Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Jack Flaherty Back To The Cardinals?

Starting point is 00:00:00 With the NL Central, as tight as it is, the Cardinals could be competing with other teams in the division for these particular trade targets. This is Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardals fans. I'm J.D. Hafford 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 Locked on Cardinals. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. You can follow me on Twitter X at JD Sports 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 list

Starting point is 00:00:43 at every day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And of course, you can find us on YouTube. Come on by, like, subscribe, and comment. If you haven't already, hit the notification button so you know when the 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. This episode of Locked on Cardinals brought to you by booking.com. Booking. Yeah. The right steak. can make you a fan of any city, even your rivals. Check out booking.com for your stay today. First and foremost, I'm not going to sing,

Starting point is 00:01:14 but happy 25th birthday to my newest bromance, the one and only, the goat, Michael Ciani, the savior of Centerfield, at least for this year, and hopefully the next gold glove winner of the St. Louis Cardinals. All-star game tonight, don't care who wins that, really. Right. Housley will not be pitching. So we don't have to worry about him at all, which is great. You know, you don't have to freak out if, you know,

Starting point is 00:01:40 he hits his hand or throws something weird. Don't have to worry about it. Congratulations to Tayasca Hernandez on his home run derby win. I bet on Adoles Garcia and Pete Alonzo to win and both were knocked out in the first round. So some foolish bets by me, but what do you got to do? That's why they call it betting. In case you're new to the channel and to the podcast, a couple of times a week, at least recently, I kind of scour the internet to find information about possible trades involving the Cardinals,

Starting point is 00:02:11 what people are saying and talking about, and just get people's opinions on what they think the Cardinals should or shouldn't do. And then I bring all that information here for you. That way you don't have to go searching for it all. So when it comes to talking about trade rumors and ideas, I'm going to get you everything I could possibly get my hands on and shared with you. So trade talks probably kind of on a hiatus right now, right? with the all-star break going on.

Starting point is 00:02:35 But we could see some action as soon as this stuff is done. And with the way the Cardinals are situated in the playoff picture, we continue to believe, we have no reason not to believe, that they will be looking to add on to what they have already. They're going to be buyers. And this is a team that, you know, after a rough start to the season, it was ugly. A lot of us were nervous.

Starting point is 00:02:56 I was nervous. I'm sure you were too, that we were going to go down the path that we just saw in 2023. But luckily, they figured things. things out. They've gone 35 and 23 and climbed back into things. And not only are they in the wild card picture where they're sitting at the second spot in the wild card in the NL, but legit contenders in the NL Central again, four and a half games back of the Milwaukee Brewers, who had a monster lead over everyone for a while there. The rest of the division, they're not that far back. You know,

Starting point is 00:03:25 you got the pirates, just two games behind the Cardinals. The Reds are two and a half back of them. The Cubs are a half game back of the Reds, even though they're in last place. So with things being as tight as they are, and four of the five teams in this division, they're considered to be small market teams. I think Chicago is the only one you would say is like, hey, they could spend if they want to, although they haven't been spending like a big market team. But that with everybody kind of in the same payroll type of area, probably going to be looking at the same type of players to add to their rosters at the trade deadline to make their move

Starting point is 00:04:02 in the division or in the wild card. So Zachary Rodman had fancited.com put together a story that brought up four names that he felt the Cardinals could steal away. And he said specifically the Brewers. But for me, it's kind of all of these guys in the division when I think about it because all of them are going to probably try to make a push of some sort. I don't see any of them just going, eh, we're good. We suck.

Starting point is 00:04:28 We're out. I just don't get that vibe from anybody in the division right now, not even Chicago. because they were playing better before the All-Star break, split with the Cardinals. They're in that final series at Bush Stadium. So I don't see any of them waving the white flag yet. I think they're going to take it down to the very end of the trade deadline. So I think all of these guys are people that teams in this division will probably try to target. So I'm going to post the link in the description and the show notes so you can read everything for yourself.

