Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Trade Rumors SWIRL with Brendan Donovan's FUTURE At The Forefront

Episode Date: November 14, 2025

St. Louis Cardinals face a pivotal offseason as trade rumors swirl around All-Star Brendan Donovan and veterans like Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray. With over half the league reportedly pursuing Donovan...’s unique skillset, will the Cardinals’ front office capitalize on his market value to accelerate their rebuild or miss a prime opportunity for transformation?00:00 MVPs, Cardinals Trades, MLB Updates04:57 "Building Long-Term Success"07:54 Team Rebuild Requires Tough Decisions12:25 "High Demand for Brennan Donovan"14:16 Cardinals' Pitching Depth Concerns18:12 Dodgers, Cardinals Trade Speculation20:53 "Trading Donovan: Business Over Loyalty"24:56 "Cardinals Unlikely to Trade Big"26:37 "Back-to-Back MLB Award Winners"30:27 "Finding the Cardinals' MVP"Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-st-louis-cardinals/Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/mlb/Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIOFollow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_CardinalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONMLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.PrizePicks — Run Your Game.Click Link Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLBGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA and NFL seasons are here, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)#ForTheLou #stlcards #mlb #lockedoncardinals #stlouiscardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The sharks are circling as teams continue to show a lot of interest in trading for members of the St. Louis Cardinals, including All-Star, Brendan Donovan. 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. Hafford, a former national radio sports anchor, born and raised in St. Louis and a lifetime Cardinals fan. And welcome to Locked on Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Net. Now the number one sports podcast network. Thank you to our everydayers for being here with us all along. And for those of you who are new, welcome in. I hope you enjoy the content.
Starting point is 00:00:45 This is a show serving Cardle Nation and giving you all the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to you by Fandall. Right now new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So down on the app today. On today's show, we're going to discuss the new MVP's of the league. I mean, technically, they are new, even though both Shohay Otani and Aaron Judge are now back-to-back winners, which is the first time that's ever happened. So we've got the latest info coming out of the GM meetings to discuss.
Starting point is 00:01:17 And that kind of leads us into our first topic of the day today, which is the market for members of the St. Louis Cardinals. What's the trade market looking like? Specifically, Brennan Donovan, though. That is the name I'm going to focus on today because the Cardinals loan All-Star from this, season, Silver Slugger finalist is reportedly getting a lot of attention from teams around the league who would love, love to have the services of Brendan Donovan in 2026 and beyond. Now, there's been a lot of reports from both the St. Louis media, the national media as well, discussing what the future of the Cardinals is going to look like and what it's going to look
Starting point is 00:01:57 like for Brennan Donovan moving forward. Mark Feinstand from MLB.com is saying that the Cardinals may be one of the most active teams on the trade market this off season. That is music to our ears as fans. Since we know that this team needs to make some moves, we are tired of seeing them just stuck in neutral, not going one way or the other. You know, I'm a believer that Cardinals fans are indeed some of the smartest in baseball.
Starting point is 00:02:26 I grew up with you. I know a lot of you. And as much grief as we caught this past year for Bush Stadium, basically being a ghost town for most games, the message was clear that the fans are done with this middle of the road stuff. And I want to use harsher language than that, but it'll get me in trouble so I'm not going to,
Starting point is 00:02:46 but they're tired of it. And they needed the front office to pick a lane and stick to it. You're either rebuilding to become better later or you spend and get aggressive to become contenders now. straddling that line sucks. That is not where you want to be. It is a terrible place to be sitting. It is purgatory.
Starting point is 00:03:11 It is terrible. And that is where the cardinals have been for three straight years. Not going up, not going down, just kind of just floating along there. Awful. This year, we understand the direction better. We thought we understood the direction better going into last year. But, and I'm not going to put this on Mo, but the guys they wanted to trade, similar to the guys they want to get rid of this year, didn't want to leave. Nolan Aronado didn't want to leave.
