Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Is This Another John Mozeliak Blunder Or Was Trading Tommy Edman The Right Thing To Do?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Here we go again. Former Cardinals finding massive success in the playoffs elsewhere and not in St. Louis. Add another couple of logs to the fire. That is the fan base's disdain for John Moselox. You are locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Haffern 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 Lockdown Cardinals. part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. You can follow me on Twitter, eggs at JD Sports Radio and follow the podcast at L0 underscore Cardinals.

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Starting point is 00:01:01 This episode is brought to you by Prize. Download the app today and use code locked on MLB to win $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. Price fix, run your game. So how many of you following the trade of Tommy Edmund to the Dodgers at the deadline this past year posted or said something implying that Tommy Edmund would go on to have a huge role with L.A. and be a force in the playoffs. Just like, you know, guys like Randy or Roserena and Adolice Garcia in recent years. Good. Raise your hand. Go ahead. If you felt that way and you made some sort of snide remark about that happening because cheers to you because it has come to fruition. I know we all made the jokes. We all made the jokes. I made plenty of them because it seems like that no matter who the Cardinals trade away these days, no matter how low on the totem pole, that person may be. That person will inevitably go on to find success. no matter where they go.

Starting point is 00:02:04 Doesn't matter which team they go to. We've seen the playoffs littered this year with former Cardinal players like Marcelo Zuna, Mike Schilt managing the Padres, Harrison Bader, Jose Cantana, Tommy Fam, Lane Thomas, Jack Flaherty, Luke Weaver, and Tommy Edmund. Just to name a few.

Starting point is 00:02:24 I'm sure I'm missing a couple of them out there, but just to name a few. All of them had significant impacts on their teams this postseason. All of them have played or done something with the team. Some of them have had huge hits. You know, Lane Thomas had, you know, a big home run for the Guardians. Jose Cantano's been a part of that Nets rotation. Harrison Bader playing center field for them. Ozuna had a monster year for the Braves to get them into the playoffs. Obviously, Mike Schild with the Padres. He's Tommy fan with the Royals. So, you know, Jack Flaherty,

Starting point is 00:02:59 obviously he's done some good things with the Dodgers. The one that surprises most of us, I think, it would be the Luke Weaver, what he's doing for the Yankees. Like, who saw this coming? Gotta be the biggest surprise of the bunch, becoming the closer for the Hill champion New York Yankees. I mean, who had that on their bingo card?

Starting point is 00:03:20 Who saw this coming? And before you start bagging on the Cardinals for, you know, Weaver being good and, oh, we let another one get away. Just remember. Just remember, they traded Luke Weaver away to go get Paul Goldschmidt. They didn't give him away for cash considerations or some random player to be named later. This isn't the same situation like Adoli Scarsia or Lane Thomas, where they just kind of were like, eh, just take them.

Starting point is 00:03:53 Which, you know, when you go back and look at it, you're like, what were they thinking? but Luke Weaver was a piece of that trade that brought the Cardinals one of the best first baseman in the league for the past 14 years, a guy who won an NL MVP for you, a guy that will likely get a Cardinals Hall of Fame jacket, get one of those cool red jackets, as well as a busting Cooperstown one day. So it's hard to give them any grief on that deal and say that, oh, man, just, you know, we screwed the pooch on that one. And let's not forget, too, that Luke Weaver has bounced around the league quite a bit since the Cardinals took him in the first round back in 2014. You know, he had a couple of years with us.

Starting point is 00:04:36 And then they trade him to the Diamondbacks, part of the Paul Goldsmith deal. Then he goes to the Royals. Then he goes to the Reds. I remember being at a game where he dominated the Cardinals as a red starter that day. I remember that fondly. It was like, oh, my gosh, literally we're getting this. We're getting a Luke Weaver revenge game against us. that's what's happening.

Starting point is 00:04:59 Then he goes to the Mariners before finally landing with the Yankees and becoming a legit force in their bullpen. His ERA with the Cardinals back in the day, 4.79. Nothing horrible, but nothing great either. Arizona, 4.72 with the Royals, 5.59. Reds, 6.87. Mariners, 6.08. And now in New York, 30 years old now.

