Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - How Bad Was Manger Oli Marmol This Season?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Love him or hate him, Ali Marmel is going to be the Cardinals manager in 2025. But should he be? Did he really do that bad of a job in 2024? Let's discuss it on today's episode of Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network,

Starting point is 00:00:27 your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Haverin and I'm a national radio sports anchor. Born and raised in the Lou and a lifetime Cardinals fan. and I'm your host for Locktown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. You can follow me on Twitter, Axe, Jadisports Radio. You can follow the podcast at L0.1 underscore Cardinals. I want to thank those of you who make Locked on Cardinals your first listen every day.

Starting point is 00:00:48 We're free and available wherever you get your podcast. You can also find us on YouTube. Like, subscribe, comment, interact with us, and hit that notification button. So you know when new episodes are posted, this is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving the best fans in baseball, all of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to you by Fandul. You can start the season with a big return on Fandall. Place your first $5 bet and you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed.

Starting point is 00:01:15 Visit Fandle.com to get started. All right. So we're going to get into some fan feedback later on in this episode, things that you guys have written to me on YouTube. But I wanted to start things off with discussing Ali Marmal, manager of your St. Louis Cardinals. Ali, it's been a bit of a roller coaster, right, over his three-year career so far. It's been tumultuous since the get-go, really, because he had to take over for a very unique situation where the Cardinals fired Mike Schilt, who was doing a pretty good job at the helm of the team.

Starting point is 00:01:54 He was winning ball games. He had won a manager of the year award. He was up for the award again, the year he got canned. His one knock really was that he didn't really have a lot of success in the playoffs. Then the philosophical differences came down and then he was out, just like that, which was pretty jarring and unexpected for, I think everyone involved. I mean, obviously it caught Mike Schilt off guard. He did not expect that, but it was a decision that was made.

Starting point is 00:02:27 And I think if Schilt had been losing more than he was winning, like if it was a more around a 500 record, kind of like it was this past year, I think it would have made his firing a little more easier for all of us. I don't think we would have understood it still, but it would have been an easier pill to swallow. But because it had to do with things that were off the field, it became confusing to fans. So in steps, Ali Marmel, right? 35 years old, the youngest manager in Major League Baseball to take over a team that had playoff aspirations. obviously, but it was also just chock full of veteran leadership that year in 2022.

Starting point is 00:03:10 You know, he had Yadi and he had Oaenao and Goldie and Nader, in pool holes, and they win 93 games. And they have that quick exit against the Phillies and that opening round where, you know, Housley comes in and ends up blowing that lead. And that was coming off the injured finger, remember? And that had happened at the end of the year. So we didn't know how healthy he was. and it became a mess in the Phillies and taking off and having a big run in the postseason that year. Next year, a lot of changes, right? Gone are the hitting coach, Jeff Albert and his veteran pitching coach, Mike Maddox,

Starting point is 00:03:48 despite the Cardinals at least telling us that they wanted to bring those guys back. Both of them decided to go elsewhere. Gone were your team captains and the soul of the team in Yaddy and Alps. Robert. Wayno comes back, but he's a shell of his former self due to injuries. And you saw that at the end of 2022, where he just fell apart. And then it just never really got any better, except for a couple of games here and there, specifically is 200th win. Obviously went well. The pitching was a mess altogether. The team ERA was 4.79. They had the second highest batting average against that year at 276. You had the new catcher in Wilson Contreras, coming in, but you know, that whole mess of like, well, we're going to stop them from catching. We're going to talk about moving into left field. I really don't feel like those were Ali decisions being made there. I feel like that was coming from above. The offense was decent in 23. But Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson, hurt most of the year. Goldie regresses from those MVP numbers, which we knew where it was probably going to happen. But you ended up with guys like Taylor

Starting point is 00:05:01 Mottor and Richie Pulasios and Trace Barrera, Oscar Mercado. These are some of the names that were filling in for a decent amount of time on that team. It was really bad. And then they end up having to trade. Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton, Jordan Hicks, Henneseson Cabrera, all of them get shipped out. And to me, this was actually kind of the beginning of this rebuild. I know that we think that it's starting in 2025. But I feel like that isn't really the case. Like when you go back and look at it, I feel like the rebuild started when they started trading those guys away and began here in 2024, really. 2025 is going to be the start of a bigger youth movement and new directions in the front office. Yes.

