Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - More Trade Talk Involving Luis Robert Jr. And The Cardinals

Episode Date: June 27, 2024

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Is making a deal for one of the biggest targets on the trade market a feasible idea for the St. Louis Cardinals? We'll talk about it today on Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, the 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 Lockedon Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, covering your team every day.

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Hit the notification button so you know when new episodes are posted. This is a show, Survey Cardinal Nation, and giving the best. best fans of baseball. All of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode of Locktown Cardinals brought to you by booking.com. Booking. Yeah, the right stay can make you a fan of any city, even your rivals. Check out booking.com for your stay today. So the St. Louis Cardinals just took two of three from the Atlanta Braves, which once again, if you're new to the channel and you're watching on YouTube, it's why I'm wearing this hideous old man St. Louis Cardinals button-up shirt. First off, it's kind of comfortable. Second off, we wear them when we get

series victories. And that's what they got by splitting the double header on Wednesday. We're going to talk more about those games specifically later on in the episode. But before we get to that, I want to circle back and talk about one of the biggest trade pieces on the market, heading towards the trade deadline, which is coming up at the end of July. And that is Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. It's not pronounced Robert. So whoever's saying it that way, tell them to stop. That's not how he says his name. It's Luis Robert Jr.

Like I mentioned, we're one month away from the trade deadline. And I'm telling you, it's going to sneak up on us really, really quick, especially with the Cardinals playing well and winning ball games. If they continue to do that, it's going to get here quick. It's going to get here quick. So just be ready. And the White Sox are one of those teams that have some of the biggest names available. Luis Robert Jr. being the arguably the biggest one.

Garrett Crochet, if they decide to trade him, big left-hander, young. I mean, if they decide to trade him, that's going to be a huge piece. Personally, I would trade more to get Garrett Crochet right now than I would, Louise Robert Jr. I just know that pitching is that much more important. They've also got Eric Feddy, somebody we've talked about on this show as well. All three of them seemingly available for a deal. And probably anyone else you want from the current. roster of the Chicago White Sox. I can't imagine there's any untouchables on the roster right now.

But for those of you who are unfamiliar with Luis Robert Jr., 26-year-old outfielder for the White Sox was a guy the Cardinals almost got, if you remember, because he was coming out of Cuba, and the Cardinals were right there for the signing of Luis Robert Jr. They ended up losing the bidding war to the White Sox for a couple of different reasons. I mean, you can say that the Cardinals were being cheap and didn't want to buck up. as much as Chicago did. But there was problems with like what the signing bonus money had to be, where their international signing cap was at at the time.

So there were a couple of different reasons why he ended up in Chicago instead of St. Louis. The bottom line is they tried. The Cardinals did try to get them. They thought enough of them that they got into the bidding war to try to get them. And the White Sox were just able to outbid him. So that's life. That's life. Robert Jr. was the runner up for the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

and it was during the COVID year of 2020. Do you remember who he lost to? Does anybody remember who he lost to? It's a dude who is not even in the league anymore. Give up. Okay, outfielder Kyle Lewis, who was playing for the Seattle Mariners at the time. I mean, COVID year, that was a weird year, man. Weird year for everybody.

Trevor Bauer getting the Cy Young Award. He's not in the league anymore, even though people keep begging. Teams to side him for some reason. Teams aren't doing it. Jose O'Breou was your MVP. He's not in the league. league anymore. The Astros DFA'd have and ate a ton of money. Don Mattingly was your NL manager of a year. Like think about how much has changed just in a couple of years. Robert finished second in the

voting there. He did win a gold glove that first year and then had a couple of seasons in 2021 and 2022 where injuries were the problem. Played less than 100 games in both of those seasons, but he was still really good. 2021, he was having a hell of a season. It was hitting 338, 13, home runs, 43 RBIs in just 68 games at year. But he tore a hip flexer, his right side hip flexor out for a long time. OPS plus that year was 151, just sickening. Dude was a monster. In 2022, he plays in just 98 games due to a wrist injury. Got hit by a pitch slash 284, 12 home runs, 56 RBI. So still pretty darn good. But it all came together last year at the play. He was finally healthy for most of the year, 145 games, only hit 264, but we know how batting

