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What's the hold up with Nolan Arenado? · Cardinal Territory: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

0:06
Speaker 1: What's up and welcome back to Cardinal Territory. I'm Katie Wu.
0:09
Speaker 1: He's Trevor Rosenthal. As always, we're just happy to be here. Trevor,
0:14
Speaker 1: how are you. How's how's your Monday going?
0:17
Speaker 2: Yeah?
0:17
Speaker 3: Same, I'm I'm super happy to be here, Katie. Been
0:22
Speaker 3: looking forward to this, you know, every time we record
0:25
Speaker 3: and talk Cardinal Baseball, I'm getting more and more excited. Obviously,
0:29
Speaker 3: this season is drawing near. It may not feel like
0:33
Speaker 3: it in Saint Louis.
0:34
Speaker 2: It seems to be.
0:35
Speaker 3: Rather cold and snowy right now, doesn't quite feel like baseball,
0:40
Speaker 3: but we're getting closer every day.
0:46
Speaker 1: Yes, for those of you in Saint Louis, I am
0:49
Speaker 1: so sorry. I hope you are staying warm. I was
0:52
Speaker 1: actually I've been in California and visiting my family for
0:54
Speaker 1: the holidays, and I'm supposed to come back this week, and
0:56
Speaker 1: then I saw the weather report and I said, maybe not.
1:00
Speaker 1: So I'm still in northern California. Not to rub it in,
1:02
Speaker 1: but it is sixty five degrees and sunny and beautiful,
1:04
Speaker 1: and maybe I'll play golf tomorrow. Who knows. Trevor, how's
1:07
Speaker 1: the weather out there in Texas? How's it like for.
1:09
Speaker 3: You, Yeah, this is the time of year where it
1:12
Speaker 3: pays off to live in Texas, much like California.
1:16
Speaker 2: You know.
1:17
Speaker 3: Over the years, like I always spent my off seasons
1:20
Speaker 3: in Saint Louis, especially while I was playing for the Cardinals,
1:23
Speaker 3: and it always made me, like, you know, when I
1:26
Speaker 3: went down to spring training in February, I would always
1:28
Speaker 3: think to myself, why do I stay in the Midwest
1:31
Speaker 3: in the wintertime.
1:32
Speaker 2: It's so nice down here south?
1:35
Speaker 3: And I understand why people make that move or temporarily
1:40
Speaker 3: relocate for the winter time, called snowbirds whatever. But Texas
1:45
Speaker 3: is great right now, and yeah, no snow. It's about
1:50
Speaker 3: a little bit colder. We had a little bit of
1:51
Speaker 3: a cold front. It's about fifty degrees down here in Houston.
1:55
Speaker 3: But not the teens that I've seen from my friends
1:58
Speaker 3: up in Saint Louis, and I saw some video from
2:01
Speaker 3: them out their front door and it looks like they
2:03
Speaker 3: weren't going anywhere today. They were pretty much snowed in.
2:07
Speaker 1: Yes, I think that's like the one good thing about
2:09
Speaker 1: a snow day is you have every excuse to not
2:13
Speaker 1: do anything and not leave your house. And that is
2:15
Speaker 1: how I embrace January in Saint Louis. I just don't
2:19
Speaker 1: ever leave, and before you know what, we will be
2:22
Speaker 1: in Jupiter, Florida. I know this because this morning I
2:26
Speaker 1: booked my spring training like Airbnb, my rental car, all
2:31
Speaker 1: of that is done. So we are officially getting closer
2:34
Speaker 1: and closer to baseball. So that's exciting. Unfortunately for Cardinals
2:42
Speaker 1: fans and Cardinal Nation, not a lot going on at
2:46
Speaker 1: the moment. But we did hear from Cardinals President of
2:49
Speaker 1: Baseball Operations John Moselak. He talked to KMOX Tom Ackerman
2:54
Speaker 1: on Sunday and gave us a little update on the
2:56
Speaker 1: Nolan Ornado front. He said, spoiler alert, it's very quiet,
3:01
Speaker 1: went out and told Tom Ackerman as well. He said
3:06
Speaker 1: that if the Cardinals have the ability to find Nolan
3:09
Speaker 1: a place he desires, it's something we are going to
3:11
Speaker 1: try to do. If not, he will have to be
3:13
Speaker 1: a club move forward. So okay, what does that mean
3:20
Speaker 1: for the Cardinals in the short term? It means if
3:24
Speaker 1: you are pretty much over the lack of news, then
3:28
Speaker 1: you would like really get invested in something happening with
3:31
Speaker 1: the Ornado front, because if the Cardinals can't really do
3:36
Speaker 1: anything until they know what they're doing with Nolan, and
3:39
Speaker 1: that was a fine storyline in November and December where
3:42
Speaker 1: I think everyone, whether you were front office, media, player, fan,
3:48
Speaker 1: could kind of understand in November and December why the
3:50
Speaker 1: Cardinals had to be patient. It's January sixth as we're
3:53
Speaker 1: recording this, this will ra tomorrow January seventh, and the Cardinals
3:57
Speaker 1: are still in the exact same place. They have not
3:59
Speaker 1: really made any kind of moves. And the reason that that's,
4:02
Speaker 1: you know, why they've unfortunately been kind of hindered by that,
4:05
Speaker 1: is because they cannot really figure out what they're going
4:08
Speaker 1: to do until they know what their finances look like.
