Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Juan Soto Deal Could Benefit The Cardinals

Starting point is 00:00:00 The winter meetings are finally here, and Juan Soto is officially off the board, how this historic signing could affect the St. Louis 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, Cardinals. I'm J.D. Hafford 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 X at J.D. Sports Radio. can also follow the podcast at L0 underscore Cardinals. I want to thank those of you who make Locked on Cardinals your first list. And every day we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. We're also available on YouTube.

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Starting point is 00:01:16 Oh my goodness. The number one domino of free agency in Major League Baseball has officially fallen. Juan Soto and the New York Mets have agreed on a historic 15-year 765. million dollar deal. He flips from the Bronx to Queens or flushing or whatever you want to call where the Mets play to join Francisco Lendora and company as they try to bring the Mets their first World Series championship since 1986. Yes, it has been since 1986 since 1986 since the Mets have won a world series. Former Cardinal Keith Hernandez, one of their best players back then, Darry Strawberry, Gary Carter, Dwight Gooden. I remember these names because of the video game RBI baseball.

Starting point is 00:02:07 It has been a long time for the Mets. They haven't won the NLE East title or an NL pennant since 2015, but they were in the playoffs in 2016, 2012, and then last year, when they had a nice little run. They knocked off the Brewers and the Phillies before they fell to the eventual world champion Dodgers in the NLCS, four games to do. Now, did this shock? me. Not really. Not really. It did not shock me when the only thing standing between Mets

Starting point is 00:02:39 owners Steve Cohen and what he wants is simply money. Not many people are going to be able to beat him and compete with him there. Forbes has him as the 30th richest person in the United States. He's got a worth of 21.5 billion dollars with a B. So, giving out a contract like this. Yes, it is a big deal, record setting deal. But it's also not anything he's going to really sneeze at in the grand scheme of things. He's going to be all right. He's not going hungry. It is the biggest contract in sports history surpassing the one that the Dodgers gave Shohei Otani this past season, except nothing is deferred here.

Starting point is 00:03:23 You know, everybody, you know, felt like a little icky, really, you know, you when you heard about the show, Hey, Otani deal, you're just kind of like, they kind of did it weird, right? You know, the Mets didn't go this way. They didn't circumvent the money. They agreed to pay Soto like now. So they didn't do it where like he's going to make $20 million when he's 84 years old or whatever the nonsense is that the Dodgers and Otani agreed to,

Starting point is 00:03:52 which they had every right to do. He gets a $75 million signing bonus. He's got an opt out after five. seasons and the opt-out is it's unique. It's very unique if you haven't heard about it. The Mets will have the ability to void Soto's opt-out clause after the 2029 season, which is five years into the deal if they boost their average annual value of the final 10 years of his deal from 51 million per to 55 million. And if that happens, the overall deal would then escalate to 15 years and $805 million with an AAB, a 53.66 million. Just crazy, crazy money.

Starting point is 00:04:42 The old man inside of me is shaking my head at this contract. Not because it's bad or anything. Just that, holy crap, how is one player worth that much money? Now, let's be honest, nobody is really worth all of the money that any of these. guys are getting in any sports, you know, but this is the level where the owners had decided to take things. And it's their money and they can spend it however they want, but good Lord, crazy, crazy money. I was astonished when Shohei got his deal. But with Otani, you were getting what we consider an extremely unique player. Not only were you going to get a guy who could go 50-50, which he did, which was something that has never been done in the sport, ever.

Starting point is 00:05:36 It's been around for a billion years, and nobody's ever pulled this off. But eventually, you were also going to get Sy Young level abilities on the pitchers bound as well with the money that you were spending. And now it's Juan Soto getting this type of money. And, I mean, it doesn't offer the pitching or the speed. He was a finalist for the gold glove, had a league leading national. assist in a league leading 9-9-3 fielding percentage, but he was also a minus 1 a defensive run saved at a minus 5 in outs above average last year. So when you kind of look at things,

Starting point is 00:06:13 like when you would watch the games, like, it's not like you're like, wow, what a graceful looking out fielding is. Like, no, he didn't screw up very often and he's got a very good arm, but like, you know, it's not like, you know, it's not Jason Hayward out there. And, It's not Harrison Bader out there or Jimmy Edmonds or whoever you want to give credit to for defensive skills. I will say I'm very pleased that he stayed on the East Coast. That made me happy. You started seeing people mention the Dodgers more and more during the day. And that was one of the last places I wanted him to go.