average isn't really looked at quite as much as it used to be. Smashes 38 bombs. He drove in 80. He had 20 stolen bases, OPS plus of 129, really good defender. It was an all-star. He won the Silver Slugger Award, even got a few MVP votes. I mean, dude was really, really good. So a lot of expectations coming into 2024 for Luis Robert Jr. But he gets hurt again, right? His hip flexor strain the same hip that he hurt in 2021. So he's only playing in 27 games. He's hitting a very underwhelming 190, 7-home runs, 11 RBIs, the OBS Plus at 101. But he's on a team that is going nowhere.

He doesn't appear that he really wants to be there all that much anymore. I don't know anybody who really does. But he's still got a lot of value because he's only 26. It will be 27 in August. He's under team control until 20, 28, when he's going to be a free agent at the age of 30. the talent is real. Clearly things are bad in Chicago. The White Sox are entertaining offers for him. And they're hoping to get a massive haul in return for him. I read somewhere and I forget where it was and who it did. So I apologize to whoever had it. But that they were hoping for a Juan Soto type of hall that like the Nationals got to make the trade with the Padres.

He is not Juan Soto by any means. But probably going to be the top. outfielder available and there's just a lot of upside to it. And like I mentioned with the team control and the contract stuff, people are going to be very much attracted to try to getting him on their team. And what happens if you do get him and you unlock him to be the guy that he was last year and he stays healthy for you? I mean, wow, right? But they're hoping to get a massive haul for him. They won a lot for crochet.

They're going to want some pretty decent for Fetty. They also thought they were going to get a massive haul for Dylan Cese. And I don't really think what the Padres gave up would be deemed a. massive, Paul. It was good, but not what I think they were shooting for when we first started hearing rumors about Dylan C's getting moved. So didn't quite pan out the way I think they thought it would. But he's going to be someone that people won. And with so many teams still in the playoff picture, the White Sox are kind of kind of have their pick of the litter of where he goes. Now, MLB.com's Mike Petriello recently did a write-up about 10 teams that could target Luis Robert Jr.

And he has the Cardinals as one of the 10 teams. So here's what he had to. to say about them. First, he lists why it should be them. Why should the Cardinals be interested in this guy? Well, here's what he's got. Because their centerfielders are hitting 192, 236, 254. This is not a typo. Victor Scott the second gave way to Mike Siani. And while Siani's defense has been excellent, this group is in contention for the worst hitting center field group in history. Also, not a typo. That lack of success belies the fact that St. Louis has actually played quite well lately. and currently holds it in a wild card spot. Robert, if he plays like he did last year,

would be a true game changer. And with fan patience growing thin after 2023s downturn, the front office might be willing to be aggressive. All fair points, right? We love Michael Ciani. We think he's fantastic. I love Michael Ciani. I'm a huge fan of this guy.

But, yeah, offensively, not what you're looking for, really. You know, he doesn't offer a ton. I had a couple hits yesterday, which is always nice, offers the speed. but clearly defensive baseball is his strong suit. It's not so much hitting from the hitting at all. And again, he's also a left-hand bat, which the Cardinals have a ton of. So Luis Robert Jr. being right-handed,

something that they're kind of looking for to add to the lineup if they were to make a deal. Why he says it won't be the Cardinals making the trade for Luis Robert Jr. says pitching might be a larger concern and the lack of production from either Paul Goldschmidt or Nolan Aranaanaanae may influence how heavily they want to go in on this roster. Now, that's something that I've brought up already. Does Luis Robert Jr.

Automatically make you a World Series contender? I don't think so. I don't. It's a team as great as they're playing right now. Obviously, there's still some issues with the roster. You know, there are some places that you need improvement. is a center fielder exactly what you need right now? Is that going to make you the best team possible?