Starting point is 00:03:41 Sunny Gray, didn't want to leave. Wells Contrera still doesn't want to leave. So guys that had value that they could trade away, they couldn't get rid of them. So instead, they were like, well, let's, we might as well keep everybody. We might as well keep Halsley and see what we can do with him, maybe towards a trade deadline. instead. It just screwed up the whole year, really. And this year, the direction is similar. It's the same path, but it feels like it's going to be more aggressive. It doesn't feel like Heim Bloom is going to be handcuffed as much as John Moselek was last year. You know,
Starting point is 00:04:17 he doesn't mince words. The cartels are rebuilding the farm system. You know, Bloom has been blatantly obvious about this and honest and it's just like, this is what we're doing. Like he has not been shy. You know, we're rebuilding this farm system so that we can compete for championships down the line. And the ultimate goal is, yeah, we want to get there. But sustain, sustain that ability to compete each year. They want to win. Like they're not saying, we're not doing the tanking or anything like that.
Starting point is 00:04:49 I'm Blumen Company want to win. Of course they do. They want people in the seats. They want, you know, money coming in. Like that's important. But winning in 2026 and 2027 is not the end goal. It's winning in the years like 2028 and beyond to not only get to the penthouse where the upper tier teams party again. You know, you want to be up there with the unlimited champagne, the caviar, the lobster.
Starting point is 00:05:16 But you want to stay there. You don't want to just, you know, bounce in and say, what up and then be gone again. You want to stay there and never fall back to where they are now where, you know, we're serving crack. and spray canned cheese at our parties. Although I'm not afraid to eat that stuff. You give me enough buttoisers. You put that in your system. You get enough of them. That stuff don't taste so bad. But to get to that point, they got to move guys, right? We know they got to move guys. It's going to happen. We know the story with Nolan Aronado and Sunny Gray, who are under control through 2027, have no trade clauses, both want to win. They want to be someplace where they have a better
Starting point is 00:05:56 chance to do that. And again, neither of them is like bashing St. Louis. They're not bashing the Cardinals and demanding trades out of town because they're so unhappy. It's such a miserable experience. That's not what has been going on at all. Behind the scenes, I have no idea. But from what we know, that isn't the case. But they get what the Cardinals are doing right now and where they are at this time with this whole thing and how they're moving forward with the organization. And both of them are now as open as ever to be moved if they find the right fit. Again, they still have the power to veto anything that the Cardinal will come up with. They don't have to go anywhere.
Starting point is 00:06:38 So if High Bloom strikes a deal with a team or a city, they don't want to be in. They don't have to go. So there's still that problem. But I just feel like that they're a little more open to what the rest of the league has to offer. as far as giving those guys a chance to go someplace and win, and that's what they're going to be selling to them. So what you get in return, Nato's not going to affect you much at this point with the decline offensively, the contract, none of that is really that good right now. Sonny could certainly score you some good prospects in return, but he's so expensive that that's
Starting point is 00:07:16 going to hurt your return. You're going to make $35 million this year, could make $30 million next year. You got the buyout involved there as well. So if the cardals don't eat a lot of the money that he's owed, that is certainly going to hurt your return on a sunny gray trade because that's just the way it is. And teams don't want, you know, the cartels aren't trying to eat a lot of money. If they don't have to, they'd rather just move on. But at the same time, you're kind of trying to restock the cupboard a little bit here, too. So there's going to be a little give and take there. But Brendan Donovan is the guy that makes the most sense to trade away that, you know, he should be able to get you a very nice return.
Starting point is 00:07:56 turn because there's a market for someone of his capabilities. He's not old. He's in his prime. He's not expensive. He's a ton of positions. He's a left-handed bat. Great guy in the clubhouse. What's not to love, right?
Starting point is 00:08:11 And it begs the question, well, it'll be so great. Why aren't we getting rid of them? And the truth is this. They aren't ready to compete right now. Now I could sit here and talk about how bright the future is for guys that I like. Von Herrera and Burley and Mason Wynn and Victor Scott and Matt Sphonson and Liam Doyle and Matthew Libertor. I can tell you all of these good things about these guys, but that's still not a team that is prepared to make a serious run next season. They're just not. Now, could they surprise us?
Starting point is 00:08:46 Sure, sure they could. It happens almost every year, but the reality is they likely won't be ready to do that next year. Odds are against them. It's why Nato and Sunny probably won't be around. If this was a group of guys that was ready to win now, those guys wouldn't want to leave. They wouldn't have any interest in going anywhere else. But unfortunately, that's where we're at.
Starting point is 00:09:07 Some other reasons. His contract is coming up soon. You could extend him, but there really hasn't been much chatter about that. I mean, you haven't heard much about it. At least I haven't. If I'm missing something, let me know. they also got to make room for JJ Weatherhole.
