Hey it's winter, I can fantasize....

1.Furcal-ss
2.Beltran-rf
3.Craig-2b
4.Berkman-1b
5.Holliday-lf
6.Freese-3b
7.Molina-c
8.Jay-cf

sp-Wainrwight
sp-Carpenter
sp-Garcia
sp-Oswalt
sp-Lohse
sp-Westbrook

I also like that Furcal, Beltran and Berkman are switchhitters....

9. retro-shiite Posted: January 28, 2012 at 02:11 PM (#4048154)

Who's the Cards' pitching coach now?

10. salvomania Posted: January 28, 2012 at 02:21 PM (#4048158)

It's Derek Lilliquist, who most recently was their bullpen coach and before that was one of their minor league pitching coaches....and way before that was a Braves' rotation-mate of Smoltz and Glavine before Maddux joined the team.

11. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: January 28, 2012 at 02:25 PM (#4048159)

I'm sure thet hang onto both Lohse and Westbrook, but who is the odd man out of the rotation? Or are they going 6 man rotation? I thought TLR retired.

12. KJOK Posted: January 28, 2012 at 02:44 PM (#4048169)

Westbrook would be #6 on the depth chart.

13. esseff Posted: January 28, 2012 at 03:05 PM (#4048180)

Beltran, Oswalt, Furcal for a full season, Berkman to 1B, Craig in the OF.

Craig is essentially a fourth OF, because Jon Jay will be needed to play center regularly, with Beltran in right, Holliday in left. At least, there should be plenty of opportunities for a 4th OF in that scheme.

Or put it this way: how much worse would his defense have to be than Daniel Descalso's for his vastly superior bat to not provide a net positive?

How much worse than Gold Glove finalist Daniel Descalso's? Can't see it happening. Not with the Skip Schumaker experiment, a failure in my eyes, so fresh in mind.

So who is the odd man out - Lohse or Westbrook?

Maybe both, soon enough. I don't expect Miller to make the rotation out of camp, but he's coming fast.

14. cardsfanboy

Posted: January 28, 2012 at 04:07 PM (#4048216)

Both Lohse and Westbrook have no trade clauses, and Lohse has no intention of accepting a trade, so it's possible that nobody is the odd man out, eventually someone will get injured or maybe give occassional rest to Wainwright.

15. Swedish Chef Posted: January 28, 2012 at 04:22 PM (#4048224)

No need to do anything, a surplus of pitching usually fixes itself before you've finished saying "torn labrum".

16. Vaux, A.B.D. Posted: January 28, 2012 at 04:34 PM (#4048234)

It seems to me that "surplus" implies a surplus of pitchers who are actually good. When two members of it are Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook--especially Westbrook--it's not really a surplus.

17. Tricky Dick Posted: January 28, 2012 at 05:05 PM (#4048258)

With Wainwright coming back from surgery and Carpenter showing signs of decline and injury vulnearability, doesn't it make sense that the Cardinals really need a surplus of starting pitchers? Everything would have to go perfectly for their current 5 starters to be adequate. At least, that's the way I would look at it.

18. Athletic Supporter leads the nation in drifters Posted: January 28, 2012 at 05:11 PM (#4048262)

No need to do anything, a surplus of pitching usually fixes itself before you've finished saying "torn labrum".

Just to confirm this, I said the phrase and I'm pretty sure I heard Mark Prior scream.

How did he get in my house anyway?!

19. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: January 28, 2012 at 05:40 PM (#4048288)

I agree with all of you, but someone has to go to the pen to start the year.

20. salvomania Posted: January 28, 2012 at 05:52 PM (#4048301)

When two members of it are Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook

You don't need five aces in a rotation.

Lohse had a 3.39 era and 1.17 WHIP in 30 starts last year.... I think something anywhere near that would suffice at the back of anyone's rotation...

21. musial6 Posted: January 28, 2012 at 06:42 PM (#4048339)

"When two members of it are Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook"

You don't need five aces in a rotation.

Lohse had a 3.39 era and 1.17 WHIP in 30 starts last year.... I think something anywhere near that would suffice at the back of anyone's rotation...

Big difference between the better of Lohse/Westbrook as the #5 vs the worse as #5 (with the better as #4). I'll take the best 2 out of Oswalt/Lohse/Westbrook/Lynn/Miller as the back of the rotation for the stretch run with a playoff rotation of Wainright/Carp/Garcia/Oswalt with Miller as the bonus arm the pen, thank you very much.

22. Matt Clement of Alexandria Posted: January 28, 2012 at 06:49 PM (#4048344)

According to the tireless twitter aggregators at MLB Trade Rumors, there is currently no deal, and Mozeliak says the Cards are not near to a deal with Oswalt.