Or should you be looking for somebody to be a number four, number five or more for you in that rotation? Would that make a bigger difference for the team? And that's where I have an issue with making a trade for Robert Jr. Now, the other teams he lists as possible suitors, you've got the Phillies, the Mariners, the Braves, Cubs, Royals, Rangers, Dodgers, Orioles, and the Pirates. So you got three NL Central teams there.

I don't see any of those three making the deal. I don't see the Cardinals. I definitely don't see the Pirates giving up anything to do that. And then the Cubs, the Cubs kind of feel like a sinking ship. If they don't turn things around quickly, I don't know that they are adding anybody, to be honest with you. I can see the Braves making a deal, considering they lost Ronald Acuna Jr. The Orioles have talent for days in their organization to trade away if they wanted to grab them. Dodgers could do it because they can do almost anything they want.

Plus, they've lost mooky bets for a while. So maybe they need to add another bat and feel like, hey, let's just go get him too. The Mariners would be very interesting, I think, too. They're having a very strong season out west. Robert Jr. and Julio Rodriguez in the same outfield. Seems like that'd be kind of a fun idea if you're a fan of Seattle. And as much fun as it is to speculate about these things.

And we're going to continue to do it all the way up to the trade deadline, because it's fun, it's entertaining, and you never know when things are going to happen. I just don't see the Cardinals ponying up for what Chicago wants to get him. And we know that despite his offensive shortcomings, Michael Siani, has been really, really good at the center field, saving runs for this team. You believe that Tommy Edmund's going to return in the second half at some point, although he just had another setback, twisted his ankle. So that's just another injury that he's got to worry about right now.

And Jordan Walker, is Jordan Walker going to be back here? Lars Neupar, is he coming back here, you know, healthy and ready to go too? And who are the White Sox going to ask for? Probably Jordan Walker, Victor Scott, Tink Pence, Ticoa, Robi, Chase Davis, Thomas and Jayce, a lot of the guys that the Cardals just rebuilt this organization with as far as how their prospects go. And are you ready to just empty it out again already for Luis Robert Jr.? I just cannot see the Cardinals parting ways with a group of those guys to make a deal work to get this deal done. The injury history is something I'm very concerned about.

He's had one healthy season. And we're not talking about a guy in his late 20s, early 30s. We're talking to a guy in his early 20s when all these injuries kept happening. You're not supposed to get hurt as much when you're younger. You're supposed to be able to handle that kind of stuff. And it hasn't worked out for him. Like, he's not going to get healthier as he gets older, is he? So for me, again, fun to chat about doesn't seem all that realistic for the Cardinals.

But let me know your thoughts down below. Next up, I want to get into what happened in yesterday's double header where a rare wild outing by one of their most dependable pitchers led to their demise in game one. This is Locked on Cardinals. Here on Locked on Cardinals, we pride ourselves on getting you the latest news for your team, whether it's the offseason, the draft spring training or the playoffs. It's year round. And you know what else is year-round election season? Just because tax season is over doesn't mean the IRS is just going to stop coming after you for unfiled taxes. They want your money.

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Make the switch to locked on sports today. Don't deal with that shouting. It's a free 24-7 sports streaming channel. It's programmed for you. every single day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming, streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app, all part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Remember, you can catch you every pitch of the Cardinals hometown broadcast with Sirius XM.

Just download the SXM app and search the word Cardinals. Thank you for making Lockdown Cardinals your first listen every day. Leave your comments on YouTube as well as on Twitter X anytime you want. That feedback always welcome and encouraged. Lots to hear from you. and when it comes to the Luis Robert Jr. trade speculation. I want your thoughts on that. Obviously, probably a lot of good things to say about what's just happened on Wednesday.

The Atlanta Braves, one of the best teams and best organizations in all of baseball, despite losing the reigning in LNVP and Ronald O'Cunia Jr. One of the top Cy Young candidates in the National League in Spencer Strider, the team was hardly skipped the beat. They came into St. Louis, winners of eight of their last 10. They've got perennial all-stars and Matt. Olson, Ozzy Albies, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Max Fried. They've got the resurgence of former Cardinal Marcelo Zuna and Chris Sale. Those have been huge additions to this team.