4:10
Speaker 1: And they will not know what their finances look like
4:13
Speaker 1: until they know what's going on with Nolan Arnado. So
4:17
Speaker 1: this is why if I am a member of the
4:19
Speaker 1: Saint Louis Cardinals, if I'm a Cardinals fan, if I'm
4:22
Speaker 1: a baseball fan in general, all eyes for me are
4:25
Speaker 1: going to be on Alex Bregman's free agent market. Here's
4:30
Speaker 1: why Alex Bregman has down three teams. Citing the reports
4:35
Speaker 1: from Mark finestand of MLB Great Guy, Great Reporter says
4:40
Speaker 1: that there are three teams left in the Alex Bregman
4:42
Speaker 1: sevestakes that we know of. They are the Detroit Tigers,
4:45
Speaker 1: the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Boston Red Sox. Now,
4:49
Speaker 1: if Alex Bregman signs with the Tigers or the Blue Jays,
4:53
Speaker 1: the Red Sox could pivot right, They could pivot and say, hey,
4:56
Speaker 1: we missed out on a premier third baseman, the best
4:59
Speaker 1: available third basement in the market. Why don't we go
5:01
Speaker 1: see if we can trade for another great their basement.
5:04
Speaker 1: But if Alex Berdman goes to the Red Sox, Trevor,
5:07
Speaker 1: where is Nolan Arnaudo gonna go? Is he gonna stay
5:09
Speaker 1: in Saint Louis?
5:12
Speaker 2: It would seem that way, Katie.
5:13
Speaker 3: I'm i'm I'm envious of these large market they're big
5:17
Speaker 3: market teams and their ability to go out and sign
5:19
Speaker 3: these free agent players. But yeah, I mean, what what
5:22
Speaker 3: are the implications? I know, you know you mentioned mozay
5:26
Speaker 3: Loac and Camox and Ackerman. I agree Ackerman. I really
5:29
Speaker 3: enjoy working with him and seeing all that he does
5:32
Speaker 3: over there, But yeah, what do you think?
5:35
Speaker 2: What does this?
5:36
Speaker 3: What happens if if Aaron Otto would know we've talked
5:38
Speaker 3: about it, But if he ends up being in Saint Louis.
5:41
Speaker 3: Does that disrupt the potential off season plans that they
5:44
Speaker 3: might have.
5:45
Speaker 1: I think it does. I think it does, and I
5:47
Speaker 1: the reason why is because I think both Moe and
5:51
Speaker 1: Nolan were pretty confident that a trade could have been made.
5:53
Speaker 1: And remember in the beginning of the off season, they
5:56
Speaker 1: were both very agreeable about why this was the best
5:58
Speaker 1: situation for both parties. This is not something that Nolan said, Hey,
6:02
Speaker 1: I don't want to be here anymore, get me out
6:03
Speaker 1: of here, and this is not Moe saying we're trading you. Regardless,
6:07
Speaker 1: both parties saw the future of the Cardinals, where the
6:09
Speaker 1: team is trending, and said it's probably best for both
6:12
Speaker 1: of us if we part ways, a very amicable breakup.
6:16
Speaker 1: Not that I know anything about those. However, as we
6:20
Speaker 1: get closer and closer spring training, Nolan's market is getting
6:23
Speaker 1: smaller and smaller. He vetoed a trade to Houston, which
6:25
Speaker 1: is his right. We've talked about that on Foul Territory
6:28
Speaker 1: on this show as well. Doesn't seem like the Dodgers
6:30
Speaker 1: were in play, He's been There's been speculation to the Yankees,
6:33
Speaker 1: but they don't really seem to be fully into it.
6:35
Speaker 1: The mystery about the Boston Red Sox is we don't
6:38
Speaker 1: really know what they want other than maybe adding another
6:41
Speaker 1: right handed bat. They already traded for Garrett Crochet, but
6:44
Speaker 1: how they want to try to maybe increase their offense
6:47
Speaker 1: if they if they miss on Alex Bregman, could they
6:50
Speaker 1: get Nolan maybe, But the Cardinals can't bang on that.