Starting point is 00:05:25 his ERA is at 2.96 and he's closing out games for the New York Yankees. Like, what? So I'm not going to trash Mo and company for moving Weaver when they did and not being able to unlock his first round abilities because they didn't really have them all that long. And they got a significant piece pack in Paul Goldschman and that deal that led to a lot of success for the St. Louis Cardinals over the past six years that Goldie was on this roster. Unfortunately, they just couldn't get over the hump. They couldn't get over the hump.

Starting point is 00:06:02 In the playoffs, you know, they go to the playoffs the first four years that Goldie is in St. Louis. And they just, you know, that first year was when they lost to the Nationals in the NLCS. And then it's all been, you know, one and done type of situations for the Cardinals. And then, of course, the last two years, they didn't make playoffs at all. So it's a bummer that Goldie wasn't able to get a ring with the Cardinals, but I can't look at that trade and go, oh, idiots. I just, I can't do it. Maybe you can. I can't.

Starting point is 00:06:35 Now, the Tommy Edmund situation has got a lot of people a little more heated right now since winning the NLCS MVP award and now hitting cleanup for the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Like what? Yeah. Is this is this another blunder by John Mosey? Daylock. Let's get into that discussion next on Lockdown Cardinals. Price picks is the best place to get real money sports action with over 10 million members and billions of dollars in award winnings. Prize 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

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Starting point is 00:09:05 feedback always welcome and encourage now at this year's trade deadline if you remember the cardinals addressed three main needs that they were looking for they were trying to bolster their roster they're trying to make a playoff push see if they can get into the playoffs they needed a starting pitcher that wanted a right-handed believer and they wanted a right-handed hitting outfielder when doing that they also kept in mind that they were going to probably need to shed some payroll for the coming season. Like, you knew the uncertainty is going on with the TV contracts. You saw the way attendance was going. And what was it going to project as you knew things were going to change a little bit. And payroll was going to go down next year. And you can sense that that was coming.

Starting point is 00:09:49 So with all of that in mind, Mo went out and swung a three-way deal with the Dodgers and the White Sox to fulfill two of those needs in a starting pitcher and an outfield bad by acquiring Eric Fetty and Tommy Fam from Chicago. But to get them, it costs them one of the more popular cardinals on the roster in Tommy Edmund. Now, when the deal went down, I'll be honest, it caught me off guard. It certainly caught me off guard. I don't think there were many of us that thought that Tommy Edmund was even on the trading

Starting point is 00:10:22 block at the time. Most of us, at least myself, I could speak for myself. here. We were more concerned with trading Dylan Carlson. All right. It's time to move on from Bill and Carlson. Where is he going to go? What can we get? That was the hype train I was on, hoping he could be a part of a deal to bring some pieces back that would fulfill those needs for the Cardinals. I also wasn't really considering Tommy Edmund as somebody who could be traded because I figured teams might be hesitant to take on a guy who hadn't played yet, had missed the whole year with the wrist injury. And it wasn't like it. It was a muscle.

Starting point is 00:10:55 you know, we're not talking about a hamstring or an oblique. It was arthroscopic wrist surgery. And after the surgery, he was dealing with continuous pain and he was dealing with swelling. So I just assumed that when he was ready and he was down in the minor leagues, rehabbing at the time doing his rehab assignments, that he was just going to come back as a cardinal. And I remember every day or as you'll remember this. I kept wondering out loud, what are the Cardinals going to do with him when he comes up? Because at the time, things weren't so bad in the lineup as far as where Tommy Edmund would play.