Starting point is 00:05:48 And of course, an upgrade in player development and what they're going to do to make that better for the franchise. Yes, that is all starting. But as far as the talent on the field, the rebuild was kind of started. this year. Goldie's contract was coming to an end at the end of this year, you know, signing veteran starters to essentially one-year deals with options for a second in Gibson and Len. They knew that the Hellsley contract stuff was coming up. That wasn't a surprise. Heck, you heard Bill DeWitt Jr. mentioned in the press conference how they started so many young guys and how this was something they should hang their hat on this past year. Wynn, Gorman, Walker, Ciani, Victor Scott,

Starting point is 00:06:28 Yvonne Herrera, Pahez, Sejacy, Berlison. These are like the positional players that they had to start. This is not even talking about the pitching staff and stuff, all of those guys, 25 and younger. And with the veteran pitching that they signed and traded for, Kittredge, one year left on his deal, Middleton, essentially a one year deal. I think they were just kind of hoping that they could squeeze out a competitive team in 2024, be better than what 2023 was, obviously, was the goal.

Starting point is 00:06:58 but not necessarily a World Series caliber team. And this was kind of the year to get the rebuild put in motion. At least that's how I'm looking at it now in hindsight, obviously. With all of that going on, plus the regression of Goldie and Aronado offensively at the play, the injuries to Contreras, the lack of development in Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker. And this team still won 83 games. and finish second in the division. Like, how can you say by,

Starting point is 00:07:32 but with all of this turmoil that was going on and still went 83 games, I don't know how we can say that Ali Marmal did a horrible job as the manager. I just don't see that. Now, as I've mentioned before, and we talked with Jeff Jones last week, the lineup stuff can sometimes be an issue. You know, I wanted to see more Herrera than Paw He said.

Starting point is 00:07:58 for offensive purposes with Contreras out because offense was the real problem this year. His loyalty to Goldie having to bat high in the order for most of the year when clearly he shouldn't be. You know, that was an issue. But I think more of that is just Ali being like, hey, this is our guy. This was our MVP just two years ago. We believe that he's going to eventually bust out and be the guy we're used to at some point. problem is that never happened, right? It didn't happen. It didn't matter when you, where you put

Starting point is 00:08:33 them and what, it just didn't happen until much later in the year. By that point, it didn't matter anymore anyway. I mean, every manager has debatable moves in game. I mean, you can say it about anybody about going to certain pitchers or hitters in different situations. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't. And you can call him an iPad manager if you want, but that's what the Cardinals the front office want him to do. They want him to go with the numbers and the analytics and not just a hunch or go with his gut, if you will. And I know that bothers a lot of people,

Starting point is 00:09:11 but that's the way the organization wants things run. Now, if you want to disagree with that, that's above Ali's head. He's just doing what he's told to. He doesn't run the show. He's told how he's supposed to run things down here and then he does it the way he sees fit, but he's going off of what the front office wants him to do.

Starting point is 00:09:33 And with all things considered, I'm sorry, but I feel like he did a pretty decent job. I mean, that's a lot of crap going on there. It seemed like he and Daniel DeSkalso had a very good relationship in the dugout. Things with Dusty Blake were better in year two. Yes, the hitting stunk, but I hardly put that at the feet of Ali Mar, I mean, if he had guys hitting, he would have put them in the lineup.

Starting point is 00:10:01 They didn't have a whole lot of choices most of the year. So I'm going to go ahead and say, Ali gets a B grade for managing this year. And I'm not doing B minuses and B pluses and all that garbage. It's ABCDF is what I'm going with. And I'm going to give Ali a B because there was a lot of nonsense going on again this year. There was a lot of nonsense going on the year before. And I think it swallowed that I must. up. And I think this year he did a whole lot better. Now, I'm not the only guy that feels this way

Starting point is 00:10:33 that Ali wasn't as bad as people make them out to be. You know, we had Jeff Jones on. He was like, no, he's not really that bad at all. I saw somebody that I think a lot of us read and a lot of us trust what he says, the great Bernie Mickles wrote at Scoops with Danny Mac.com about Ali. And I'll read you a piece of it here. He says, let's take a look at Ali Marmills, first three seasons as Cardinals manager and compare them to the legendary Tony LaRusa's first three seasons with St. Louis Cardinals, 1996 and 1998. Winning percentage. Ollie Marmels at 508, Tony LaRusa 502. Postseason appearances, both of them have won.

