ST. LOUIS — It's fair to say that the St. Louis Cardinals have comfortably hit the snooze button for the past few months of hot stove action.
While other teams have engineered transactions and pulled off big trades, Bill DeWitt Jr. and John Mozeliak haven't played a hand of Texas hold 'em past the flop so far this offseason.
Waiting on a numbers crunch or basically accepting their 2021 fate and payroll limit, the Cardinals haven't made a single addition to the roster. The only "move" they made was not signing on the dotted line for back-to-back Gold Glove winner Kolten Wong to return to second base this April at Busch. He's a free agent, just like Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina.
Mozeliak told Tom Ackerman on KMOX Sunday that the team was still trying to retain the services of their franchise's most proud battery. But that's generally been the word for the past couple of months. Molina posted on Instagram that "it's time" and Mozeliak posturing on local radio doesn't equal transactions. (But please do some of those!)
Unless a move happens while this article is in flight, here are five areas of moderate concern for the Cardinals this year:
About that rotation?
If the Cardinals don't bring back Wainwright, who looked as good as any current Cardinals starter in 2020, then call five names out right now that sound dangerous.
Jack Flaherty, a fully-recovered Miles Mikolas, Kwang Hyun Kim, and who else? Austin Gomber sounds good in theory, but can his shoulder hold up for an entire season? Is the team trusting him with 28-32 starts this year? Daniel Ponce de Leon is good in short doses, but overall a question mark when it comes to role status. Johan Oveido will gladly contend for a spot, but how many question marks do you want in a regular season? Until Carlos Martinez goes through a season without making the news for non-baseball reasons, should he be considered in the running, or is he a trade proposal without a send date? Alex Reyes and Ryan Helsley are most likely bullpen weapons, as is Mr. Genesis Cabrera.
Also, which Mikolas is showing up?
Is Jake Woodford ready? John Gant should only start in a pinch. Dakota Hudson is down for the count this year.
The Cardinals need assured quality starts. Love or hate the stat, but that's all you should really ask for from your 4th and 5th starters. Without Wainwright anchoring one of the key spots in the upper-portion of the rotation, someone (or two) needs to step up. And I mean step up for a whole season this time.
Who's catching baseball games this year?
As this sentence is being typed, the Cardinals haven't reached an agreement with the catcher who has anchored the backstop since I married my wife at Orlando Gardens back in 2005.
Without Molina, the team is seemingly at a crossroads, but carrying more freedom in the process. Instead of finding a trade to attach their younger catcher - Andrew Knizner in this case - to, the Cards could see what he's got in an unofficial transition (or, wait for the big contracts to fall away) season. By going that route, the team would eschew assured production and a pitching doctor who has nursed hundreds of young minds during their professional debuts.
In recent months, I have taken a hardened approach to the team's dealings with Molina, specifically pointing a finger at the player for dragging negotiations into the public eye and claiming the Cardinals aren't paying him what he's owed. $60 million over three years begs to differ, Mr. Molina. The catching position is key for this team. Without the safety net of their future Hall of Famer, the Cardinals are in no man's land.
Who is your starting outfield?
Or basically, "do you know who Lane Thomas is," because he's not the team cook. The outfield, a weak-hitting establishment of professionals "projected" to extend the mediocrity, is the biggest question mark. That's why it's hitting third in this article's lineup. It will tell you what the team is doing this year in the playoffs. Are they watching, merely contending or gunning for flag No. 12?
Bringing back a couple of aging franchise legends doesn't make the Cardinals any more of a threat than last year's barely-in ballclub.
Fact: Dylan Carlson should start 95% of the games this season. Full stop.
So, who else? Harrison Bader has a chance of being elite defensively, but I just don't see him putting it together for 80 games, much less 162. He's a fourth outfielder on an NLCS team, but could be used lethally in a platoon with Joc Pederson, who is NOT a Cardinal yet. Tyler O'Neill was out-performed at the plate by Bader last season, but did win something the center fielder has only dreamed of, and that's a Gold Glove.
Those don't help a team score runs though, so what's happening? Dexter Fowler isn't saving the day. A few runs would suffice though.
What's happening in that bullpen?
Is Reyes a closer possibility? The old(er) issue-riddled talent could be a great setup man for returning closer, Jordan Hicks. That young man, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, should be the one pitcher outside of Flaherty who should have exactly one role this year. Hicks needs to close baseball games. Forget starting. The team has 25 wanna-be MLB starters. A lights out arm in the ninth is needed.
Giovanny Gallegos can slot in during the seventh or eighth inning, depending on need. He needs to be a "whatever situation, give me the ball" type moving forward. The one bullpen arm who doesn't need a role, perhaps? Possibly. But the order, and where Helsley fits in along with regulars like Andrew Miller, is the concern. Who is doing what? And whose job is Carlos taking this spring?
Can Matt Carpenter give the team one last ride?
I want to keep believing in Carpenter pulling another magic trick out of his pocket for the encore session. Like Tony Stark figuring out the time travel (in movie terms at least) during "Avengers: Endgame," Carpenter could pull another hero moment or two out of the $18.5 million headed his way.
Unlike Fowler, Carpenter will eat bench if he struggles. We've seen it the past two years at times. But if the National League acquired the designated hitter for another season. Carpenter could focus on hitting 100% and perhaps produce a 2.0 season. While I know he saves runs at third base (Fangraphs, people, go lose an hour on that site), I don't think the additional use has helped the guy's back and general health over the past few seasons. He makes more money than I will make in a lifetime-blame the game, not the player there-but all bodies decline at their own rate.
If Carpenter pulls off that miracle-looking at his at-bats last year confirms the concern-this season, this team's chances become enhanced. Unlike most players on this roster, Carpenter can throw a team on his back for six to eight weeks. He's done it numerous times during his underrated career. All the team needs is somewhere between his 2017 and 2019 output. That's it.
Bonus Point: Attention Major League Baseball, please make a decision on the 2021 DH existence. Please, with sugar on top. The Cardinals' win total depends on it.
Bottom Line: The Cardinals are a borderline playoff team right now, much less actual participant. Without Molina and Wainwright, who were still productive baseball players last year, the team has a lot less leadership in that clubhouse and assurance in the field. Without Wong, the infield defense is weaker. The outfield still has question marks. In a nutshell, this team has 20 concerns. There are more questions than answers, ladies and gents.
What's your take? How does mine look? Message me on Twitter @buffa82, and we can talk about it.