Starting point is 00:06:50 I am a little bit shocked that he jumped ship from the Yankees to the Mets. Yankees fans are not handling this very well, at least the ones that I've seen online, which I feel bad for them. I do. But, you know, it's watching them burning jerseys already and watching them go off. There was a guy who went out to City Field where the Mets played was like, this is where you chose to play.

Starting point is 00:07:16 This is your home. And he's like making fun of it, calling it a dump. And if you look at the rosters right now, in my opinion, the Yankees are a much better team. but obviously things can change when your pockets are as deep as Steve Cohen's are. You know, you don't look at the starting rotations. You know, it's Kodi Senga, who threw a grand total of five in the third innings last year. Frankie Montas, who played for the Reds and Brewers and had just this mind-blowing record of seven and 11 and an ERA of 4.84.

Starting point is 00:07:50 We've seen him pitch well. He pitched well against the Cardinals a few times, but, you know, like those are your top two guys right now. out for the Mets. So clearly room for improvement there, but, you know, there's still like big names out there. Corbin Burns, Max Fried. Our old friend Jack Flaherty is still available. Maybe they can bring Sean Mania back. What if they make an offer to Roki Sasaki that he can refuse? You know, what if that is something that happens? So there is room to improve, but, you know, I saw a report from John Heyman that the Yankees final offer. And I don't know how official this is, but it means Hayman. so I'm assuming he knows, $16-year $760 million.

Starting point is 00:08:30 So it's not like the Yankees lowballed one Soto and weren't even in the vicinity of what the Mets were giving him. But, you know, they just had a really nice thing going with the Yankees, you know, with Soto and Judge. I mean, one-two combination right there as good as any in baseball. Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s back. Jean-Carlow Stanton looked really, really good late last year. Austin Wells up and coming at catcher, Volpe.

Starting point is 00:08:55 Anthony Volpe at Shortstop. Jason Mingez is coming up. Pitching wise, obviously, Garrett Cole, Carlos Rodon, Luis Heel. A lot of really good pieces for the Yankees. And, you know, even without Soto, I think the Yankees are still a very good team. Obviously, they can go out and spend this money elsewhere now.

Starting point is 00:09:14 You know, if they were going to spend around 50 million, you know, there's plenty of guys out there that they can pick up to help with some of the loss. that is with the Juan Soda production going over to the Mets. Is it going to ever be Juan Soto? No. But, I mean, you're going to be able to find guys. You can hit Anthony Santander from the Orioles, who's a free agent. He probably would fit nicely in the Yankees uniform.

Starting point is 00:09:44 So I don't know what the final deciding factor was here. Why he decided to swap out the Yankee jersey for the Mets? Like I said, fans are already just up in arms. They're burning his jerseys. I saw that. It's not like he was with you for a decade. And he just crushed all of your hearts and dreams, you know, calling him a sellout.

Starting point is 00:10:11 But, I mean, you're upset today and that's fine. I can fully understand it. I remember when Jason Hayward, the Cardinals went and traded him. He had this resurgent, good season with the Cardinals. Obviously, this is nowhere near. a Juan Soto type of deal. But then he went to the Cubs. And we were all like, whoa.

Starting point is 00:10:29 But I understood his reasoning behind it all. And I got it. And it was a business. And in the end, he wins the World Series with the Cubbies. But the Cardinals kind of got out of signing him to a super long-term deal that in the end did not work out. And he ended up bouncing around with multiple teams. But it worked out for the Cubs right away.

Starting point is 00:10:48 But anyway, where will the Yankees pivot next? And this is where the Cardinals can get involved here. That's where the Cardinals could come into play. So we're going to talk about that next on Lockdown Cardinals. Nothing delivers comfort and joy quite like the unrival quality and taste of Omaha Steaks. Now this year, you can skip the holiday hustle and bustle and say 50% off site wide during their cyber sale at Omaha Stakes.com. Plus, you're also going to get this $30 reward card when you shop early, which is awfully nice, and score an extra $30 off with the promo code MLB.