Starting point is 00:09:23 That's obviously a priority. I was reading something today. I think it was MLB Pipeline. It was posting something about what is the percentage, what's the likelihood of certain top prospects being a member of their team on opening day? And they had it listed for JJ at 80%. So it's pretty good.
Starting point is 00:09:45 It's pretty good. Moving Nato and Donnie would open up that lane for JJ to be here early in 2026 for sure, if not opening day. The argument that you should move Nato and Gorman instead can be made, but you're not going to get the same return in deals for those guys. Like, Nato's not going to get you much. Gorman stock is way down after two seasons. So, Bernard Donovan's the guy that can get you more.
Starting point is 00:10:15 And as we are learning, he's a valuable commodity. He has. Teams want this guy. They're lining up. I'll tell you which team that's been brought up by reporters that have said that, yeah, these are the guys that are interested in Brendan Donovan and a trade to get them. That's coming up next year on Locktown Cardinals. The NBA is back and there is no better place to get in on the action than Fandall.
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Starting point is 00:12:06 So there is reportedly a real market for Brinandemann. This is not something where it's like, you know, there's two or three teams that, you know, might be interested in getting out. Apparently there's a lot of teams that I think Britta Donovan's a pretty darn good baseball player. And it shouldn't surprise anyone that people want him. I mean, he does a lot for the Cardinals.
Starting point is 00:12:26 and he can do a lot for a lot of teams in Major League Baseball. So people want him. Mark FeinSand said this about him that the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Royals, and the Guardians are among the teams believed to be potential landing spots for Donovan. Our very own Derek Gould from SCL Today.com. Also, in his article, named those teams and added that one source described how more than half the teams in the majors would like to trade for him
Starting point is 00:12:51 and joked how there should be 22 or more calling the Cardinals. And yeah, why would you? And this is definitely beneficial for the cardals because it means that, you know, this market for Donnie, it could become competitive. It could get competitive among the major league teams who were trying to get them, which means the Cardinals could score even more in return to help them down the line when they are ready to compete. The next question is always, well, what are they going to get?
Starting point is 00:13:21 Like, what's Brinidad Donovan going to get us in a trade? And the answer hasn't really changed at what exactly the Cardinals are targeting. They're looking for young, controllable starting pitching. That's what they want. That's the goal. They want to get as many of those young, controllable arms that they can handle. Because we know how fragile starting pitch it can be. We know that Cardinals got really lucky this past year.
Starting point is 00:13:52 And I told you it's kind of like, well, did they? get lucky because we had to watch some of these not so good pitchers stay in the rotation, and none of them got hurt, which, you know, you're not wishing injury upon anybody, but they didn't have to worry about finding people to come in and make starts. It was basically the same five guys for most of the year. So that was really nice. That is not normal. That's not how it usually works out.
Starting point is 00:14:15 Usually one or two of these guys are going to go down at some point, and you've got to have depth at that position and depth in your starting pitching to, facilitate that and be able to handle such things. And the Cardinals at this moment, they had a bunch of injuries in the minor leagues among their starters. You know, exciting names like, you know, Tocoa Robi was the guy that, you know, I bring up every day or no.
Starting point is 00:14:38 I was infatuated with this guy after what we saw from him in spring training. And I couldn't wait for them to call him up at some point this year. And then he got hurt. And now he's out for this season. And that sucks. So that's normally how it is, though, even at the major league level. Like it's normally, you're going to lose a guy or two.
Starting point is 00:14:56 It just happens, the nature of the beast. So what could they get in return? That's what they're targeting. If you look at the four teams, some names that I'd keep an eye on it. And I'll be honest with you. I don't know who is actually available. Like I don't have that information right now. Like there's not a list where the teams are just putting them out there going,
Starting point is 00:15:18 hey, these are the guys who we will trade. But some of the guys, it seemed to make a little bit of sense for me. I'll go through each team for the Royals. To me, it looks like they got some lefty depth, like left-handed starting depth. So, you know, Noah Cameron, who pitched against Cardinals this year, was very good against him.
Starting point is 00:15:39 He was solid. So you've got Chris Boobich, you got Cole Regens that are names that I'd keep an eye on. Both of them got hurt last year. So, you know, I've got to make sure they check out with the medicals before anything like that. But Bubbage was an all-star. He was money on my fantasy team until he got hurt. That was a bummer. That was a real bummer.