Starting point is 00:04:56 But here's what he's got. The first person that I want to bring up on his list here is pitcher you say Kikuchi from the Toronto. Blue Jays. So here's what Zachary says about you say. If they do sell, expiring contracts are a certainty to get dealt, talking about Toronto. You say Kikuchi is arguably the best one that the Jays have to offer. Kukuchi is outshined by other starters in Toronto's rotation, but is a solid mid-rotation arm. The Southpaw has a 4.42 ERA and 20 starts and 106 sittings of work, but he's better than his ERA indicates. The 33-year-old has allowed four-earned runs or fewer and all but three of his starts.

Starting point is 00:05:34 That until this last game that he pitched him before, you know, the article came out and then he pitched and it wasn't good. So I'll get to that. But he's allowed three-earned runs or fewer in 13 of his 19 starts. That's before the last one again. With the Cardinals improved offense in their strong bullpen, he can prove to be a nice fit. And I couldn't agree more.

Starting point is 00:05:55 We brought up Kikuchi before on this show. And for all the reasons that Zachary states, he just makes sense for the Cardinals. Now, I want to go back to the last game that he pitched where he got roughed up really, really bad. In his last outing before the All-Star break, it wasn't a pretty picture. Face the Arizona Diamondbacks allowed seven runs on six hits and four in a third innings.

Starting point is 00:06:17 That included a grand slam in the fifth inning, which was his last inning of work by Cattel Marte, which was the big blow. So, you know, things were probably and then pow, all of a sudden you got four runs on the board. and so that's when things got kind of ugly. But in the two starts before that, he goes five and two thirds against the Astros on July 3rd, allows just two runs on five hits, strikes out five. That's a very good Houston lineup.

Starting point is 00:06:40 Then on July 9th, he dominates the Giants. He goes seven and a third innings. He allows two runs on six hits, both the runs score on solo home runs, and he strikes out 13 batters in a game that the Js ultimately lost. They didn't even beat the Giants in this one. He's going to be a free agent after the year.

Starting point is 00:06:57 So that should bring the price down some. he's left-handed, which is something that you don't have in your rotation right now because you don't know how long Stephen Matt's going to be out if he's coming back at all. Nice to switch things up once in a while because it's all righties in the Cardinals rotation at the moment. So having a lefty end there would be nice. The Blue Jays also have Kevin Gossman and Chris Bassett as possible trade candidates. So maybe some of the bigger market clubs might go after those guys instead of you say Kikuchi, which would fall to kind of the level of teams where, you know, the Cardinals and the Brewers and these other guys are sitting at.

Starting point is 00:07:36 So I don't mind it at all. I think it would be a pretty good addition if the Cardinals like everything they've seen from him so far this year. So obviously a name to keep on the list. Another name on this particular list that we're going through is a former Cardinal. Curious how people will react to this. We'll talk about him next on Locked on Cardinals. I love sports and I love them so much that I just really never want them to stop. But as the playoffs wound down in the other sports, NBA is done, NHL's done,

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Starting point is 00:11:31 part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Jack Flaherty. Oh, Jack Flaherty. He's the next guy on the West. Surprise, surprise. He's been very good in Detroit, very good in Detroit this year. And I mean, he's been as dominant as we've seen him since, you know, a couple of years ago when he was inside young conversations as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Then the injuries took their toll. Last year, inconsistent season at best, we.

Starting point is 00:12:08 could say for him before he got traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Drew Rom, Sazar Prieto, and Zach Showalter. Things did not go well for Jack Flaherty in Baltimore. It was kind of ugly. He had that very first outing was really good. And then it did not work out at all. It was kind of booted out of the rotation, to be honest. It wasn't even a member of the playoff rotation. And it caused Jack to miss out on what seemed like might be a big payday for him, It might be a long-term deal. And instead of getting that, he ends up having to take a one-year prove-it deal with the Detroit Tigers instead. Now, he's still 28 years old, and betting on himself appears to have paid off this year.