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Starting point is 00:12:38 specifically as Cardinal fans where it seemed like just a couple of years ago, the Cardinals were very, very close to landing. Juan Soto in that trade with the Washington Nationals. It fell through. The Padres had a better deal. They had better prospects. And the Nationals decided to go with that trade instead of the one with the Cardinals and, you know, that was history. He did not win all that much in San Diego, goes to the Yankees instead. They get it to the World Series, doesn't win it there. And now he's going to try his hand with the Mets.

Starting point is 00:13:09 So, you know, this signing for the Cardinals might be beneficial in a way to the Cardinals because the Yankees were one of the teams that has been mentioned quite frequently to be interested in Cardinal's third baseman Nolan Aronado. Now, before we get worked up about something like that taking place, I do want to remind you that, number one, Nolan Aronado still has that no trade clause. So if he doesn't want to go anywhere, he doesn't have to. So if the Yankees aren't a place that he wants to be,

Starting point is 00:13:44 he doesn't have to go there. Number two, Alex Bragman is still the top option for teams looking to upgrade their third base position. He's younger. He's been a better hitter in recent years. Yeah, you're going to have to pay them. You just want a gold glove. But at the same time, you don't have to give up any of your prospects to go get them.

Starting point is 00:14:01 So for the teams that are seeking help at third base, they're for certain going to kick the tires on Alex Bragman first before trying to conjure up a deal with the Cardinals to get Nato. Now, ESPN's Buster only tweeted out late last week that the Cardinals are working from a very limited list of Nolan Aronato's preferred teams as they consider trade possibilities for the future Hall of Famer. that is not shocking in the slightest. Like there's only going to be a couple of places he wants to be in where he thinks he'll feel comfortable. Obviously, the Dodgers is a spot. We think he'd be more than happy to go to. But is there a deal to be made there that makes sense for the Cardinals?

Starting point is 00:14:44 I don't care what the Dodgers want to do. Like, I want one that makes sense for the Cardinals. And I saw that they had tweeted out something about, You know, hey, maybe we swap out and give you guys Chris Taylor because he's a bad contract that's expiring. And we're like, no, I don't know. I don't want to pay Chris Taylor. I don't need him on my team. Not with the production he's had recently.

Starting point is 00:15:07 I got no use for that. So no, you're the Dodgers. You eat that contract. You're the idiot that signed him to that. But Aronado, we want prospects in return is what we want. Will leach at MLB.com listed six spots that make sense for Nato. The Dodgers are obviously some place that I think makes sense, but he's got the Yankees, the Astros, the Blue Jays, Phillies, Red Sox, and Tigers listed there.

Starting point is 00:15:32 All of those teams have different hurdles to overcome before a deal could go down. Obviously, where does Alex Bregman go? And those are not a want to be in any of those spots. The Cardinals will certainly have to eat some salary to facilitate a deal if it's agreed to, but that is what it is. You know, the Carls were already willing to spend the money. anyway. So it's not that big a deal. And if you trade him, you save some money and you get some prospects in return, that's great. But again, this is not going to be just like some easy thing to

Starting point is 00:16:04 unload his contract considering the trajectory of his production the last couple of years and how much money he still load. Moe once again stated that 2025 is not going to be a tear it down, full on rebuild kind of season like he is expecting. to compete this year. Now is the Cardinals going to be listed as one of the teams who have a shot at the World Series. Not out of the gate by any means.

Starting point is 00:16:35 He told the athletic last week, we have every intention of fielding a good baseball team. It is going to have a different profile, but we still have a lot of belief that some of our younger players will take that next step forward. We're excited about what we have. We're still going into next season

Starting point is 00:16:52 with optimism that it'll be a fun baseball team to watch. They're going to continue to explore the market for Gola Aronado. I also assume that they're listening to teams about Eric Fetty, Stephen Mattes, and Miles Michaelis. The Ryan Helsley situation from all reports is starting to lean more towards the Cardinals hanging on to Ryan Halsley now. But like I mentioned this week, perhaps that's maybe a ploy to get teams to offer more than they are already.