6:54
Speaker 1: They can't bet on Nolan not being here next year.
6:56
Speaker 1: So everything else is kind of on standstill, and there
6:59
Speaker 1: are things the Cardinals want to do. You know. They
7:01
Speaker 1: were trying to look at maybe improving something on the
7:03
Speaker 1: pitching side, whether it was getting some depth in the
7:06
Speaker 1: rotation or depth in the bullpen. Now, these weren't going
7:08
Speaker 1: to be like blockbuster signings, but they were going to
7:10
Speaker 1: be free signings. Nonetheless, if Nolan Arnatto stays, they have
7:15
Speaker 1: to get creative and move the money from that. They
7:18
Speaker 1: were potentially planning to move off the books with the
7:20
Speaker 1: trade of Nolan from somewhere else, whether that's tregging Eric Fetty,
7:24
Speaker 1: Stephen Matz maybe revisiting this is all speculation from my part,
7:27
Speaker 1: this part here revisiting Sunny Gray, seeing if he is
7:31
Speaker 1: like still wants to be here, revisiting Ryan Helsley just
7:34
Speaker 1: kind of seeing what's going on because they have to
7:35
Speaker 1: move the money from some part. That's part one, part two.
7:39
Speaker 1: They also are kind of blocking their whole youth movement,
7:42
Speaker 1: right because you have two veterans on the corners. Now,
7:45
Speaker 1: if Nolan stays, you have contraras at first, you have
7:47
Speaker 1: Nolan Arnatto at third. Where is Nolan Gorman going to play?
7:50
Speaker 1: Where is Alec Berlson going to play? You go down
7:53
Speaker 1: the list. Was Thomas to jac going to be on
7:55
Speaker 1: the opening day roster? Hard to say, right, So to me,
7:59
Speaker 1: it just complicates everything else if Nolan stays. And that's
8:03
Speaker 1: why I'm so invested in what happens on the Alex
8:05
Speaker 1: Bregman market.
8:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say, you know, as a Cardinals front
8:10
Speaker 3: office or if I'm a John mozayloc, I'm very hopeful
8:14
Speaker 3: that a team like Boston, if they miss out, for example,
8:17
Speaker 3: on on Alex Bregman, that they're very motivated to bring
8:22
Speaker 3: in a player like Eronado and Saint Louis could benefit
8:25
Speaker 3: from that. So I agree, it's all I should be
8:29
Speaker 3: on Bregman, especially as it regards in regards to Nolan
8:33
Speaker 3: Aeronado and and if I'm Nolan, I'm I'm also interested
8:36
Speaker 3: in what happens with Bregman. I mean with Bregman. I mean,
8:38
Speaker 3: if if we look at Nolan Aeronado's career, he's essentially
8:43
Speaker 3: been the gold standard for a third basement in his market.
8:46
Speaker 3: And to see what happens with Bregman, what team signs him,
8:49
Speaker 3: what type of contract he gets. I don't know how
8:52
Speaker 3: that will affect the psychology of Nolan Aeronado, but he's
8:56
Speaker 3: certainly going to be cognizant of it, and it might
8:59
Speaker 3: influence how he thinks about being traded in the potential
9:03
Speaker 3: team that does make an offer to Saint Louis.
9:06
Speaker 1: That's so interesting, right, Like the psychological element if Nolan
9:10
Speaker 1: has like, hey, I thought I was getting traded. Now
9:13
Speaker 1: I'm stuck on it. I don't want to say stuck.
9:15
Speaker 1: I don't want to speak for him. But now I'm
9:16
Speaker 1: back with the Cardinals and nobody wanted me. Nobody wanted
9:20
Speaker 1: to trade for me, except for the Astros, which I
9:22
Speaker 1: denied because I just didn't think I was ready. Now
9:25
Speaker 1: everything is super complicated. I wonder what that does for
9:28
Speaker 1: a player, because it can go one of two ways, right,
9:30
Speaker 1: it can become a mental issue. You can compound it,
9:34
Speaker 1: you can press, and that's never good for anyone, or
9:37
Speaker 1: you channel into motivation and you pop off. And Nolan
9:41
Speaker 1: has never really been one that you know, really hangs
9:44
Speaker 1: his head and feels bad for himself if no one.