Starting point is 00:12:51 Because with Detroit, who has not been a great baseball team, he's six and five with a 3.13 ERA. He's got 119Ks and 95 innings. His whip is under one, which is something that you don't see a lot of from him. Remember all the walks that we always saw? It's not happening as much this year. year. His ERA plus is 133, which would be the second highest of his career if it ended today. Cardinals saw it firsthand when we played the Tigers in Detroit. Remember, he tied an AL record with seven strikeouts against the first seven batters that he faced in the game. It was just mowing

Starting point is 00:13:26 the Cardinals down. He ends up with 14Ks in that game. Again, by the way, I must remind you that the Cardinals won by a score of 2 to 1, not Jack Flaherty's fault, but they were able to hit up the bullpen a little bit. So here's what Zach has to say about Jack Flaherty, possibly coming back to the Cardinals. When Flaherty has been able to take the mound, he has been lights out. Now he's dealt with some back issues, nothing severe, but certainly something to keep in mind considering his injury history, he missed a couple starts because of that. So that's what Zachary's talking about here. He continues here saying these two NL Central rivals, talking about the Cardinals and Brewers,

Starting point is 00:14:03 should be just two of several interested suitors in Flaherty. He isn't making too much money, shouldn't cost a ton of prospect capital due to his expiring contract status, and in the case of the Cardinals, they know what they're getting. It makes too much sense for them to do what they can to ensure Flaherty does not end up pitching against them for the Brewers. So the idea itself, it makes sense to me. Like when you look at who he is, the type of pitcher he is, you know, bringing those kind of stats in, that all makes sense to me.

Starting point is 00:14:35 but we've had them before. And I just don't know how keen the Cardinals would be on the idea of bringing back Flaherty. To me, it just seemed better for both sides that they move on and as tough as it would be to see Jack in the division again pitching for someone else. It's hard for me to think that the Cardinals will actually like give something up. like, you know, trade to go get a guy that they already had. Like, it just doesn't seem like something that they would do. I feel like it would be awkward. So I'd be surprised if this move happened.

Starting point is 00:15:19 Now, as far as getting Jack Flaherty, if I was like the Brewers or the Reds or the Pirates or the C, I'd be all in for it. I think it'd be a very smart move for them to do that. Because you just know that he's going to show up when he faces. the Cardinals again. You just know that he will. He did it for the Tigers, and you just know he's going to do it for somebody else if he ends up in this division or continues to pitch in the National League. And I, for one, hope that they don't go get them. I hope he ends up somewhere else where he cannot affect what the Cardinals are doing moving forward, but odds are it's probably going

Starting point is 00:15:55 to happen. But I just don't see a Jack Flaherty coming back to St. Louis being the move that this team makes as a trade deadline move. It just, It's hard for me to picture that. All right, coming up next on the list. Tyler Anderson from the Los Angeles Angels, another name that, you know, I brought up here before on the podcast. You're going to continue to hear a lot of the same names because these are the people that are available and they're on teams that have already punted on the season.

Starting point is 00:16:23 So here's what Zachary has to say about Tyler Anderson, the left-hander from the Angels. Tyler Anderson's first season with the Angels went just about as poorly as he could have Pope. Actually, it was his second year. Second year, because his first year went good, didn't it? I feel like his first year was actually a good one. And then it was the second year that did not pan out so well. Let me triple check on this for you, just to be sure, because I feel like that's the case. 2022, yes. Okay, so he's right. So with the Dodgers in L.A. in 2022. So his first year was with the Angels last year. So he's right. It went very bad. It was not good. So,

Starting point is 00:17:03 First year with the Angels went about as poorly as he could have hoped for. Second year with the Halos has gone about as well as he could have hoped for. He's absolutely correct there. The 34-year-old has a 2.97 ERA in 19 starts and 118 innings of work. Yes, his 4.6.15 indicates that regression is likely coming, but even if Anderson does take a bit of a step back in the second half, is he not an upgrade over Andre Palante? The Cardinals team needs a number two starter behind