Starting point is 00:11:39 You know, who are they going to bench to give him adequate playing time? I just never really considered trading him to be the answer. So what I want to do right now is kind of try to step into the mind of John Mosaic. look there he is again on YouTube you want to see him um i want to step into the mind of mo and figure out what he might have been thinking so at the time Tommy had been again had not played a single inning for the cardinals due to the risk surgery in the offsees and then the complications after a surgery that from all accounts nobody expected him to be out as long as he was you know even at the winter warm up Tommy was like yeah you know i'll be ready for spring training i should be ready for

Starting point is 00:12:17 opening day no big deal that did not even come close to being what happened. I mean, we're talking about at the end of July here, and he still had not been up on the major league roster yet because of this. While Edmund was on the men, the Cardinals were able to get a nice long look at guys like Michael Ciani and Victor Scott the second. Michael Ciani at the time was playing gold glove caliber defense in center field. The bat was starting to come around. He was starting to hit better. Victor Scott, I believe at the time, was in the minor leagues, but they got a, you know, a chance to look at him and what his future might be with this organization. And then Mason

Starting point is 00:12:57 went over at shortstop. You had no questions about what he is and what he was doing and what he was going to be in the future for you. And I bring those two positions up because those are the two main positions of Tommy Edmund plays. That's what he's doing with the Dodgers, center field and shortstop. That's what he's doing. We know Tommy can play other places, right? He can play second base. You want to go glove there, for God's sakes. He can play third if you needed him, too. We know he can play in the corner outfield spots if that's what you wanted him to do. But his two main spots are center field and shortstop.

Starting point is 00:13:34 And those particular positions appear to be covered for the rest of the year and into the future. This, and again, we're trying to get into the mind of John Mosea lock probably made him a bit more expendable in Moseyes. And then on top of that, if Moe's already thinking about ways to shed some money for payroll next year, you got a contract that's worth $9.5 million in Tommy Edmund for 2025. If you've got capable guys to play center field already at an elite defensive level that Tommy Edmund was playing it at, you've got your shortstop covered. You think they can all do enough with what the guys that you have remaining can give you what Tommy Edmund is going to give you offensively. I'm assuming Mo thought that look at us, we can save that money,

Starting point is 00:14:31 perhaps even save a little, or we can move that money and perhaps even save a little. And we can bring on Eric Fetty, who was still under contract next year for $7.5 million. So we're not going to lose anything from our main roster that at that time had them in a position for a playoff spot. And we're going to get two of the three pieces that I need for this team plus we get the starting pitcher for next year they will be able to take the spot of somebody who's not going to be there anymore spots that are being vacated by like Kyle Gibson or Lance Lynn does that not make sense does that deal not make sense to you it makes sense right like when I break it down for you that way doesn't it make sense like you don't need

Starting point is 00:15:21 Tommy Edmund at that time. You like Tommy Edmund. We love Tommy Evan. Your fans love Tommy Edmund. But you've got a utility guy in Brendan Donovan who can fill a lot of spots. You've got your center fielders. You've got your shortstop. He's like the face of the franchise now.

Starting point is 00:15:46 Mo's probably looking at it all like, this is a win-win situation. This is a very smart move. I thought it was a smart move. Experts around baseball thought it was a smart move. Most people loved it. Thought it was a great move not only for the Cardinals, but also for the Dodgers, in case Tommy Edmund was able to play at the level most people were used to seeing him play at.

Starting point is 00:16:13 But nobody knew. Nobody knew. He was still recovering in the minors. And then the NLCS happened. And now it looks like another failed move by Mo that benefits another team in the World Series. Again, Edmund was good with the Dodgers down the stretch during the regular season, right? He was good. Not spectacular, but he was good.

Starting point is 00:16:39 237 hitter, six home runs, 20 RBIs, six stolen bases, 20 runs scored, OPS plus of 101, played center, played short, very, very. good piece of the puzzle, right? Just like he was in St. Louis. The National League Division Series against the Padres. He gets 2.35. No home runs. One RBI. Two stolen bases. A run scored. Not much to talk about there. Nobody's whispering about this trade being an issue and horrendous again. And then the NLCS, he goes bonkers. He goes absolutely bonkers. Yeah, let's get one when he's holding up the trophy. There it is. It's 407, one home run, 11 RBIs, five runs scored, a stolen base, his OPS at 1.022, has three RBIs in their game four win, four RBIs in their series

Starting point is 00:17:39 clinching game six win, becomes the NLCS MVP. And now he's another name and a list of former Cardinals who recently have been able to find success on the biggest stage with other two. teams. Randy at Rosarena does it for the race. We saw Zach Gallin do it for the diamond bags, even though the Cardinals didn't trade him to Arizona, but that's where he ended up. Adoli Garcia and Jordan Montgomery with the Rangers. And now you got Tommy Edmund doing it for the Dodgers. It's just another kick to the beanbag for this franchise, to John Moseilock, to the fans. and, you know, it makes some other fans who love to second guess each and every move that the team makes. I'm one of those guys.