9:46
Speaker 1: If he ends up staying with Saint Louis, he's going
9:48
Speaker 1: to be a pro about it. I have zero concerns
9:50
Speaker 1: about that. My concern if he stays is how are
9:52
Speaker 1: the Cardinals going to move forward with their youth movement
9:57
Speaker 1: as they'd like to advertise it, and how do they
9:59
Speaker 1: figure out how what they in twenty twenty six with
10:01
Speaker 1: someone that they actively tried and said publicly they wanted
10:05
Speaker 1: to trade. It is a fascinating little development and it
10:09
Speaker 1: to me kind of makes up for the fact that
10:11
Speaker 1: there has been no other movement for the Cardinals.
10:14
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think the most likely scenario is one
10:19
Speaker 3: like we saw with Houston. You know, the ownership and
10:22
Speaker 3: front office group down in Houston. As soon as they
10:24
Speaker 3: knew that Aeronatto wasn't an option, the next day they
10:28
Speaker 3: go out and sign Christian Walker to a deal. And
10:30
Speaker 3: I see that being the most likely scenarios in terms
10:34
Speaker 3: of Nolan is when a team realizes that Bregman is
10:38
Speaker 3: off the block and they no longer have that opportunity.
10:41
Speaker 3: Most of the time, they still want to fill that
10:45
Speaker 3: gap that they were trying to replace. And if er
10:48
Speaker 3: not as the only option, I mean, I mean, we
10:51
Speaker 3: still have Pete Alonzo out there, so you know, two
10:54
Speaker 3: big corner infield free agents that have yet to be signed.
10:58
Speaker 3: But once those guys are off the board, I think
10:59
Speaker 3: they will really pick up. And that's another reason to
11:02
Speaker 3: pay attention to this development.
11:04
Speaker 1: Completely agree, and at least we know the Cardinals are
11:07
Speaker 1: very motivated to trade Noblan. It's not something that they
11:10
Speaker 1: themselves are dragging their feet on. They're just kind of
11:13
Speaker 1: at the mercy of the rest of the industry. Let's
11:16
Speaker 1: talk about the rest of the industry. There have been
11:19
Speaker 1: a lot of free agent signings outside of Saint Louis,
11:21
Speaker 1: but don't worry Cardinals fans. The Cardinals are not alone.
11:24
Speaker 1: So as of Barbara court Day, Monday, January sixth, there
11:27
Speaker 1: are six teams in Major League Baseball who have not
11:30
Speaker 1: spent one single dollar in free agency. They are in
11:33
Speaker 1: no particular order. Where is my lists there? It is
11:39
Speaker 1: the Mariners, the Marlins, the Padres, the Brewers, the Twins,
11:43
Speaker 1: and the Cardinals. That is surprising. Now, granted, all six
11:48
Speaker 1: of these teams are in different areas in terms of
11:50
Speaker 1: their competition window and financially, but man, it's weird right
11:55
Speaker 1: to not have to not hear that the Cardinals has
11:57
Speaker 1: spent one dollar in free agency. So we'll leave the
12:01
Speaker 1: Cardinals aspect out of this next question, Trevor, But talking
12:04
Speaker 1: about MLB at all, like, overall, what's been your favorite
12:08
Speaker 1: free agent signing?
12:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's there's been a roll in the market in
12:15
Speaker 3: terms of just like the middle to bottom tier in
12:17
Speaker 3: my opinion, hasn't been a lot of signings, especially when
12:21
Speaker 3: it comes to pitching. But the one that stands out,
12:25
Speaker 3: I'm gonna talk about it because it's it's a pretty
12:28
Speaker 3: astonishing to see the type of contract that this player signed,
12:32
Speaker 3: Juan Soto to the New York Mets. Man talk about
12:36
Speaker 3: a big time contract for a great player. I mean,
12:39
Speaker 3: I played with Wan Soto in twenty nineteen and I
12:42
Speaker 3: have nothing bad to say about the guy. He's a
12:44
Speaker 3: tremendous player, tremendous teammate, tremendous human being, and I'm super
12:49
Speaker 3: happy for him. But man, to see that type of
12:51
Speaker 3: deal get done. I know it can't be easy, but
12:55
Speaker 3: it's exciting. If I'm a Mets fan going into this
12:58
Speaker 3: season and really going into the next decade, I am
13:00
Speaker 3: pumped right now. But that's probably not even my most favorite.
13:04
Speaker 3: It's my most favorite in terms of dollars, like I
13:06
Speaker 3: would trade places with wan O in uh in receiving
13:10
Speaker 3: you know, paychecks for sure.
13:12
Speaker 2: But I think the Yankees have done.
13:15
Speaker 3: The New York Yankees have done a great job of
13:17
Speaker 3: kind of responding to losing a player like Soto. Obviously,
13:20
Speaker 3: they signed Paul Goldschmidt, who we're all gonna miss. I
13:24
Speaker 3: think Max Freed was another great signing to add into
13:27
Speaker 3: their rotation. But then kind of under the radar a
13:29
Speaker 3: couple of trades they made, bringing in closer Devin Williams
13:33
Speaker 3: and uh and an.