Starting point is 00:15:58 In fact, I traded him for, a three player for one trade for Terrick Scoobel. And then Bubich went down like the next week. So actually, I got kind of lucky with that one. But three lefties for them shows me that, hey, one of those guys might be available. Cleveland's got two 26-year-old pitchers in Logan Allen and Slate's Cicconi.
Starting point is 00:16:20 and they've also got Joey Cantillo who made 13 starts. All three of those guys are young and under control for quite a while. So it had majorly experience now. For the Yankees, Cam Schlittler would have made sense. That would have been a guy that I might have looked at. But after becoming a start in the postseason, that's probably not going to happen. But what about Will Warren?
Starting point is 00:16:42 What about Will Warren? He was in their rotation. That's a guy. What are their thoughts on Luis Heel? after injuries again last season. And once again, the Cardinals would have to check the medicals and make sure he's cool.
Starting point is 00:16:54 But, you know, 15 game winner, not that long ago. And he's just kind of been bitten by the injury bug a lot. But somebody that, you know, have their thoughts changed on him? Are they like, you know, maybe we could move on. Carlos Lagrange. Like, I think that's how I pronounce.
Starting point is 00:17:10 It could be LaGrange. I think it's LaGrange, though. That is how I've heard it said. But that's a prospect for the Yankees. That's like double A, but. looks like a dude that, you know, could come up quick. Over to the Dodgers. They got a rotation next year of Otani, Snell,
Starting point is 00:17:27 Galasno, Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki. He's not going to stay in the bullpen. He's not going to be a closer. So those five are already penciled in for next season. Does that mean somebody like Emmett Sheehan is available? I know this guy has never lived up to the billing or just to the one game where he pitched against the Cardinals in 2024. Remember, we opened up the season in L.A.
Starting point is 00:17:49 And Bobby Miller came out and just shredded the Cardinals lineup. Has never had a game that good sense. But remember he was like one of the top right-handed pitching prospects in baseball. And he has struggled mightily. Every time they brought him back up, something would go wrong. He'd get shelled. I think they made him like into a relief pitcher down in the minor leagues this year. So if they've soured on him so much, can we get, can we get some Bobby Miller in there to see if the Cardinals can fix him, right?
Starting point is 00:18:23 They got another lefty, Justin Robleski, who was a starter for most of his time in the minor leagues, but was in the bullpen this past year out of necessity because the Dodgers couldn't keep anybody in their bullpen. They kept getting hurt or they weren't very good. What about prospect Jackson Ferris? I mean, they've got all this money tied into the rotation. Is there room for somebody like Jackson Ferris to come up and help them at any point? Or do they trade them for another piece to try to three-pe? You ask them, you find out. Could the Cardinals be able to get two guys from the Dodgers?
Starting point is 00:19:01 Could you get Bobby Miller and one of these other dudes and then go get former Dodger, Dustin May and free agency? How about that? Would that do anything for you guys? And what about some other teams? Like I've had locked on a host that hit me up about what it would take to get Brennan Donovan guys from the Angels, the A's, the Tigers, the Blue Jays. They're all interested.
Starting point is 00:19:24 They'd love to have Brennan Donovan's versatility to move around the field, to move around their lineup. You know, I'm just spitballing ideas here. Like, you know, some of this might be outrageous and some of these teams would never do any of this stuff. I feel like I'm being kind of reasonable. I feel like these are the guys you would ask for. I don't think Brennan's going to get you like he's not going to nab you
Starting point is 00:19:47 a current number one or number two starter on a major league roster who's already in a rotation but the three through five guys both in arms, prospects, that they certainly should be on the table for the Cardinals. So in my mind,
Starting point is 00:20:03 I'd love for them to get at least one starter that is major league ready. Let's see, they're already pitched in the major leagues or is on the cusp was right there. And then I'd like to get another guy who maybe was in double A this past year was looking to move up to AAA or got to AAA, you know, at the very end and only had a couple starts, but would possibly be major league ready in 2026 at some point.