And the Cardinals take two of three. Now, Cardinals did get lucky, didn't have to face Sailor Freed in the series. Instead, it was Spencer Schwellenbach. Raynaldo Lopez, another guy who's just been awesome out of nowhere for the Braves this year. And then Bryce Elder. So not exactly the top pitchers for the Braves Lopez is, but Schwellenbach and Elder, they're not freed or sale. Okay, let's be honest. But that's not the Cardinals fault.

They can only come out and play the team that the other side fields against them. So you do what you got to do. They get the 4 to 3 win on Monday. Then the rain on Tuesday forces a double header yesterday. Game one was a reminder that good pitch. He can usually stop good hitting. and that walks will hunt you. Cardinals falling game 1, 6 to 2.

In that game, you saw the return of Kyle Gibson, who missed his last start of Miami when his back tightened up in pregame, and then like 15 minutes before the game is supposed to start. He's out. Matthew Libertory has to come in. And Gibson hadn't pitched since June 14th because of this. Been one of your top arms this year. Very consistent, very dependable,

but he looked rather rusty on Wednesday. I guess you can expect that. The real issue for Gibson was just the control. control, season high, five walks in the game and just four innings pitched, which was tied for a season low of innings that he threw. So just a, not a great game for Kyle Gibson. It happens from time to time. Again, these guys are not machines. They are men. And you know as well as I do that when you give any major league team a bunch of free base runners, you're just setting yourself up for disaster. And when you do it against the team as good as the Braves, makes life really, really

tough. So Gibson's final line, four endings, four runs, four hits, five walks, four strikeouts. But despite the struggles of Kyle Gibson, the Cardinals were never really like out of this game. Like on the other side of the coin, it was Raynaulda Lopez for the Braves. Again, has been outstanding this year. And the Cardinals had their chances against them. They took a lot of really tough at bats against Ranaldo Lopez. But instead of cashing in with some big hits, they were getting the sack flies instead, which normally great, right, when you're chipping away at a team, but it didn't end up being enough on this particular occasion. It happened in the bottom of the second. They're down four to nothing at this point. Matt Carpenter. Bases loaded one

out. Sack fly brings in one. You're fine with that. You're not upset, but Michael Ciani comes up. He strikes out. They strand two. Bottom of the fifth. This was huge. Still four to one. Alec Berlusen up with the bases loaded nobody out. Drives one deep. I mean, right guy, right. time. Alec Berlinson, one of the hottest hitters on the planet right now. He drives one deep. Sack fly. It's deep enough that all the runners move up, which is awesome. Great base running there. But your next hitter is Wilson Contreras and he strikes out. Donnie rips one, the next hitter. But right at Jared Kellnick and center field, the inning's over. Contreras whiffing there, huge. Like you got to put the ball in play there when everybody has scooted up there. And to have your

number three guy go down on strikes like that, that sucks. That really cripples your inning. At this point, it's four to two, and you're only down two runs, but Kellnick would Homer in the next half inning off Kyle Leahy to make it six to two, which is how the game ended. You did see the return of Giovanni Gallegos, had a long, but scoreless inning. The Vila looked good. My thoughts on what Gallegos offered the Vila looked good.

he was throwing 93-94. I saw that he was expected to throw two innings. I think it was like 22, 23 pitches. So it was a long inning for Gio, some deep counts. He ends up going only one inning, but they said it was due to some dizziness that he was dealing with, not because the pitch count or anything. So hopefully he's feeling better today.

John King also tossed another scoreless inning. He's been fantastic this year. Cardals, it was one of those days. Cardals were hitting the ball and the screws on a number of different occasions. and it would go right at a Braves defender. And there's nothing you can do about it. You know, just one of those games.