13:35
Speaker 2: Outstanding left handed bat and Cody Bellinger.
13:38
Speaker 3: So I think for me, I'm most impressed with what
13:41
Speaker 3: the Yankees have done. And then a side note to
13:44
Speaker 3: that would be a player that I've always admired, a
13:47
Speaker 3: starting pitcher with the with the Texas Rangers, Nathan Valdi.
13:51
Speaker 3: I was really happy to see him get another long
13:54
Speaker 3: term contract.
13:55
Speaker 2: He's had an outstanding career.
13:57
Speaker 3: So yeah, with the with the Yankees have done, with
13:59
Speaker 3: what the Rangers have done, sign and bringing back a Valdi,
14:03
Speaker 3: all some really impressive moves in my opinion.
14:07
Speaker 2: What about you, Katie, What's been your big standout?
14:10
Speaker 1: My big standout mainly because I was just so surprised
14:15
Speaker 1: by this, But when we talk about like big free
14:19
Speaker 1: agent spenders, we aren't talking about the A's. So that's
14:23
Speaker 1: why I loved Luis Savarino's two year, sixty seven million
14:27
Speaker 1: dollar contract to the No City Athletics. He has a
14:32
Speaker 1: player option for twenty twenty seven. It is the largest
14:35
Speaker 1: free agent contract the A's franchise has ever given out.
14:39
Speaker 1: And why I liked this so much is there's been
14:41
Speaker 1: a lot of deserved negativity around A's ownership and the
14:45
Speaker 1: move from Oakland to Sacramento. And I'm a Bay Area girl.
14:49
Speaker 1: I know through and through what the A's mean to
14:51
Speaker 1: the Bay Area. Trevor, you were part of the A's
14:54
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one, so you understand what that means there.
14:58
Speaker 1: It's deserved where credit is due. The A's showed like, hey,
15:02
Speaker 1: we're going to be playing in a minor league ballpark
15:04
Speaker 1: for like X amount of years. And we were pretty
15:07
Speaker 1: much other than the White Sox, the like worst team
15:10
Speaker 1: in baseball in terms of overall vibes last year. But
15:12
Speaker 1: we're going to try to change that around, and we're
15:14
Speaker 1: going to spend money. So they go out and they
15:15
Speaker 1: shell out their largest deal the Louis Severino. Happy for him,
15:18
Speaker 1: super deserved, but they also showed that there is zero
15:22
Speaker 1: excuse for not spending money. If the A's can do it,
15:26
Speaker 1: so can you. I'm looking at twenty nine other teams,
15:28
Speaker 1: well not the Mets they spent, the Dodgers they spent.
15:30
Speaker 1: I'm looking at like twenty seven other teams spend some money.
15:33
Speaker 1: If the A's can do it, so can you. And
15:34
Speaker 1: I think maybe that's why there is frustration from the
15:37
Speaker 1: six teams we listed earlier, right, Like the Brewers have
15:41
Speaker 1: not spent a dollar, traded away their best closer to
15:43
Speaker 1: the Yankees. Like you mentioned the Marlins rapid fire sales
15:47
Speaker 1: dating back to really the last trade deadline. The Padres
15:52
Speaker 1: A lot going on over there, don't I don't even
15:54
Speaker 1: know how to make sense. Just saw the late Peter
15:57
Speaker 1: Sidler's widow, the prior owner of the Padres, is suing
16:01
Speaker 1: Peter Sidler's brothers. So that's that was some breaking news
16:05
Speaker 1: on Monday. So yeah, there's a lot going on. But
16:07
Speaker 1: my favorite free agent signing so far is than Luis
16:09
Speaker 1: Ever gonna to the A's because it showed that any
16:12
Speaker 1: team can spend, so let's keep it up.
16:16
Speaker 2: Yeah.
16:16
Speaker 3: The only thing that could have made this offseason even
16:20
Speaker 3: better following you know, talking about the Oakland A's, I was,
16:24
Speaker 3: if I hadn't bet anybody I was after the sever
16:26
Speaker 3: Reno signing up, They're gonna end up getting the number
16:28
Speaker 3: one pick in the draft lottery.
16:30
Speaker 2: That was what I was.
16:31
Speaker 3: Thinking going into the Winter meetings is the A's are
16:34
Speaker 3: gonna end up with the number one pick and they're
16:36
Speaker 3: just gonna be the place to be over the next
16:39
Speaker 3: few years.
16:39
Speaker 2: A new team Vegas. I'm sure there's.
