Mozeliak: "Some Changes" Coming For Cardinals, But Not A Rebuild

[G. Keenan]

Player A is O'Neil. Player B is Carlson.

They're both performing at roughly the same level this year.

So neither one can hit right-handed pitching.

Brilliant.

[WAR God]

He won’t be. He’s not starting tonight. He can’t hit right-handed pitching. It’s fine to tell the truth. I don’t think it means anything big picture. TON is always injured and might not be around much longer himself.

Player A in 72 AB vs RHP in 2023:
0.236 AVG/0.295 OBP/0.347 SLG/0.642 OPS

Player B in 115 vs RHP in 2023:
0.217 AVG/0.321 OBP/0.348 SLG/0.669 OPS

Player A is O'Neil. Player B is Carlson.

They're both performing at roughly the same level this year.

This the [expletive] that prospect hugging gets you.

I'd still take Conteras + Gorman long-term over Murphy.

I’d take Murphy.

I’d also not pay Matz, Mikolas, or Contreras, and sign Ohtani with that money.

[cardsfantx]

I must've missed Mo talking about contreras (again); from Bernie...

7. Uh-oh, here we go again. Mozeliak may be lining up a scapegoat. The same scapegoat, actually … Willson Contreras. You can’t make this junk up. When asked by the media about the catcher’s availability in trades, Mozeliak said this according to Post-Dispatch columnist Ben Frederickson: “I think we will table that until the offseason. Obviously when we look back at it in the short-term now, there are some things that need to change. Short view, it’s kind of nice what we are seeing out of (Ivan) Herrera right now. But ultimately when we start thinking about 2024 some of those things will have to be addressed in the offseason.”

This stuff requires a laugh track. If you needed more evidence that the Cardinals have experienced a collective brain drain on the baseball side, this is it. Why in the name of Tim McCarver did Mozeliak spend $87.5 million on Contreras when it was pretty much universal knowledge that Willson didn’t fit the prototype of what the Cardinals were accustomed to having at catcher? Did they not watch Contreras catch for the Cubs from 2016 through 2022? Did they not see his flaws? Why did they ignore the negatives and proceed to pay him the largest free-agent contract in franchise history for a player who wasn’t already a Cardinal? Weren’t the Cardinals aware of the obvious reservations that the Cubs had about Contreras?

This could work out. Both Contreras and Herrera can be used at DH and over the years we’ve seen plenty of two-catcher systems in the majors.

That said, Mozeliak’s untimely and intentionally vague dig at Contreras was just another reason why I question his judgment as he shifts into an unaccustomed “seller” mode.

[Lesson]

I’d take Murphy.

I’d also not pay Matz, Mikolas, or Contreras, and sign Ohtani with that money.

I'm admittedly biased, but I was calling for Contreras to be targeted and signed dating back to last August. I still think the signing could be good long-term if they deploy him correctly instead of forcing him to be someone or something that he isn't and acting as if Knizner is someone can effectively play 30-40% of the season.

As for your views regarding Matz and Mikolas, I don't disagree.

[WAR God]

I’d take Murphy.

I’d also not pay Matz, Mikolas, or Contreras, and sign Ohtani with that money.

I'm admittedly biased, but I was calling for Contreras to be targeted and signed dating back to last August. I still think the signing could be good long-term if they deploy him correctly instead of forcing him to be someone or something that he isn't and acting as if Knizner is someone can effectively play 30-40% of the season.

As for your views regarding Matz and Mikolas, I don't disagree.

If you can produce good pitching talent, you don’t have to pay big prices for middling starters. Which opens up the possibility to sign special players.

I also think Contreras is going to get traded at this rate. Those quotes from Mozeliak don’t bode well.

[WAR God]

Also, consider me surprised that the team is considering trading Carlson. He was seen as a Cardinals Way prototype. Even Arenado talked about it. Calling him a guy who takes direction, doesn’t complain, shows up for work, plays the game the right way, blah blah blah.

[haltz]

I assumed at first it was some dumb posturing but I'm genuinely perplexed as to why they feel the need to publicly name TON and sort of drag Carlson in the process in the second half of a lost season.

[Popeye_Card]

I assumed at first it was some dumb posturing but I'm genuinely perplexed as to why they feel the need to publicly name TON and sort of drag Carlson in the process in the second half of a lost season.

And then start Burleson anyway. Who doesn't really hit RHP any better than TON or Carlson, and REALLY can't hit LHP.

[cardsfantx]

Yeah MO’s gonna completely [expletive] this up isn’t he?

They can’t even seem to play the correct players that they already have on the team

[Magneto2.0]

I'm actually way more confident now then I was 2 weeks ago about Mo. He's been saying the correct things.