Starting point is 00:18:29 I love second guess, and I love going back to see what's happened to some of the guys that are involved in traits. And this one is allowing more people to relish in the fact that the players going the other way end up having success. Well, the Cardinals, at least here in the past two seasons, are busy playing golf. while the postseason is going on and dealing with more changes in the clubhouse and in the front office, you know? In hindsight, was the deal a bad one? Now that I've given you what Moe was probably thinking and what the Cardinals needed, and now you're seeing what Tommy Edmund has done in L.A., was the deal a bad trade? I'll give you my thoughts on that next on Locked on Cardinals.

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Starting point is 00:21:02 find locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. So was the trade for Eric Fetty and Tommy Fam in exchange for Tommy Edmund, a bad deal. I am going to make the verdict that I still don't think it was. I still don't think it was. And you can clown me all you want for this if that's what you want to do. Because I, thinking about where the Cardinals were at the moment, I don't know that Tommy Edmund was the guy that was going to push the Cardinals over the top into a playoff spot.

Starting point is 00:21:38 Do you? Do you think that's all they needed was Tommy Edmund to just be healthy and come up and hit 237 with six home runs and 20 RBIs is over the two months, by the way, that's not like it's just one month that he did that. Over two months, was that going to be enough for the offense to magically click and start hitting with runners in scoring position? Turn things around? I suppose if you had a crystal ball and you knew that Andre Palante and Michael McGreevy were going to step up the way they did over the final two months and be as good as they were, maybe you didn't feel as much pressure to go out and get a starting pitcher like

Starting point is 00:22:21 Eric Fetty. They didn't know. They didn't know. And that's something, if you want to rip them for not knowing what they've got right there in their own organization, you can do that. that's fine if that's how you feel you know they put uh lance lynn went on the iL right after you know right at the trade deadline remember he made one start and then he was gone for a while had that knee problem so instead of hoping that polante would stay steady steady and

Starting point is 00:22:50 hoping that michael mcgris would be able to handle things they went out and got a known commodity They did that instead. A guy who up to that point had been one of the best pitchers in the league in the first half of the season on a terrible Chicago White Sacks team. You know, you're thinking you get him on a team that's winning ball games and has a chance of the playoffs that maybe he finds that extra gear. You know, it happens all the time to people. You know, you get them into a better environment and it clicks and things turn around quickly for them. They brought in another veteran who they were familiar with and Tommy Fam, who added, you know, more of that sandpaper to the roster and playoff experience in case.

Starting point is 00:23:43 They did make a strong enough push to make the postseason. So I'm still standing by the fact that at the time and when looking at what the Cardinals' needs were, in that moment, the trade was the right thing to do for the Cardinals. And then when you take the money side of it and you're like, okay, I got to shave some payroll for next year too. I'm going to have to cut some corners here. We know we're going to move on from some people. But if I can move on from $9.5 million from Tommy Edmund, that helps my situation a little bit. And here's the other thing.

Starting point is 00:24:26 If Tommy Edmund doesn't go on a heater in two of the last three games of the NLCS, are we even discussing this? Are we even talking about it? Are we that worried about it? You know, nobody was bringing us up during his last couple of months in L.A. Nobody was like, oh, man, Tommy Eamon, gosh, should have kept him. Nobody said anything in the divisional series, not a peep. But seven RBIs in the last two games,

Starting point is 00:24:54 helps lead the team to the World Series and wins the NLCS MVP. And now people are like, oh, God, here we go. Mo still sucks. I'm not saying Mo doesn't deserve some critiquing and to give him hell for some stuff that he's done. I get it. I was on board with you when it comes to that stuff as you are. But I just can't look at this and go like, oh, he screwed it up again. Tommy Edmund just got hot the last two games or three games,

Starting point is 00:25:29 two out of the last three. He didn't do anything in game five, but game four and six, he goes off. And here we are. You know, I hated losing Edmund. I've always been a fan of his.