16:42
Speaker 3: Gonna be a lot of excitement and new branding to
16:44
Speaker 3: go along with it. And if I'm a player, I'm
16:46
Speaker 3: thinking this is this is an interesting place to be
16:49
Speaker 3: for the future.
16:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think the A's are are kind of
16:53
Speaker 1: on the rise. Dare I say I like Brent Rooker.
16:55
Speaker 1: I think he's a baller. But they have some some
16:57
Speaker 1: nice pieces coming up, and they also traded for Jeff
17:00
Speaker 1: Free springs from the Tampa Raye shortly after Severino. So
17:03
Speaker 1: a team to watch because the Houston Astros the usual
17:06
Speaker 1: powerhouse of the Al West, they are dramatically different this year. No,
17:09
Speaker 1: Kyle Tucker probably know Alex Bregman. We'll see, So I'm
17:13
Speaker 1: watching you, is all right? Will the Cardinals ever spend
17:19
Speaker 1: in the free agent market? We don't know. We certainly
17:22
Speaker 1: hope so.
17:22
Speaker 2: But in a.
17:23
Speaker 1: Perfect world, Trevor, again, we talked about this, They're going
17:27
Speaker 1: to have to figure out the Nolan situation before if
17:30
Speaker 1: they spend money. But in your ideal world, who is
17:34
Speaker 1: the free agent you would go get right now? Still
17:36
Speaker 1: available for the Saint Louis Cardinals.
17:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, depending on the Nolan situation between depending on their
17:43
Speaker 3: budgets financially, there's probably not a lot that they're willing
17:48
Speaker 3: or most likely going to end up doing. But I
17:52
Speaker 3: kind of think back to my time in Saint Louis
17:55
Speaker 3: and where I saw Saint Louis really thrive, at least
17:58
Speaker 3: while I was on the team, is in signing those
18:01
Speaker 3: middle relievers that maybe were coming off of a poor
18:06
Speaker 3: season but had a nice track record, and they were
18:08
Speaker 3: able to bring guys in a couple of guys that
18:10
Speaker 3: come to mind, Pat Nyeshek, Edward Muhika, guys that they
18:14
Speaker 3: signed for really just a major League invite and a
18:18
Speaker 3: minimum salary and ended up being All Stars.
18:21
Speaker 2: So my mind goes there.
18:23
Speaker 3: I'm thinking, if there's anything that Saint Louis Will will
18:26
Speaker 3: have the ability to do, it would be signing a
18:29
Speaker 3: player like that. And there's a there's a lot out there.
18:31
Speaker 3: Actually a couple that I really am interested in. Two
18:36
Speaker 3: guys that I've been teammates with. George Lopez, who bounced
18:40
Speaker 3: around with a couple of teams last year.
18:41
Speaker 2: I played with him in Kansas City.
18:42
Speaker 3: It's a hard throwing right hander who has really taken
18:46
Speaker 3: form in the last few years. He has a great arsenal.
18:49
Speaker 3: He's put up good numbers, He's been pretty durable. I
18:52
Speaker 3: think he's a guy that they should that they should
18:54
Speaker 3: be considering. He could fit nicely into the back end
18:57
Speaker 3: of the bullpen, give Helzley some help. And then another
19:00
Speaker 3: one is is maybe not so obvious, is Tim Hill.
19:03
Speaker 3: Tim Hill was with the New York Yankees last year,
19:06
Speaker 3: left handed pitcher.
19:07
Speaker 2: Another guy he's been thurbal.
19:09
Speaker 3: He goes out there, he takes the ball and he
19:11
Speaker 3: can he can deliver in high leverage situations and and
19:14
Speaker 3: really just eat up innings.
19:15
Speaker 2: To go along with that.
19:16
Speaker 3: So those are my two guys that are options for
19:21
Speaker 3: maybe under the radar, and then I have another two, Ktie,
19:23
Speaker 3: if you don't mind having another two.
19:25
Speaker 2: I want to know these other.
19:27
Speaker 3: Two are are maybe exciting to our listeners that, in
19:31
Speaker 3: my opinion, who are out there, who are options to
19:33
Speaker 3: bring in in the bullpen. Maybe not cost a ton
19:36
Speaker 3: of money, maybe a little bit more than Lopez or Hill.
19:39
Speaker 3: But there's there's two familiar names Shelby Miller for one,
19:43
Speaker 3: and Joe Kelly, two guys that are most likely at
19:48
Speaker 3: the tail end of their careers coming off of decent seasons.
19:53
Speaker 3: Joe Kelly was not as active as Shelby. Shelby had
19:57
Speaker 3: a nice little run the last few years and really
19:59
Speaker 3: has emerged as a solid bullpen option. But you know
20:03
Speaker 3: two guys that I think are obviously familiar with Saint Louis.