Starting point is 00:20:30 That doesn't necessarily have to be at the very beginning. But at some point, that's the kind of timeline I'm looking at when I'm thinking about these guys. And, you know, if you're able to do that and you can go Libertore and McGree, Kalehi. And then if Sunny is here, great. If not, you snack someone off the free agent market. You go spend a little bit of money. You don't have to go crazy. You don't have to go get Frabber Valdez and spend, you know, a ton of money. There are some decent bargains who are going to be out there. There aren't going to cost you an arm in a leg. So I know it sucks as a fan
Starting point is 00:21:02 to have to hear this stuff about one of our favorite players. But, you know, it's, it's part of the business. And it's up to Heinblum and his teammates to make sure. that if and when they do trade these guys, that they get the best possible value in return and one that will help build the foundation for the squad when they are ready to compete for a ring again, which, you know, sooner rather than later. But there's a plan. Clearly there's a plan that they want to follow. They're not going to just deviate and start doing weird things. And as much as Donnie would seem to be a perfect candidate to keep around and help lead that rebuild,
Starting point is 00:21:46 the contract situation where it is, is valuable in the market right now. It's probably going to be too good to pass up. So this is why. Because I get more questions about why are we trading Donovan more than anything? That's almost what everybody wants to talk about. And hopefully that helps explain it a little bit better, at least through my eyes.
Starting point is 00:22:06 We're going to hit on some other news from the GM meetings, including the latest on the pitching market. Would the Cardinals be in the market to bring back one of their former pitchers? Because his name's out there. We'll talk about that coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Thank you for making Lockton, Cartels your first listen every day for your second list. Check out Lockdown MLB hosted by my guy Sully. Bring you a Daily blend of humor in baseball throughout the offseason.
Starting point is 00:22:45 You can find Lockton MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. with the news out of the GM meetings, per Mark Fein Sand, that some unlikely spenders this offseason could be the Pirates, Marlins, and the Orioles. The Orioles, that's an interesting team to me, because for years, we heard about all this young talent, how great they are, and they just needed a couple of pieces to add to it,
Starting point is 00:23:09 to get them over the hump. They went out and got Corbin Burns, and that didn't get them anywhere. Pitching is still an issue with them. and, you know, they're in this window now where it's like, you know, some of these young guys, they're going to start to get expensive. So they need to get on it. So maybe they'll be willing to spend some this year to try to really chase a ring.
Starting point is 00:23:33 Marlins? I don't know. They don't have a ton down there in Miami. A couple of good pitchers are available. We're going to talk about that in a second. But the pirates, you know, the pirates. You know, the Pirates, that's the team that we're most concerned about, you know, since our division people. Because they're trying to convince Newside Young Award winner Paul Skeens.
Starting point is 00:23:55 They, hey, life is not so bad in Pittsburgh. Hold on. Hold on. We don't want you demanding trades yet. Hold on. We can go spend some money. Now I'm not here to throw stones. Personally, the more they screw things up, the better for the Cardinals. So we want them to keep messing up.
Starting point is 00:24:10 But maybe they could, I don't know. It's hard to trust that, you know, because I hear them. say stuff like they might get involved in some stuff and then it never really seems to happen. I have friends that are Pirates fans and they are let down every year. They are never, they are never hopeful. Let's put it that way. He also mentioned a couple of controllable pitchers that are rumored to be on the trade block. One of those includes former Cardinal Prospect, Cy Young Award winner, Sandy Alcantra,
Starting point is 00:24:41 and Edward Cabrera, both from the Marlins, Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez from the twins, McKinsey Gore from Washington, Mitch Keller from the Pirates. See, like, you're going to go spend, but they're going to go trade Mitch Keller. Like, I don't get what, okay. See what I mean? Our guy, Thomas Govain from Redwood Ranch.com, had Joe Ryan on his wish list this week. But the twins apparently need to be blown away by an offer. It's got to be like I call them the Godfather offers and the Cardinals.
Starting point is 00:25:09 Yeah, they got some things that they could trade to go get him. But this is not a winning window for the Cardinals right now. now. So I wouldn't expect anything like that to happen whatsoever. Sure, it would be fun to have Sandy back. Cardinal fans have been itching to get Sandy back in St. Louis after the trade for Ozuna did not pan out for the Cardinals the way they thought it would. McKenzie Gore would be a nice guy to have. But I just don't think this is where the Cardinals will be doing business this off season. I feel like that's like a two year down the road situation where they would trade for guys that only have a couple years left off control. I just don't feel like they're there right now.