Starting point is 00:17:33 Sunny Gray. And while the expected stats might not agree, Anderson has pitched like a legitimate number two starter for much of the season. The icing on the cake here is that Anderson would come with another year of club control at just $13 million. He isn't the best option out there, but if the Cardinals strike out on their top targets, he'd certainly make them better. Now, as much as I've enjoyed the resurgence of one Andre Palante, and it's been nice to see. It really has. I think I'd feel, and this is just me, I think I'd feel more comfortable with an upgrade to a veteran like Anderson for a

Starting point is 00:18:13 playoff push. And if you do make it in the playoffs, that would be somebody I'd prefer to start in the playoffs instead of Andre Palante. Again, I'm not bashing Andre Palante, but if you can upgrade from that, you do it. That's the whole idea. And it's not just Palante that you'd be upgrading from. I mean, like Zachary says, you'd be getting someone who is pitching better than everyone but sunny gray on this staff.

Starting point is 00:18:46 You know, Anderson's ERA plus this year with the Angels is 142, which is incredible. Palante is a 99. Remember, 100 is league average. So Palanté is 99. Some days good, some days is bad. Michaelis, 81. Because when he goes bad, he goes real bad. There's like no happy middle with Michael as either really, really good one night or he's really, really bad.

Starting point is 00:19:10 Lance Lynn is at a 95, so a little bit under average. Sunny Gray has been great. He's at 125 ERA plus. So Anderson is better than all of them. And every dayers also know this is another thing you want to think about with these trades. My respect for Kevin Pilar and how I think he would be a really good fit for this bench in this roster. What would it take to package a deal to get both? That's where my head goes when I think about Anderson and Pilar.

Starting point is 00:19:45 I mean, they've got a couple of relievers who are pretty good for the angels as well. What can we do there? It probably is not going to be cheap considering you get that extra year of Anderson, but it's certainly something to look into. And then you think about next year's rotation, you know you're going to have Sunny Gray. You got Michaelis coming back. He's got one year left on his deal.

Starting point is 00:20:05 I assume that they'd be bringing back Kyle Gibson. He's been very good this year. They've got the club option there. Matt still has a year left on his deal. And if you have Anderson's contract, if you get a trade like this and you bring him in, you'd have him in the rotation. So you just probably not bring back Lance Lynn.

Starting point is 00:20:24 Or you cut bait and move on from Matt's and Lynn and go with another option, maybe a younger option, maybe Palante. So there's some things to think about because you get that extra year of Anderson for next year. So the move makes a lot of sense. It really does. And it's something I'm sure Moe and company will kick the tires on. All right.

Starting point is 00:20:46 Final guy that he's got on the list here is Eric Fetty from the White Sox, who we've talked about, again, we've talked about him before. The White Sox appear to be ready to trade almost anyone if the price is right. We saw a move on from Dylan C's. He's with the Padres. We've heard they're willing to listen about star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. Young star left-hander Garrett Crochet, who's been incredible this year. Michael Kopeck, who was at one point, one of their top prospects, he's been in the bullpen, hasn't panned out quite the way they thought he was going to. He has moments of brilliance where he looks unhittable. And then there's other times you're like, what the hell is going on with this guy? But here's what Zachary. has to say about Eric Fetty in particular. All lies when discussing Chicago White Sox trade targets are on Garrett Crochet. For good reason, as fun as he'd be for the Cardinals, they probably don't have the assets to get them without completely dismantling their farm system. With that being said, the Cardinals have more than enough to get Chicago's number two starter,

Starting point is 00:21:51 Eric Fetty. He doesn't have the overpowering stuff that Crochet does, but Fetty has had a tremendous year posting a 2.99 ERA in 19 starts and 111 and a third innings of work. That'll play. What makes Fettie particularly appealing is his contract. He is making just $7.5 million this season and next, which is a bargain for a starting pitcher nowadays, let alone one pitching as well as Fetty has. He might not have the track record of being on number two, but he doesn't have to be to justify the contract and to make the Cardinals better. So Eric Fetty makes a lot of sense too. My feelings are that