It happens in the game of baseball. Team finishes with six walks. I mentioned they took a lot of tough vats against Lopez, but only got four hits. They were over four with runners in scoring position, and they left eight men on base. So game two, they were hoping for better results. They had Matthew Libertor getting the start,

and for the second year in a row, it's been a bit of a yo-yo act with one of the Cardle's top young arms last year. Zach Thompson, who kept floating back and forth between starting and relieving. This year, it's been Libby. And from all accounts, the Cardinals realized how good he is in the bullpen, but, and that they want to keep him there. But the circumstances had them going with, it was deemed a bullpen game in game too.

And Libby was just the sensible choice, right? It made a lot of sense to give him the ball. How long could he go? Would he be any good? These were the real questions. And holy smokes. Did he answer the bell in game too? We're going to get into that next year on Locktown Cardinals.

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just happened last night. All right. They were all over it. So if you're an NBA draft person and you haven't checked out, locked on sports today, you need to go do it. You can find it available right now on the Free Fire TV channels app. Matthew Libertor. A whipping boy favorite for a lot of fans. And you know why. Do I have to get into this again? The Cardle's got him in the Randy or Rosa Rana trade with the raise. you know the story, a Rosarana goes on to huge things in the playoffs and just in general with the race, although he's having a pretty bad season this year, but just goes there and lights it up, right? It becomes a superstar. Libertor hasn't really lived up the expectations as the first round pick, let alone

traded for a guy who ended up doing the things that a Roserana did. So people have been very, very hard on him. This year, Libby seems to have found a home in the bullpen, right? he's been pretty good there. As a reliever, he's one in one this year. He's got a 2.92 ERA. And I've said it before. I don't care if he's a reliever or a starter.

Like, as long as you're getting positive stuff and production out of him, put him there. If he's a better reliever than a starter, then so be it. Like, you need those guys, too. It's not like you're some scrub just because you're in the bullpen. Look how huge Kittridge and Romero and Helsley have been this year. and you put another top gun out there, left-handed thrower, like a Libertor, and he's really, really good out there, let him be there, right?

But circumstances change. Mats has been out with injuries again. So they tried Libertor as a starter again. Didn't go great. Now recently, he's had to make a couple of starts. In Miami, Gibson's back tightens up before the game. They got to have Libertor come in and make the start instead. Then on Wednesday, the Cardinals had the double header.

Going with a bullpen game makes sense to start Matthew Libertory. He's been a starter before. Now in Miami, I know it started off bad, a couple of home runs, first two people that he faced, but he settled in after that. And then on Wednesday, he just kept on rolling because he looked good at Miami after the first two hitters. And Wednesday, he was incredible. He fires off six shutout innings. He allows just two hits.

He strikes out eight. He was magnificent. And now here's the big, too, is he was only expected to throw 60 to 65 pitches. That was kind of the target area for him. But because he was so good and he was so dominant and seemingly as strong as ever when he went out there for the sixth inning, Ali let him go out there for the six. And he ends up tossing 85 total pitches. He strikes out the side in the sixth inning.

It's not like he was laboring or anything. He looked great. He looked as strong as ever. After the game, Ali had this to say about the outing or the outing. he was in control of that whole outing and the game looked slow to him. And man, he was on the attack. He was incredible. He took advantage of this opportunity and took a huge step forward.

Now, let's pump the brakes for a second. I don't think all of a sudden you need to put Matthew Libertories your number five after this one game. Like, I'm not ready to do that yet. I know Palantes had a couple of rough outings recently, so it might be something you're tempted to think about. But let's just hold off. okay let's just hold off I mean he could be the answer eventually but I'm just not ready to just thrust him in

because I don't want him to start regressing again it would freak me out like if he goes out there and bombs in a start again then look how much damage we've done already and you've lost a guy in the bullpen so this was as good as we've seen him since he faced the Tampa Bay raise last year right when he was brilliant in a victory over them And this was huge for the team on this day because they've had to do a lot of juggling recently with the rotation in the bullpen because of how the schedule was playing out and injuries that have occurred.