Starting point is 00:25:55 It would be nice. It would be cool, right, to have any of those guys. But I would not get my hopes up for anything like that. The MVP's got announced last night. No surprise. Yohei Otani won in the National League. But in the AL, we knew it was the two horse race, right? Between Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh, I thought, I thought Cal was going to get it. I really did. I really did. And I felt that way just because of his ability behind the plate. You know, coming into the season, he was a, he's a platinum award winner behind the plate.
Starting point is 00:26:26 Obviously, he's really good with pitchers because Seattle Mariners' pitch staffs, very, very good. Destroyed the home run record for catchers. But in the end, Aaron Judge gets the W. So both the NL and the AL winner are back-to-back winners for the first time in the history of the award. your AL-Sight Young Award winner, back-to-back with Terrick Scoobel, the only new phase to win anything was Paul Skeens. Sounds kind of boring, really, when I say it out loud, but they're really, it's really hard to be mad about it
Starting point is 00:26:55 because all of these guys were so, so good, unless you're in Seattle, where I'm sure you're a little upset that your boy didn't take home the trophy. And I agree with you. I, you know, judge received 17 first place votes to rallies 13. vote tally wise. 355 to 335 was the final. Second straight AL MVP, third in the last four years for Judge.
Starting point is 00:27:20 Rally became the seventh player ever with a 60 dinger season. Those 60 home runs, as I mentioned, the most by a catcher ever. Switch hitter. The most ever by a switch hitter, the most ever by a Mariners player. He drove in an AL best 125 runs. He was a stud catcher on a team that was one win short of going to the World Series. I can see why you're mad. Cal is my MVP.
Starting point is 00:27:47 So Mariner's fans can't be mad at me about it. If I was somebody who voted, I would have given to Cal Raleigh, but I get why Aaron Judge what? I'm not mad. I don't have to agree with it, though. Otani, unanimous winner for his third straight MVP, two straight in the NL, fourth in the last five years. Only Barry Bonds has more MbPs,
Starting point is 00:28:07 and Bonds was the only previous player to win three in a row. No other player in history has been voted, unanimously multiple times. Otani has been unanimous every time. He is the best baseball player on the planet. Cardinals' last MVP, Paul Goldschmidt, 22, hit 317, 35 dingers, 115 RBIs. He led the NL and slugging in OPS, an amazing season for him, as well as Nolan Aronado that year hit, finished third in the voting. I think it was Machado, who finished second, but he had 293, 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, was the NL Platinum Glove Award winner over at third base. Actually had a higher war than Paul Goldsmith that year.
Starting point is 00:28:50 But Goldie's offensive numbers were just incredible. It was what an amazing season that just sadly still, you look back on it and you're like, how hell did they lose the Phillies that year in the playoffs? It was just very upsetting. It felt like everything was right. Pujols, Molina, Wayno. You had Nato and Goldie and Jose Katana and Jordan Montgomery got added and everything looked great. And then it just, and then it was over.
Starting point is 00:29:17 It was over. It was shocking. It was still shocking to me. I look at the Cardinals roster now and I go, who out of this group could be an NLNBP at some point? And I struggle. I struggle because honestly, I, nobody. The closest thing too. it is Mason win. And we know he's got the glove. He's got the arm. We need his offense to come around
Starting point is 00:29:46 in a major way if he'd ever to reach those levels. But he's got speed so he can steal bases. I can see a path for him to become one of those guys. Will the bat ever come around enough to put him up in that echelon of most valuable player type of people in the league? I don't know yet. We'll see. But obviously that's a problem when you don't have somebody that, that, hey, one of the grades goes to what we were saying yesterday. We were talking about the Tatis idea. You're not going to get Fernandez, Jr. It's not going to have it.
Starting point is 00:30:20 But that's the kind of guy you need. You need to find that guy. How do we get that guy? How do we grow that guy? How do we produce that guy? That's what the cardals need to figure out right now. So that's obviously something that needs to be worked on. Anyway, let me know in the comments section below.
Starting point is 00:30:36 Mason, when? Is that the closest thing to an MVP that we get? got Yvonne Herrera? I don't know if was this he plays yet? So I don't know if I can do that. I go Mason win, but maybe you guys feel differently. Thanks for making Locktown Cardinals, your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on next to L.O. underscored Cardinals and the JD Sports Radio.
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