Starting point is 00:17:19 We've got reports that, you know, business has picked up a little bit with the Cardinals that there there has been more interest in guys on the team. Mo was on with what Tom Ackerman on KMOX this weekend and said, I would definitely say over the last week and a half, the volume of calls has definitely gone up. So from that standpoint, you know, we're just trying to remain open-minded and understand really what these markets look like. Ultimately, my team will try and assess what we think is best for today and also the future and see if we can make some decisions. I do think there will be some activity. It just feels like things are starting to loosen up.

Starting point is 00:17:56 And for certain, you know, now the Juan Soto deal is completed, things are going to pick up because now all of the teams that thought they still had a shot at Wan Soto, they don't have to worry about that anymore. And they can take the money that they thought they were going to spend on Soto. And now they can start using it in different areas, whether it's free agency, whether it's flipping prospects, to bring in veteran guys, which is where the car, would step in, you know, with all of these guys that have contracts.

Starting point is 00:18:25 And, you know, you would have to make room for those guys, which is what we expected as the winter meetings got closer. And now that wants it was off the table, these teams are going to be able to pivot to plans B, C, D, and so forth. And maybe that includes a call to the St. Louis Cardinals to check in on some of those veteran names that are available. Our friend Thomas Govane over at Redwood Brants.com dropped an article that I encourage you guys to go, click and check on where he lists the three needs for the Cardinals at the winter meetings, and they include an addition at one specific position. I'll tell you what that is next coming up

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Starting point is 00:19:34 And I hope Chiefs fans don't get mad about this, but is there any way that they're not going to get eliminated right away in the playoffs this year? Like they're going, but golly, do they get lucky in almost every facet of the game to pull off these victories? I would be really, really nervous if I was a Chiefs fan going into the playoffs. just because we just haven't seen them play at that optimum level yet.

Starting point is 00:19:57 But, you know, you're watching that game. And as things started to unfold, you had that feeling that, oh, it's a close one. Sheets you're going to somehow pull this one out. And, of course, they do. Their kicker doinks one off the upright and it goes through and beats the charger. So, hey, congratulations. But when you get a hunch in the middle of a game, a reminder that with Fandul, you can check out the latest stats, view live play by playing so much more on that same page

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Starting point is 00:20:48 Find Locked on MLB. Baseball Gubru Sully brings you the daily blend of humor in baseball, keeping you updated on all the teams during this offseason, the ongoings, the trades, the signings. It's all about to pick up a little bit. Find locked on M&M will be on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. Now, the first thing that our friend Thomas Gauvet list is making a trade.

Starting point is 00:21:09 Of the three things that he wants to see the Cardinals take care of when they get the winter meetings going here today, which I think we've covered enough already. You know, you know my feelings on this. They need to find a partner for Aronado, Fetti, Mats, or Michaelis, any of that stuff would be nice. I've actually got a poll question up on our Twitter X page saying which one do you hope the Cardinals can do first. And it's trading one of Aronado Fetti, Matt or Michaelis. Which one do you want them to get through first? Which move?

Starting point is 00:21:45 Which one do you want Mo to pull the trigger on first? So feel free to vote there. If they don't find a trade partner for any of these guys, is at the end of the world. no it's not the end of the world just because they aren't dealt this at the meetings this week doesn't mean something can't be worked out before spring training starts so i wouldn't lose my mind if a deal isn't done i'd be shocked if at least some deal isn't done particularly the stephen matt's one the r not a one you might have to wait up on that but a Stephen Matt's deal or an Eric Fetty deal,

Starting point is 00:22:26 I feel like those are kind of like easy ones that should be able to be made. The second thing he says is the team needs to add a reliever. And he brings up the Cardinal's current crop of relievers, which include Ryan Halsley, Matthew Libertor, Ryan Fernandez, John King, Joe Joe Romero, as their five guaranteed relievers. He brings some guys like Cal Leahy, Michael McGruevy, Zach Thompson, Gordon Grispo, who could make relief appearances,

Starting point is 00:22:51 but says that John Mosea could dip into the free agent pool to bring back an experienced Bolpin arm. Is Andrew Kittredge interested in coming back to the Cardinals? Obviously, we loved Kit this past year. He was great. He also brings up Blake Trinen, but he just signed a two-year deal with the Dodgers. So he's off the market. Dodgers also signed Michael Conforto to a one year.