Starting point is 00:22:30 You know, somebody might overpay for an Eric Fetty. I mean, he's only done it this one year. I know he was a big prospect coming up with the Nationals, but it didn't work out, went overseas, got things figured out. We saw that with Miles Michaels. That's how Miles Michaelis ended up back here in the States. Things did not go well in the big leagues. And so he went overseas, figured some things out, came back,

Starting point is 00:22:53 and it's been a serviceable starting pitcher for the Cardinals. Got a couple of all-star selections. on his resume now. But I just, I don't know, man. Could you, what about like an Eric Fetty and Tommy FAM package? Because I'd want to bring in a couple of pieces if I'm going to do it. Tommy Fam, obviously, somebody we've talked about has been in a Cardinal uniform before. What about Fettie and Kopeck to fill that Keenna-Mittleton role?

Starting point is 00:23:24 Just something to think about it when you're thinking about packages because I think the Cardinals, they need a starter, they need another bullpen are. and if you can pull in a right-handed hitter with some pop, that's great. I think that's the last thing on the wish list. But if you can get it, then you go for it. If you try to make your bench better, you do that. You do that. That's what good teams do.

Starting point is 00:23:48 They improve themselves. So leave your comments and thoughts below on all four of these targets and the little packages that I kind of brought up in there as well. We're going to get some reaction about the Cardinals' first round draftic, J.J. Weatherholt. That's coming up next on Locktown Cardinals. This episode of Locktown Cardinals is brought to you by booking.com. Booking. Yeah, with summer travel heating up, especially travel for baseball games, it's time to explore those U.S. cities you always secretly wanted to learn more about. Yeah, we're talking about the rival cities. We're talking about Cincinnati,

Starting point is 00:24:24 in Pittsburgh, and Chicago and Milwaukee. If you've never been to these ballparks in these cities yet, you should try them. Like, it's still fun to go on the road. And And, you know, you get to be the bad guy, you know, you get to sit on the visitor side and you get to kind of be the villain at the stadium. It's kind of fun to embrace being the bad guy once in a while. And booking.com is going to help you out with this. They make things easy with hotels, bedded breakfast, vacation rentals, resorts, and so much more on booking.com. You might just find your perfect stay even in your baseball rival city. Booking.com has so many choices across the United States for your summer travel this MLB season.

Starting point is 00:25:02 and let's not forget about the Little League tournaments. You're going to different cities throughout the country as well, specifically in the Midwest normally if you're in St. Louis, and you need places to stay. So booking.com has got you covered there as well. The right stay can make you a fan of any U.S. city, even the rivals. Book today on booking.com on the site or in the booking.com app.

Starting point is 00:25:30 Locked on us launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube, and now it's also available on Amazon Fire TV and the Free Fire TV channels app Locked on Sports Today is here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day and with the local experts of Black Dawn. Plus, you've got our national shows which cover every league. So find Locked on Sports Today now available on the Free Fire TV channels app. I have yet to see a negative comment, like a serious negative comment, about the Cardinal selection of infielder J.J. Weatherholt with the seventh overall pick in the MLB draft.

Starting point is 00:26:07 Fan response has been phenomenal. I would say 99.9% everybody is like love him. Seems like a Cardinal. Looks great. Has got the skills we're looking for. People question about, well, what are we going to do with Nolan Gorman and Cesar Prieto and Thomas and Jacey and all these other infielders they got? That's not what you worry about.

Starting point is 00:26:28 All right? It's not like Weather Holtz going to be on the team in a month. You know, things happen. Stuff happens down the road. some of these guys that we're talking about like I said Jason, maybe they're used this trade bait to make this team better at the trade deadline. Could happen. They're not going to trade Nolan Gorman.

Starting point is 00:26:46 So don't even think about that. But in Arnado's not going to be here forever. Gorman could go over to third base. I mean, there's a ton of different options here. But when it comes to like experts and stuff, I haven't seen anything that people are complaining about except maybe the hamstring injuries. So I got a couple of them here. some reviews of what the Cardinals did in the first round of the draft.