Starting point is 00:11:17 Losing seasons, both of them have won. Division titles, both of them have won. And Bernie says, why is this interesting to me? because many Cardinal fans tell me that Marmal is the worst manager who ever sat in a dugout. And of course, Larusa is enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for being one of the best managers in baseball history. So I'm not sure why one of the top managers in MLB history and the worst manager in the history of all mankind had very similar records in their first three seasons in the St. Louis job. And Tony LaRusa had more talent to work with. I mean, Tony's face is all over Bush Stadium.

Starting point is 00:11:56 It's not an easy job. And you also got to remember that there was a changing of the guard. You know, Tony LaRosa came in and had guys, you know, like Albert Fools coming up, out of here Molina and the Adam Wainwrights and stuff. But, you know, we're not quite sure if Ollie's going to have, people like that. We're hoping that guys like Gorman and Walker and Quinn Matthews and so. these other guys are going to be big pieces moving forward. But I'm with Bernie on this.

Starting point is 00:12:26 I just don't think he's as bad as people believe he is. Maybe you don't like him as a person. Maybe you don't like his attitude in press conferences and stuff like that. And if that's the case, then there's no way to change your mind because you just don't like the guy. And that's okay. That's you're right. But as far as a manager on the field, I think he just kind of rolled with things that first year, second year, all hell broke loose, and it got the best of them. And I think he improved on a lot of things here in his third year and was better altogether. I really do. Now, you don't have to agree with me. If you think I'm an idiot, maybe I'm being too kind. Am I blind to something else that you were seeing about, Ali, that I'm not picking up?

Starting point is 00:13:14 Please, by all means, right in the comments section, I would love to change my mind. If I'm saying it wrong. I'm doing it wrong. Change my mind. Tell me what Ali Marmal does that's so bad that makes him just a terrible manager for this franchise and any team in Major League Baseball. I would love to hear it. Give me your grades and why so we can discuss that in a further episode because I just don't see it. I'm sorry. I don't think he's as bad as everybody thinks. And I think if he has even a couple of guys in this lineup, be better than they were. Golden. in Oranato. I think this is a much better team. And we're talking about closer to 85, 87 wins than down here at the 83 that they ended up finishing with. So I don't, give me your thoughts.

Starting point is 00:14:02 Let me know. Up next, we're going to do some fan feedback because I like hearing from you. And we need to have some discussions from time to time. So we'll have some fan feedback next on a couple of these past episodes where I talked about the best and the worst of the year. Your opinions coming up on Locked on curtains. Hey, NFL fans. You can start the season. and with a big return on Fandul, America's number one sports book. You know, sometimes you'll be watching a game. You just kind of get a hunch of something that it might go down. You know, last night, last night.

Starting point is 00:14:35 I'm watching the Yankees game. And Aaron Judge comes up, and I just was like, oh, he just looks kind of locked in. I feel like this is something's coming. This feels like a moment for me. And boom, rocking the white gloves, pops one over the center field wall. two run blasts helped separate things in that game. Yankees end up taking a two to nothing series lead. So that's like a moment where you're like,

Starting point is 00:15:01 ooh, I kind of got a hunch on something here. So whichever sport it is that you're watching at the time, it doesn't necessarily have to be baseball, but it can be football, it can be hockey. You've got everything right at your fingertips with the Fandual app. When you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats. You can view live, play by play,

Starting point is 00:15:17 and so much more on the same page where you place your bets. And you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets, guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. That's $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet at fandole.com. That's fandle.com. Thanks for making a lot. It's your first list in every day. Leave your comments on YouTube as well as on Twitter X anytime you want.

Starting point is 00:15:44 Your feedback always welcome and encourage. So this week, we've already done a couple of episodes where we pointed out the good and the bad from this past season. So let's see what you guys had to say about it. I got a couple of really, really interesting replies. I mean, we got a bunch of them, all right, but I can't read them all, obviously. But I read them all. I just can't, you know, talk about all of them on each episode.

Starting point is 00:16:10 But this one stood out to me from Daniel. He wrote a very nice, intelligent reply. So I wanted to give him some credit here. He says, I think as far as the rotation goes, the Cardinals were banking on Michael's, having a bounce back season like he had in 2022. And Matt's being healthy for once, L.O.L. and having a season like 2021. I believe they got exactly what they wanted out of Gibson and Gray for the most part.

Starting point is 00:16:32 And I'm sure they wanted a little more innings out of Lynn, but in his 23 total starts, not too shabby. The Cardinals were fortunate to have the combo of Palante, Fetty, and McGreevy to make up for one pretty damn good starter for 33 total start. So overall, they have actually had a decent rotation in my opinion. He also goes on to compliment the bullpen in this one. He does say that the Cardinals ignore the offense this offseason, though. and it came back to bite them.

