The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night, taking back sole ownership of first place in the National League Central Division. That's real nice, but what's next?
As the final day of July turns over, now is the time for the Cardinals to make an impact move at the deadline. No more left-hander yard sale pickups. No fretting. No media broad strokes. Always. Be. Closing. Cardinals.
More directly, I am looking at the architect of the operation, Mr. John Mozeliak. A short ago, the President of Baseball Operations challenged the team to do better. They responded by winning nine of their past 12 games. The ball should be in his court right now.
Why? The past three years, they've refused to make a real big roster changing move and guess what happened next: no playoffs. While they may be in first place this morning, this team doesn't have the legs for a deep playoff run. And if Bill DeWitt Jr. was being honest last winter, this team doesn't just want to retire with a shiny record and wave a "we did alright" flag around; they want playoff action.
Well, go get it done.
A starting pitcher is what is truly needed. The offense has picked up steam and is scoring runs over a month-long stretch. A healthy Marcell Ozuna will only help. A healthy Matt Carpenter and Yadier Molina shouldn't hurt either. The bullpen could use a boost, but it could also use another starter to trim its hours back to part-time instead of 3-4 arms a night.
Trevor Bauer has joined the division, albeit unofficially as of the middle of the night. He's headed to Cincinnati, taking his football-powered arm to Ohio for some fiery performances. The Cardinals will face him twice in August, so let's hope they have someone other than Michael Wacha to oppose him.
That's right, on a day where the team should have been wheeling and dealing, they announced that Wacha is getting his 16th shot at starting. This time, it could be a yoga-infused hot limb bath for his right arm ... who really knows what spin you'll get? It shouldn't happen. They'll ship Jedd Gyorko out of town like a half-pound of Boar's Head but keep inserting Wacha into the rotation. Funny business.
Go get Noah Syndergaard. Maybe I should shout it on Market Street. If it takes Dylan Carlson or Nolan Gorman, then pull the trigger. There's NO guarantee both those guys will pan out and be perennial All Stars. Syndergaard is young, talented, and could thrive on a team that isn't headed downhill. The Mets just acquired Marcus Stroman, so they have some pitching to spare. Syndergaard, as I wrote Monday, would change this rotation in a heartbeat. Oh, for all the Bauer rioters, "Thor" is great on Twitter. Cheeky and funny like Dan Haren.
Robbie Ray? Yeah, sure. He's not as strong as Bauer or Syndergaard, but still a formidable pitcher who could help the club avoid more Wacha-Ponce induced grenade innings. One reason to love Ray are THREE straight seasons of 12 strikeouts per-nine-innings. He's got a lifetime 3.95 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), and one very good season. A move to the National League could benefit him, as would a team-up with Mike Maddux.
Zack Greinke may seem like a sore subject after so many broken 'talks," but the 35-year-old still pitches like an ace, so let's look at it again. He's like what Adam Wainwright could have been without an Achilles Heel tear maybe. Greinke is guaranteed $35 million each of the next two seasons, but Arizona may throw some of that in to delete his overall anchor of financial weight from their payroll. He'd be a true display of "going for it" from the front office. Again, the Cardinals are on his no trade list, which could be leverage-based or dislike-based. He may want an extension, which would be nuts since he'll be 37 when his current one is up.
There are other guys. Tanner Roark won't blow anyone away with his pitching but could be a nice add. Mike Minor is a quality arm having a career season and is locked up through 2020, which could make his price tag high. Zach Wheeler is a good arm worth adding, sitting right next to Ray in the enthusiasm department. Wheeler carries 4.03 strikeouts to walks ratio and has pitched 185 innings twice in his career, so he'd be a nice get. He's a free agent in November.
Look, any quality arm is going to have a steep price. You can't get a good pitcher without giving something up. It's impossible for fans to have both a great incoming starter and all the prospects in tow. It's time for the Cardinals to make a push, because of the roster changeover happening this winter and the way they are playing. A starter could put them in line to be division favorites. A big-time starter could make them pennant contenders. It's that simple.
If they do nothing major today, they won't win anything this season. Mark it down.
The team has responded to Mozeliak's request to play better. The ball is in his court now. What is he going to do? We have under 12 hours to find out.
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