20:06
Speaker 2: But I think that the Saint Louis.
20:08
Speaker 3: Front office should be entertaining and bringing in a veteran presence,
20:12
Speaker 3: guys with a lot of a lot of experience not
20:14
Speaker 3: only on the field, but also in the clubhouse, and
20:16
Speaker 3: that's something to be aware of, you know, filling the
20:20
Speaker 3: void in the clubhouse, a veteran players that can have
20:22
Speaker 3: a good impact on this wave of hopefully a young roster.
20:26
Speaker 2: That we're going to see in twenty five. What about you, Katie?
20:29
Speaker 3: Did I steal any from you?
20:31
Speaker 2: No?
20:31
Speaker 1: I thought for sure you would, But I love you know,
20:33
Speaker 1: the Cardinals love their veteran presence, and this makes a
20:36
Speaker 1: lot of sense to get one of those guys because
20:39
Speaker 1: outside of Halsley, it's a pretty young and inexperienced doesn't
20:42
Speaker 1: mean they will be good. I actually still think the
20:43
Speaker 1: bullpen will be good, but it's a young and an
20:45
Speaker 1: experienced core nonetheless, So having one of those guys, I
20:48
Speaker 1: think back to twenty twenty one. Andrew Millard wasn't like
20:51
Speaker 1: lighting up the radar gun by any means, but he posted,
20:54
Speaker 1: he took the ball when asked, and he basically showed
20:56
Speaker 1: the young guys coming up. You're thinking, Jordan Hicks, You're thinking, Halsley,
21:00
Speaker 1: what it meant to like pitch in high leverage situations
21:02
Speaker 1: for the Saint Louis Cardinals. So I like it. I
21:05
Speaker 1: definitely think your ideas are a lot more realistic than mine.
21:08
Speaker 1: Mine is kind of a fever dream. I would love
21:11
Speaker 1: if the Cardinals brought back Kyle Gibson. And I think
21:14
Speaker 1: the Cardinals would love if they brought back Kyle Gibson. Now, Okay, yeah,
21:18
Speaker 1: you're gonna say, well, they had their chance. They declined
21:21
Speaker 1: their team option for him in twenty twenty five. Yes
21:23
Speaker 1: they did. That team option was worth thirteen million dollars.
21:28
Speaker 1: Given where the Cardinals were in salaries that they had
21:30
Speaker 1: promised already to other pitchers and their whole plan to
21:34
Speaker 1: reduce payroll, it made sense to let both Gibson and
21:36
Speaker 1: lanceln go. By declining those options, they cleared twenty five
21:39
Speaker 1: million dollars off the books for next year. However, they
21:42
Speaker 1: left the door open, and I think the Cardinals were,
21:45
Speaker 1: you know, pretty honest with Kyle Gibson and saying, hey,
21:49
Speaker 1: this is something we would like to revisit. This is
21:51
Speaker 1: something we have to do now. But it doesn't mean
21:53
Speaker 1: we're closing the door for good. And in a perfect world,
21:57
Speaker 1: the Cardinals trade Nolan Arnatto and they're able to kind
22:02
Speaker 1: of go out and revisit Kyle Gibson's market because I
22:05
Speaker 1: don't think they actually really wanted to let him go
22:07
Speaker 1: at the end of the year. I think they wanted
22:09
Speaker 1: to stay, and I think Kyle Gibson wanted to stay too.
22:11
Speaker 1: I mean, he called Saint Louis Home a Mazoo product.
22:14
Speaker 1: He was great for this club in twenty twenty four. Awesome, dude,
22:18
Speaker 1: Just stand up guy. He was voted the Good of
22:21
Speaker 1: the Clubhouse Award for the Saint Louis Writer's Dinner. Tickets
22:25
Speaker 1: still available. But like, I think what he brings to
22:30
Speaker 1: the rotation last year would be so helpful in twenty
22:33
Speaker 1: twenty five. And yes, I hear the clamor, Okay, if
22:39
Speaker 1: the Cardinals bring about Kyle Gibson, there's no room in
22:41
Speaker 1: the rotation. Trade Stephen Mattz. Now we're talking so perfect
22:46
Speaker 1: world Cardinals fever Dream trade and Olon Arnado trade. Stephen
22:50
Speaker 1: Matts re signed Kyle Gibson. That is I think what
22:53
Speaker 1: they're like. If I'm John mozaylack an idea that he's like, yeah,
22:56
Speaker 1: I'd be on board with that. I just I don't
22:59
Speaker 1: see the likely hood of that happening. The each day
23:02
Speaker 1: that Nolan is not traded is another day that increases
23:06
Speaker 1: the odds of all these guys signing elsewhere the Baltimore
23:08
Speaker 1: Orioles need a picture. Kyle Gibson was great there too,
23:11
Speaker 1: really liked, really well, liked, really receive in Baltimore, they also,
23:15
Speaker 1: you know, have missed out on a ton of pictures.