Starting point is 00:16:58 The offense of 2023 was decent, but a few vets had declining numbers. The Cardinals signed Carbenter and Crawford, who are both at the end of their careers. That's all they got for office in the offseason for the 2024 season, L.O.L. Now I know certain young players stepped up, but what if they didn't? The Cardinals should have signed at least one right-handed bat from free agency because they were left-handed bat heavy, in my opinion.

Starting point is 00:17:21 There were no guarantees that Walker would hit like he did in 2023, So why not get a cheap backup for insurance and free agency? That guy could have been former Cardinal Randall Gritchick. I know another former Cardinal, L.O.L.L. But it's a Cardinals move that they missed. He points out how well Randall Gritchick did against lefties and how he hit with runners in scoring position, something obviously the Cardinals struggled with mightily. He continues by saying all the while playing very good defense and mostly right field and some left field with Gritchick.

Starting point is 00:17:52 Who knows the Cardinals may have won five to six more games. for a wild card. So first off, thank you, Daniel. Thank you so much for that response. Well written, well put. I like that you're lighthearted about it. And in hindsight, and in hindsight, yeah, the card will certainly miss the boat on adding to someone like a Randall Gritchick,

Starting point is 00:18:12 who was a solid piece for the Diamondbacks this year and didn't cost all that much money. It was $2 million. And then there's a mutual option coming up for this year at $6 million. $6 million, if Richiex worth $6 million to the Diamondbacks, maybe he will be. I don't know because he filled in admirably for them when they needed him to. My thing is, is it a lot went wrong with the Cardinals roster and in the outfield that I don't think they ever saw coming. I think they were genuinely caught off guard.

Starting point is 00:18:44 I think the Cardinals felt coming into spring training that they had enough offense in the outfield and certainly had enough bodies in general, you know, when you, when you, when you go when the offseason started and, you know, Gritchick signed in February. So before spring training started or anything. And if you remember, the Cardinals had just a ridiculous amount of names, right? So you had Lars Neupar. This was going to be your starters. It was supposed to be Lars Newpar.

Starting point is 00:19:12 Tommy Edmund and Jordan Walker. And then you had Dylan Carlson. There's four. Then you have Brennan, Donovan, five. Alec Berluson, six, Michael Ciani, seven, Victor Sky. eight. You had eight dudes in the outfield already for you. Now, I'm not sure. And here's where things get a little weird is because I'm not sure if the cartels knew exactly how bad Tommy Edmund's wrist injury really was. Because I think they thought he was going to be ready for

Starting point is 00:19:42 spring training. And when he wasn't and he was having issues and there were still stiff and there there's problems there. I don't think they planned for that. I'll assume they didn't know that that was going to happen or they might have prepared themselves a little bit better for him being out as long as he was. But even if they did, I think they still had faith in Dylan Carlson still and Lars Newport, whether that's to their detriment or not, you know, but I think those are the two guys that were like, well, they can cover center field, right? One of them can. The other one will stand left and Walker still going to be right. We're going to be fine.

Starting point is 00:20:18 you had Walker, Donovan, and Burleson that could play the quarters. So you're still looking at it. And you still got five guys deep. And this is before you get to Siani and Victor Scott. But then you get the injuries to both Newt and Dylan Carlson in spring training. And that just kind of ruined that whole idea. So where you thought you might have three guys available to play center field, all of them are gone.

Starting point is 00:20:44 All of them get hurt. And it was a real bummer for, for Dylan. and Carlson, if you remember, because he was having an excellent spring. Like he started off a little cold and then things started picking up. And he was mashing, dude. And he looked good and he looked like he started to believe in himself again. And then him and Walker collide in was it the second to last day of spring training against the Cubs in Arizona? And poof, it's gone.

Starting point is 00:21:11 It's all gone. And the other side of it, too, because you mentioned, you know, Randall Gritchick's a right-handed bat, obviously, and the Cardinals could have used a right-handed bat. But those are your three right-handed bats who got hurt, too. You lose three right-handed bats from the outfield. Two of them to injury, I'm sorry, two of them to injury. The other one just ends up not playing well. You lose both your switch hitters and Tommy Edmund and Dylan Carlson,

Starting point is 00:21:38 and then Walker struggle. So those are three right-handed hitters that you expected to either be starting in your outfield or at least one of those guys would be on the bench. And they're all gone. They're all gone. And you're left with new lefty, Donovan, lefty, Burleson, lefty, Sehani, lefty, Victor Scott. Guess what? Lefty, it debilitated this lineup from the get-go. And then as you mentioned, having the bench with two veteran left-handed hitters who can't play outfield and help the cause either. you were left with Yvonne Herrera as your right-handed bat off the bench. That was it.

