As I mentioned in my last post, the Cardinals bullpen has reached somewhat of a low point. And by somewhat I mean a disaster. And by disaster I mean that the team’s playoff run hinges on the effectiveness of the bullpen. As of late, the team has been linked to the likes of Brian Fuentes, George Sherrill, Ron Mahay, Will Ohman and Eddie Guardado. As dominant as (most) of these pitchers have been, ownership has been reluctant to give up top prospect Colby Rasmus, as confirmed in a recent interview with majority owner Bill DeWitt. With doubt creeping into Cardinal fans’ minds after the recent sweep by the Brewers, few can predict the team’s level of activity at the trade deadline. I, luckily for you, am one of those few. The four games against the Brewers were all within the Redbirds’ reach. The biggest deficit the Cardinals had a chance to overcome was a mere three runs. With the exception of the stellar outing by CC, the bullpen blew every game for the Cardinals. That is completely unacceptable. If they blew one game, that’s fine, but to lose three games because your bullpen is made up of warm bodies and Russ Springer is unforgivable. Now, for a look at what they can do, will do, and should do:
Can Do:
Move a starter to the pen/stand pat at the deadline. The Cardinals can wait for both injured aces (Wainwright and Carpenter) to come back from their rehab stints so they can bump two players to the bullpen. This may be the best option, seeing as how one of the most likely players to be bumped will be former reliever Braden Looper. Even though Looper’s switch from reliever to starter last season was considered a success, it seems like he could better help the team from the bullpen for the rest of the season.
Make a trade. The Cardinals can also go out and trade for a lights out reliever/closer such as George Sherrill. The only problem with this is that it would take some serious prospects to acquire such a talented player. The perfect prospect the Cardinals could trade for Sherrill would be starter Jess Todd. Todd has had a dominating year, to say the least. I feel that he is the perfect trade candidate because he projects as a reliever in The Bigs. Yes, he is having a dominant year, and yes, projections can be wrong. But it is not as if he is the only Cardinal starting pitching prospect in the system. They have four prospects that should be ready to take a spot in the rotation next season. On the other hand, it is thought that Todd could be a September call-up this season, and fill a role in the depleted bullpen. Still, I think that he is the best piece of trade bait that the Cardinals have, besides Anthony Reyes. Also, it is not as if we are completely mortgaging our future for one run at the playoffs. Sherrill is under team control through 2011.
Use someone from Triple-A. Ever since Chris Perez was drafted back in 2006, he has been bred as Jason Isringhausen’s replacement. Called up in May, Perez had success as a late-innings reliever. He was recently sent down so the Cardinals could activate Randy Flores from the DL. Even though the young fireballer lost his slider and had some control problems, he cannot be much worse than Izzy and Franklin. He is not the only reliever at AAA who could be called up to revive the bullpen. There is also former catcher Jason Motte, and Mark Worrell. This trio of relievers is definitely better than the trio of relievers at the major league level (Franklin, Izzy, Flores) who are blowing games left and right.
Will Do:
· I definitely see the Cardinals going out and trading for a reliever, but nobody who will cost them a small fortune of prospects. Maybe they will go after Ron Mahay, Jimmy Gobble, Will Ohman, or they even might trade for several relievers. As good as I think Looper will be in the pen, I still think that Braden himself cannot turn around the pen, and needs the help of several other proven relievers.
Should Do:
· If the Cardinals would be able to give up a decent amount of B-level prospects and extra pieces on the major league team (Brad Thompson, Aaron Miles, Chris Duncan, Jon Jay, Daryl Jones), then I definitely see a reason for going after George Sherrill. But if they are unable to swing a deal for a lights out reliever without giving up any of the untouchable prospects such as Jaime Garcia and Colby Rasmus, then it is not worth it. Also, it doesn't seem right to go after a decent reliever whose contract is up at the end of the year. Why trade pieces of your future in a so called "rebuilding year" for a rental? That rules out Fuentes.
As you can see, I'm strongly in favor of them making a trade. I see the Redbirds doing that, but not for someone who will cost them multiple key parts of the future. Maybe Will Ohman or Jack Taschner will be wearing Cardinal Red before the week is up. I guarantee that by the end of the week, the Cardinals will have a different player closing games out. With the trade deadline fast approaching (Thursday), I will try to post as often as I can about the trade the Cardinals (hopefully) make.
0 comments:
Post a Comment