Starting point is 00:27:11 I've got former MLBGM Jim Bowden here. Had some takeaways from the first round of the draft that he wrote on the athletic. And here's what he said specifically about the Cardinal selection. The Cardinals were another clear first round winner when middle infielder, J.J. Weatherholt dropped to them at pick seven. For me, Weatherholt is the second best hitting prospect in this draft class. Although he's dealt with hamstring injuries, that shouldn't have been enough for teams to pass on the West Virginia product and allow him to fall to St. Louis.

Starting point is 00:27:40 With rookie Mason wins submitted for years to come as the Cardinal Shortstop, they can now slot in Weatherholt as their long-term second baseman and be set in the middle end field for the foreseeable future. Yeah. That's what I'm thinking about too, because I don't think Nolan Gorman stays at second base. I don't think that's where he ends up. That's where he can play right now. that is where there is availability and more playing time.

Starting point is 00:28:07 But I think when Aronado's contract, which we assume he'll finish his career in St. Louis, when it's up, I think Nolan Gorman goes to third base. I think that's where he'll end up. Jim Bowden also praised JJ for being one of six first round picks, who actually attended the draft at Calatown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, and says that he hopes that more future first round picks attend in the future. And I agree. I thought it was really cool that the Cardinals pick was,

Starting point is 00:28:34 the one that was there, the first person there, to don the hat in the jersey and get interviewed right away as opposed to waiting on a satellite interview from guys in their living rooms all over the country. You know, it's a very COVID way to do things. And if MLB wants to make their draft a more special event, not to the level of the NFL or NBA, I'm not saying that, but to make it a fun and cool event, which I think they did a good job of, I enjoyed it, I had fun with it, then they need to get more of these first-round picks to attend. Keith Law from the athletic had to say this. The Cardinals have to be over the moon right now

Starting point is 00:29:13 as they get a guy who was at least on the short list of 1-1 candidates coming into the spring, talking about getting drafted first overall, is what he's saying there, and only slid because he missed nearly two months with a hamstring injury, his second major one, inside of a year. J.J. Weatherholt might have the best swing in the whole draft, though. And even when he was barely able to stand at shortstop, he could still swing the bat and make hard contact. He'd probably move to second base regardless of organization. But with Mason when a star, perhaps the cardals move weatherhole now, which might also keep him on the field. You're buying the hit tool here and the hope that a full offseason of rest can get him out playing second base every day in 2025 with the upside of a 60 or better hit tool that makes him a very long time regular, who makes a handful.

Starting point is 00:30:02 of all-star teams. And this is kind of what everybody's saying, is that he'll move to second base because he doesn't have the arm strength of what you might want at shortstop, although we've seen Tommy Edmund, we've seen David Eckstein do just fine. But you do have a guy by the name of Mason Wynn over there

Starting point is 00:30:23 who's having a pretty good year. So you're thinking more about where else would he fit in. And obviously, if you're thinking about second or even third base, second base makes a whole lot more sense with Coram and moving over to third base at some point in the future. Not going to happen this year. Everybody relax. But you got to love what you're hearing from the experts and what you're hearing nationally

Starting point is 00:30:45 about J.J. Weatherholt and the Cardinal selection. People absolutely love this home run type of selection. Future is very, very bright. And like I said, people said it was the steal of the draft right away just because he was possibly going to go, number one overall, if he didn't get hurt this past spring. So to get him at number seven, huge, huge for the Cardinals. All right, thanks for making Lockdown Cardinals. Your first listen every day. If you haven't already, please give us a follow on Twitter X at L.O. underscore Cardinals and at Jadisports Radio, like, subscribe on YouTube. Please help our channel and love for the

Starting point is 00:31:20 Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason, and I'll see you next time on lockdown Cardinals. Have a good one. Enjoy the All-Star game.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Jack Flaherty Back To The Cardinals?

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