Starting point is 00:22:20 You were kind of screwed. It was a cluster. It was a mess. And it's something that I don't think anybody saw coming. Like you can maybe lose one or two guys that in the, you didn't think you'd lose all three right-handed hitters and two of your guys that you thought were going to be able to play center field. Three of them, really, because the new bar was the other guy that you thought could play center field.

Starting point is 00:22:44 So it was mute. It was admin. and it was Carlson and all of them out of the lineup right away. So it just started things off badly. So I don't even think they even thought they needed somebody like a Randall Gritchick until they did. And by then, everybody's been signed already. I want to get to another one. We're getting short on time here already.

Starting point is 00:23:05 But I want to get to another one, another fan field, which is not quite as nice as Daniel was. We'll get to that next here on Locked on Cardinals. Game time is an authorized ticket market. in place of Major League Baseball that makes getting tickets faster and easier with killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat, and their lowest price guaranteed. Now, game time takes the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets, but it ain't just baseball boys and girls. New, no, no, no.

Starting point is 00:23:36 They got you covered in everything. Save up 60% off by buying last minute tickets for all of your favorite sports, NFL, college football, NHL, as well as concerts, comedy, theater. anything that requires a ticket is probably on game time. Like there's a good chance it's on there and they're going to have the best prices for you with those flash deals, the zone deals, the all-in pricing. Take the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets and all of your tickets to your favorite events with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Again, terms apply, create an account, redeemed code, locked on MLB, that's L-O-C-E-O-N-M-L-B.

Starting point is 00:24:18 be for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute ticket's lowest price guarantee. Price picks is the best place to get real money sports action with over 10 million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings. Price picks has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all. You just pick more or less on at least two players for a shot to win up to 100 times your cash and run your game all season long on prize picks. You can out one up to 100 times your money on price picks with as little as four. correct fix. Price fix is the only real money daily fantasy platform with an injury insurance policy. So your lineup stay and play even if one of your players gets injured, which is obviously a big deal when it comes to fantasy football.

Starting point is 00:25:06 Because guys are dropping like flies in the NFL these days. If your player leaves in the first half doesn't return, price fix keeps your lineup live. Price Fix is also the best place to get real money sports action by joining over 10 million users. and you can sign up today. They invented the flex play, which is a big deal, which means you can still cash out if your lineup isn't perfect. You can double your money, even if one of your picks doesn't hit. Sign up today, get $50 instantly.

Starting point is 00:25:32 When you play $5, you don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus, it's guaranteed. Prize picks also offers weekly promotions. They can lead to big payouts like Taco Tuesday. Each Tuesday price fix, discount, select player projections up to 25% to provide even more value. for your lineups. So download the app today. Use the code locked on MLB. Get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Download the app today. Use the code locked on MLB, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-M-LB to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks, run your game. Thank you for making Locktown Cartnell's your

Starting point is 00:26:20 first listen today. Be sure to check out our Lockton MLB podcast, our host Sully. taking you through the playoffs. We're down to the final four. Had a nice conversation with Sully yesterday, talking about movies and Goodfellows and stuff like that. We barely talked about baseball at all. But very entertaining guy if you haven't watched before, check it out, Locked on MLB podcast,

Starting point is 00:26:42 part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. So Mr. Dark Art says all the pitchers, they signed last off season were hits. That's right. He says hits. It's what they did. do that was wrong. I was hoping that they would have traded Newport, Michaelis, Matt, Edmund,

Starting point is 00:27:01 and O'Neill last offseason. They need to put Herrera at first base or Berlusenter first. Those two, Contreras, Donovan, win. Those are your best hitters. Ciani will improve. And Pahas is a solid catcher. They need to trade Aronado and let Goldie walk. All right. Thank you, Mr. Darkhart. Some of that stuff they did. You know, they did trade. Tyler O'Neill last offseason, the problem was they didn't get dittily squat in return, which was a real bummer because I'm a big fan of Tyler O'Ne. I love Tyler O'Neill. Whether you agreed with what went on between him and O'I, you know, I think they both could have handled it better,