23. Jim Wisinski

Posted: January 28, 2012 at 07:38 PM (#4048380)

I'm fascinated by the next 5-6 years for the Cardinals. They have the financial resources to have given Pujols a contract he would accept without crippling their budget, they only got outbid and lost Pujols because they allowed it to happen. So it's a rare case where a team is perfectly capable of retaining a superstar in their prime but decides they would rather move forward and retain that money for other uses rather than increase their offer to retain him at a rate they don't feel is wise to pay.

24. Walt Davis Posted: January 28, 2012 at 10:10 PM (#4048487)

superstar in their prime

Even I don't think Pujols is in his prime (at least not for much longer).

But, yes, an interesting move and not one I think they could have gotten away with had they not won the WS. All you heard when they signed Holliday was "this better not mean we can't sign Pujols." I think the fans would have been howling if this happened after missing the playoffs.

It's also a team that could "go Orioles" very quickly. Even Wainwright is 30.

25. cardsfanboy

Posted: January 28, 2012 at 10:43 PM (#4048504)

It's also a team that could "go Orioles" very quickly. Even Wainwright is 30.

I don't see it, the team has enough youth to supplement their aging veterans. And the team is smart enough to spend on replacement players as needed. Heck many of these contracts are up in a couple of years, so they'll have money to go after whoever becomes available among the second tier prospects.

26. jdbkaput Posted: January 28, 2012 at 11:09 PM (#4048529)

Trading Rasmus didn't help, but the Cardinals have one of the best farm systems in baseball right now, and TLR-less Mozeliak looks like a competent GM. There's very little chance that the Cards will have a losing record in the next few years, much less go Oriole/Cubbie on us.

27. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: January 28, 2012 at 11:23 PM (#4048544)

They have the financial resources to have given Pujols a contract he would accept without crippling their budget, they only got outbid and lost Pujols because they allowed it to happen. So it's a rare case where a team is perfectly capable of retaining a superstar in their prime but decides they would rather move forward and retain that money for other uses rather than increase their offer to retain him at a rate they don't feel is wise to pay.

I'm not sure you can take all the hypothetical Pujols money and allocate it to someone else. He generated revenue as a player that you frankly will not get by replacing him with Carlos Beltran.

I do think they're an interesting team going forward, although I feel like their window is closing. However, they've been labeled as having a crummy farm system for years, yet have been one of the best teams at producing in-house replacement level and better talent. Somehow they always seem to land on their feet. And 26 is right, their system now looks pretty darn good.

28. Something Other Posted: January 29, 2012 at 12:40 AM (#4048571)

Lohse had a 3.39 era and 1.17 WHIP in 30 starts last year.... I think something anywhere near that would suffice at the back of anyone's rotation...

That's what she said.

Can any minor league mavens tell me a little about Lance Lynn? His ml numbers look like that of a future 3 or 4 starter, but his stuff might tell a different story.

The Cards are old, but they're not OLD, and they don't have any crippling deals or close to it on the books. They also have that damnable knack of snaring guys like Beltran and Berkman and Oswalt for short deals at decent dollars. They just don't look like they're headed for any kind of long lull between competitive seasons.

29. Vaux, A.B.D. Posted: January 29, 2012 at 01:23 AM (#4048585)

I'm worried that the guy who's now the Astros GM was the reason for the Cardinals good minor league system. He was in charge of it, after all.

30. Jim Wisinski

Posted: January 29, 2012 at 01:44 AM (#4048590)

I wasn't even thinking of management turnover when I said the above but there's a lot of that too. The VP of player development, manager, and pitching coach were all viewed as key contributors to the team's success and are now gone. To some extent the Cardinals are a radically different organization going forward.

31. cardsfanboy

Posted: January 29, 2012 at 04:17 AM (#4048606)

Can any minor league mavens tell me a little about Lance Lynn? His ml numbers look like that of a future 3 or 4 starter, but his stuff might tell a different story.

as a ML observer, I don't see #### other than one pitch. He's a lock to be a very good setup man, he's not a major league starter.

32. cardsfanboy

Posted: January 29, 2012 at 04:20 AM (#4048607)

I'm worried that the guy who's now the Astros GM was the reason for the Cardinals good minor league system. He was in charge of it, after all.

I'm not, he was a self promoter that basically created the claim he was any good. I'm not a Mo fan, but his cautious and surefire attitude works. Luhnow was a guy that stats geek will love, and that will more than likely fail at the ml level, because he has no people skills.

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Roy Oswalt, Cardinals Reportedly Reach Agreement

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