23:18
Speaker 1: So I don't think Kyle Gibson will be available when
23:21
Speaker 1: it comes time for the Cardinals to spend money, but
23:24
Speaker 1: I would love it if he was.
23:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, you have to imagine if Baltimore is interested in
23:27
Speaker 3: a guy like Charlie Morton, they certainly have to be
23:30
Speaker 3: interested in a guy like Kyle Gibson.
23:33
Speaker 2: And I agree with you.
23:34
Speaker 3: I think he would be a great fit to come
23:35
Speaker 3: back into that clubhouse. Shameless plug Saint Louis Baseball Riders
23:40
Speaker 3: dinner tickets selling out fast, Get yours now, come see us?
23:44
Speaker 2: Am I hearing? Is Kyle going to be joining us?
23:46
Speaker 2: Is he receiving an award as well?
23:48
Speaker 1: Yes, he's on our rewards list. So I mean, what
23:51
Speaker 1: more could you ask for? Right January nineteenth, downtown Saint Louis.
23:55
Speaker 1: Maybe the snow will melt hang out with Kyle Gibson.
23:59
Speaker 1: Meal doesn't get any better than that.
24:02
Speaker 3: It could potentially be Yeah, and it's coming up quick
24:07
Speaker 3: next weekend.
24:07
Speaker 2: Am I right? Next weekend?
24:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, next weekend, next weekend.
24:11
Speaker 3: We're going, Yeah, we're getting getting together up till that point.
24:15
Speaker 3: Depending on what happens between now and then, maybe be
24:18
Speaker 3: the most exciting event that happens this offseason for the
24:20
Speaker 3: Saint Louis Cardinals. So pretty big deal.
24:25
Speaker 1: In the sixteenth fifth Annual Saint Louis Baseball Writers Inner
24:29
Speaker 1: is the place to be the hot topic of the
24:32
Speaker 1: off season. Wow, look how far we've come to Trevor.
24:35
Speaker 1: What a time to be alive.
24:37
Speaker 3: Hey, they the fans should be thankful they have us.
24:42
Speaker 1: Honestly, and you know what I think we'll I think
24:45
Speaker 1: we'll deliver. We'll put on a show. It should be
24:47
Speaker 1: really fun though, all jokes aside. Ozzie Smith will be
24:50
Speaker 1: receiving the highest honor we offer with the ninet eighty
24:54
Speaker 1: five team. Then all championship team will be recognized as well.
24:56
Speaker 1: Bryan Helsley will be the Saint Louis Baseball Man of
24:59
Speaker 1: the Year, of Mason Rookie of the Year, Brett Brendan
25:02
Speaker 1: Donovan come Back Player of the Year, and we'll have
25:05
Speaker 1: a ton of mighty legal awards to give out as well.
25:07
Speaker 1: So it should be a really fun time. Tickets are
25:09
Speaker 1: still available, but not many, so buy them today. Hopefully
25:13
Speaker 1: we'll see you there, Trevor. We will be reunited in
25:16
Speaker 1: less than two weeks. Winter warm Up coming on hot,
25:19
Speaker 1: so hopefully it actually does warm up, because if I
25:22
Speaker 1: step foot and eight inches of snow in Saint Louis,
25:24
Speaker 1: I'm going to be upset.
25:26
Speaker 2: Yeah.
25:26
Speaker 3: I don't think we've ever had warm weather, and all
25:29
Speaker 3: the years that I've attended the Winter warm Up, it's
25:31
Speaker 3: always been relatively cold or freezing cold. So don't get
25:35
Speaker 3: your hopes up too, Hi, Katie.
25:38
Speaker 1: I know, I know, very sad, but we'll make it work.
25:42
Speaker 1: You can follow us on Twitter at card Territory. Like
25:45
Speaker 1: can subscribe to our page on YouTube, find us on
25:47
Speaker 1: Spotify and Apple. You know the drill. We I'll be
25:51
Speaker 1: back on for Friday with a special guest that I'm
25:55
Speaker 1: looking forward to announcing later, and trev will be back
25:57
Speaker 1: next week. We hope we'll have some news for you
26:01
Speaker 1: by then. But until then, each Trever Wasenthal, I'm Katie
26:04
Speaker 1: who thanks as always for joining. We will talk soon.