Starting point is 00:27:43 specifically O'I, he's a guy in charge. I think he should have handled that situation much better in 2023. And I hated that they felt that they both had to go their separate ways. and it being the fact that O'Neill was hurt almost all year in 2023 didn't help the calls when you are trying to unload somebody like that because people are like, well, he's always hurt. He's fragile. You guys have a problem with him. Why the hell would we want him? Red Sox were like, all right, we'll give you a couple of pictures. And in return, you get Nick Robertson and you get Victor Santos. Now, jury's still out on Santos. He was at AAA this year. Didn't have the greatest numbers. But Robertson, not even with the team anymore, right? He's in Toronto now. He's a Blue Jay. So not great, not great on the return. Edmund, they ended up moving to secure Fetty and FAM at the deadline. Plus, they wanted to swap out the salaries of Edmund and Fetty because they knew they were going to need Fetty for 2025.

Starting point is 00:28:42 So it made sense. It sucked. I'm enjoying watching Tommy Edmund with the Dodgers. And he's doing Tommy Edmund things, man. We know he's a good ball player. And we like him a lot. Michaelis and Matt's make a lot of money. and they're not very good.

Starting point is 00:28:58 You know, the Carl was going to have to eat a bunch of money. We've talked about this before. If they hope to move Michaelis or Matt's at some point, they're going to have to eat some money. Both of them, well, Michaelis is done after this year. Off the top, I'm trying to remember if Matt's is one more year after this or not. But either way, I think he's done after this year, too. But, you know, there's not a lot of value there.

Starting point is 00:29:22 I mean, I guess there'd be more value for, for Mattel's. somebody wants to put him in the bullpen if they don't want to use them as a starter. But it's going to be difficult if they're going to unload those guys. It's going to be tough. Newt still has some trade value, but I doubt the Cardinals are ready to punt on him yet. You know, he was looking better at the end of the year, had that conversation apparently with Ali about what he wants future to look like and was hitting very well at the end of the season.

Starting point is 00:29:48 He doesn't make a lot of money yet. So you don't really trying to get rid of him. You saw how long they stuck with Carlson, right? Herrera to first is an idea that has definitely been kicked around. It's hard for me to not have his bat in the lineup because he's such a good hitter. You know, say what you will about what he can do behind the plate. Maybe that's the smart move sticking him over at first. Maybe that's the idea is to have him and Burley at first base and Luke and Baker coming off the bench.

Starting point is 00:30:17 Maybe that's something. Contreras, I think, is likely back. Donnie and win are going to close. They might win gold gloves and finalists. So they're not going anywhere. Trading Nato, that's tricky, in my opinion. No trade clause. The amount of money he's going to make.

Starting point is 00:30:34 Coming off a tough year offensively, defensively, obviously. He's a finalist for a goal glove as well. But it obviously appears that we're going to let Paul Goldschman walk in free agency. I truly hope they don't have to trade Wilson Nato or Sunny Gray. But we'll see. We'll see. Still not sure how far payroll is going to have to. drop, but if one of them is shipped, I still think Sunny Gray is the one that goes, despite

Starting point is 00:31:00 the price tag that he carries over the next couple of years, I just think one of those big market teams are going to just laugh. They're like, what's it? What are you willing? 60 million? Okay. We'll take care of that. We don't care. And they can just slide him right in as a number two or number three behind whatever ace they already got going. So I didn't, he's got a lot more value, I would say him, and then Nato and then Contreras. Because you saw how he wasn't exactly the hottest commodity for teams in the offseason before he signed with the Cardinal. So it kind of gives you an idea of how the league feels about him as a catcher. As a DH, I don't know, maybe they may think more of them

Starting point is 00:31:43 that way. But I don't know, I'm hoping none of them. I hope none of them get traded. And then they can build around those three over the last couple of years of their career. And then they move on and, you know, right off into the sunset with some World Series, right? You know, that would be nice. All right, I have gone long here today. I apologize for it, but I love getting feedback from you guys. It's something we're going to do a lot of in the off season here. So keep your comments, your suggestions, good or bad, keep them coming to me.

Starting point is 00:32:11 Thank you for making Lockton Cardinals your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on Twitter X at L0 underscore Cardinals and a JD Sports Radio. If you haven't subscribed on YouTube yet, do me a solid. Hit it up on the channel. you're not there already, hit the like and subscribe button. We're pushing for 11,000 subscribers need your help because you're the best fans in baseball for a reason.

Starting point is 00:32:32 And I will see you next time on Lockdown Carpins.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - How Bad Was Manger Oli Marmol This Season?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.