Starting point is 00:23:15 I think it was $17 million deal. So the Dodgers are still putting pieces together. He brings up Kirby 8, Carlos Estevez, although in my opinion, those guys might get some pretty decent deals from other teams that may be a bit too rich for what the Cardinals are wanting to spend right now. Non-centered guys around the league, that seems like more of the avenue the Cardinals might be floating in the low-hanging fruit as is the term that we've gotten to know quite, quite well here in St. Louis.

Starting point is 00:23:44 Kyle Thinigan, Jordan Romano, Brent Honeywell Jr., Jacob Webb, are guys that he brings up. Finnegan and Romano, they've had some really good success as a closer. So it wouldn't shock me if they also signed some incentive-laden deals with big market teams. And they might get a little expensive. But, you know, obviously those are good targets for the Cardinals. You know, somebody who's looking to maybe sign a one-year prove-it deal. And if things go well, cool. If, you know, you can flip them at the trade deadline if the Cardinals aren't where they want to be. But it also isn't like overly expensive where you're not, you're not cracking open your piggy bank going, how are we going to pay these guys?

Starting point is 00:24:28 That wouldn't be the case either. Thomas says he likes Webb is a guy that he's intrigued by, 31 years old, struck out 58 batters in 56 and two-thirds innings, 3.02 ERA with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024. So, yeah, that sounds like a guy that the Cardinals would be interested in, try to get some value out of him. And like I said, you either flip them at the deadline or maybe you get them to a two-year deal. And he sticks around. His final need that he brings up is one that I didn't really think about until I read this. And I was like, yeah, I mean, yeah, 2025 MLB draft.

Starting point is 00:25:06 He wants them to commit resources to this. The Cardinals obviously had a better year in 2024 than they did in 2023. So, you know, they're not projected to be in the top 10 of the picks this year like they wore. this past year when they ended up at the number seven overall pick, which was actually lower than we thought they were going to be, but they were still able to snag current number one prospect, J.J. Weatherholt, out of West Virginia, with that pick, which was fantastic. I'm very excited about the future of J.J. Weatherholt.

Starting point is 00:25:38 Some people thought he was going to go number one overall. That's how good he has been. But an injury that last year in college kind of set things back a little bit, and people went in different directions. and he was able to fall into the Cardinals lap at number seven. This year, projections have the Cardinals drafting around number 13. But it is a lot of reasons after all, so they could end up higher than 13. So maybe they'll get a little bit luckier than they did this past year after, you know, they kind of got shafted, you know, especially when you saw the Reds,

Starting point is 00:26:08 able to get the number two overall pick. And you're like, hey, we had a way worse year than the Cincinnati Reds. This is bull crap. But again, you got weather holds out of it. So we're not going to cry too much about that. But still, you're hoping that Lady Luck will be on their side a little bit more here in 2025 draft. Thomas says this year's draft, it leans heavier on high school prep people. One of them being Ethan Holiday, that name sounds familiar.

Starting point is 00:26:38 Yes, it is former Cardo Matt Holliday's other kid, who was a shortstop in third basement, age 17, already six, four, 200 pounds. MLB pipelines and number one prospect apparently has more power than Jackson Holiday, who was already up with the Orioles last year, former number one overall pick. So that's kind of what we're dealing with at the winter meetings. Now that the Soto thing is done, you're going to start seeing more people scramble into different positions. And hopefully the Cardinals can benefit from some of the moves that these guys want to make. So we're going to keep you updated on everything that goes on with the winter meetings throughout the week. So be sure to follow us online and, of course, on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:27:20 And thank you for making Lockdown 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. Like, subscribe on YouTube, up our channel and our love for the Cardinals. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. I will see you next time on Lockdown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Juan Soto Deal Could Benefit The Cardinals

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