And the weather has been strange. So kudos to Matthew Libertor. That was awesome to watch. And it makes me happy to see these guys who have struggled a bit step up and have some success. Like it's cool to see Matthew Libertor smiling in the desert. out with Dusty Blake chatting and laughing a little bit about, hey, we did pretty good today. Did pretty good today. Following Libby, Chris Roycroft, who was the 27th man in the doubleheader yesterday, an impressive scoreless inning. I really like what I see out of Roycroft. And I know he's

kind of raw, and he's still figuring things out. We know he didn't cover first base in that one game and it's cost of, I know. But I like how he's a huge man. He's this huge guy out there, and he just looks mean. He looks nasty. He's got fire to him. I dig that. He's got a lot of movement on that two-sever, dude. That thing is wicked. So I'm impressed with what they've gotten out of Roycroft so far. And I hope he continues to be somebody that they consider a part of this team moving forward. It'll probably get sent back. I haven't seen any transactions today. But being that he was the 27th, man, he's probably going back. But, you know, he had Jojo Romero coming in. He inherited a runner that scored. charged to Andrew Kittred, who, let's be honest, he's worked a lot, got two quickouts yesterday, and then he allows, I think it was three straight hits, and it just snowballed

on Kit a little bit. And I'm very worried about these guys with the amount of usage they've had here in the first half that they're going to be toasted by the second half of the season. By the time we get to August, I'm concerned about it. So it's nice to have guys like a Roycroft waiting in the wings that can help maybe take on some of these situations where Kit might need an extra day or two. But that cut the lead to two to one. And it was Ryan Housley coming on in the ninth inning. At this point, the score is four to one, making life tough on himself.

Again, he walks a guy, then a single before he finally closes it out for his 28 save of the season, the walks, man. Helsley has got to figure this out. like your stuff is so good like we got to find the zone with hellsley i don't know what it is but the walks are a problem um but 28 saves in a row like are we gonna are we gonna betcha and moan too much uh offensively alec burleson he stays out two for four two more rbis he had the one out double in the eighth inning which was followed by two out singles by goldy and donnie which added some breathing room to make it four to one which was nice to have that because you know that

Housley's going to make things interesting. Michael Ciani, my dude, two hits, made another outstanding catch in the first inning on Ozuna. Just a well-played, solid victory, and it gave the Cardinals a series win over the Atlanta Braves, which is nothing to sneeze at. They are very, very good. Cardinals have now won five of their last six. They got another division rival coming to town this weekend. The Cincinnati Reds are here for the first time in St. Louis.

Four-game series starts on Thursday night. Miles Michaelis, get your start against left-hander Andrew Abbott. who the Cardinals hit pretty well when they faced him in Cincinnati earlier this year. Reds are 12 and 11 in June, but recently have not been good. Lost back-to-back games against the Pirates. They've lost seven of their last 10. They fall into 37 and 43 on the year. They're dealing with injuries galore.

You got to keep your eye on a couple of guys. L.A. Dela Cruz, obviously, the number one dog in their lineup has been hitting much better recently for them was on a bit of a cold streak, but he's starting to warm up. and then Cardinal Killer. The one guy that always kills the Cardinals is Jonathan India constantly. And guess who's their hottest hitter right now? Jonathan, India. Keep that in mind when you're making bets, by the way, in this series.

He's been scorching hot. 571 over his last six games, like has multiple hits in, I don't know, like four or five consecutive games. Something ridiculous. Like he's on fire. So keep an eye on those two guys. The rest of the lineup hasn't really been doing much. You know, Jamer Candelario was a big free agent signing for them. He's dealing with knee tendinitis.

So that's been a problem. And hopefully the Cardinals can go out and take care of business over these next four days. They took two of three in Cincinnati earlier this month. And this is a worse Cincinnati team now than when they were playing them then. So hopefully the Cardinals can keep the momentum going. I will be at the games on Friday and Saturday, by the way. So if you see me, don't be shy. Say hi.

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