Starting point is 00:25:40 He was a clutch player with the Cardinals. I remember driving, me and the wife were on a road trip, and we're listening to the Reds and Cardinals game, and Edmund hits the game-winning home run. And I remember, like, looking over at her when I was like, I love that stuff.

Starting point is 00:25:57 Tommy Edmund's had some big moments for the Cardinals. Great defender. Speed. Homegrown talent. Which is great. But the Cardinals had needs in other areas. Tommy Edmund couldn't pitch. He couldn't be a relief pitcher.

Starting point is 00:26:11 Yeah, he could have been that right-handed hitter in the outfield that they needed. But to get Fetty, he had to make a move. Now, Fetty, yeah, it didn't work out, right? Fettie didn't pitch as well as they'd hoped he would in the month of August. He didn't pitch good at all. It was much better in September, but by that point, the Cardinals were pretty much toast, so it didn't matter. But in August, they were hoping he was going to be better than he wasn't.

Starting point is 00:26:41 Bam, came out scorching hot. Remember, it hits that Grand Slam and his first at bat with the Cardinals. And then he cools off, and the season just slipped away. The fact that Edmund was able to outshine, Shio Ha'Hautani, Freddie Freeman, who's injured, of course, Mookie Betts. Max Muncie. It's Oscar Hernandez. Like all these gargantuan stars in the Dodgers lineup. And it's Tommy Edmund who comes up with the clutch hits in games four and six. It's more of an anomaly than anything. I mean, who thought he'd be batting cleanup in those two games?

Starting point is 00:27:21 Like, nobody saw this coming. But so it goes. So it goes for the Cardinals and their recent moves. maybe people should just be trying to trade with him more often while he's still in charge so that whomever they get will add a spark to their team like some of these other guys have you know Tyler O'Neill goes to Boston comes the Tyler O'Neill that we saw a couple years ago just like that no big deal still in Carlson I know he had a little success when he first went to Tampa Bay but that one did worry but maybe next year he goes off we'll see um you know when you look at it the Cardinals still have betty this year year, which is good in that you've got another steady arm to the rotation, which is going to take

Starting point is 00:28:05 the place of Leonard Gibson. Maybe they end up making another deal. You know, maybe somebody else is gone. Or you could also use Eric Fetty as trade bait during this offseason or at the deadline next year. Could do that too. And if they do trade him, I hope he enjoys his NLCS or ALCS. P trophy as much as Tommy Edmund is right now. Who was very much enjoying being a Dodger and going to the World Series. Very happy. And I think, all kidding aside, we're all very happy for Tommy Edmund. You know, not an easy injury to get over.

Starting point is 00:28:45 And he was able to keep plugging away despite those setbacks. And now I was enjoying some success, you know, when he's doing it in L.A., which is not something I think anybody thought was going to happen. when we started this 2024 season. But here we are. There we are. And Tommy Edmund is your NLCS MVP in going to the World Series. Edmund versus Weaver.

Starting point is 00:29:11 That's the real story in this one, isn't it? It's not Shoah against Soto or Judge and Betts or anything like that. No, no, no, no. Weaver versus Edmund, who you got. But I want to hear your thoughts on everything we've discussed here today. Is this in your eyes? Is this another Mo Blunder or was it the right thing to do at the time? And, you know, things are just happening, happen to work out for the Dodgers,

Starting point is 00:29:37 at least for those two games, where you had seven RBIs. Leave your thoughts below in the comments section for me. And we'll do some fan feedback this week about it. Thank you again for making Lockdown Cardinals. Your first listen every day, be having already. Give me a follow on Twitter, X, at L0.1, underscore Cardinals, and at Jee Sports Radio, like, subscribe on YouTube, and help our channel. love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. And I will see you

Starting point is 00:30:03 next time on Locked on Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Is This Another John Mozeliak Blunder Or Was Trading Tommy Edman The Right Thing To Do?

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