Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals WILL Field Trade Offers for MULTIPLE players including Arenado and Sonny Gray

Starting point is 00:00:00 Which members of the St. Louis Cardinals are already being looked at by other teams this offseason and could end up elsewhere. 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. Hello there, Cardinals fans. I'm Jenny Hafer, a former national radio sports anchor born and raised in St. Louis and a lifetime Cardinals fan. I'm your host for Locked on Cardinals, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network covering. your team every day. Thank you to our everydayers for being here with us throughout the season.

Starting point is 00:00:39 And now into this off season for those of you who are new, welcome aboard. Welcome. Hope you guys enjoy the content. This is a show serving Cardle Nation and giving you all of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account. Use the code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. All right, today's episode, we're going to be looking at something I learned about Max Scherzer last night, some news on Albert Pooholz and what he is not going to be doing in the very near future. But we're going to be talking about some rumblings about the Cardinals roster. That's going to be the meat of this episode.

Starting point is 00:01:22 And it's about players on the roster and players that other teams have been inquiring about and are showing interest in. Derek Gould, who covers the team for FCL Today.com held in his weekly chat on Monday. And it's always a very informative chat, which I always enjoy the chats, like the ones that we do here, I don't really have a chat that I do where it's like a live chat.

Starting point is 00:01:44 But when, you know, I take questions and I get responses and stuff from you guys, we call on Cardinal Confessions on Lockedown Cardinals here. But I love interacting with the fans that just love the St. Louis Cardinals. I love talking to you guys. And Derek Gould does it as well every Monday. And, you know, we're in a time right now in a lull in this offseason

Starting point is 00:02:07 where there isn't really a whole lot going on right now in the league, really outside of out of the playoffs and managerial stuff. So this time of year can get a little bit dull, a little bit boring. We knew this was going to happen. So I encourage you to check out as chat on Mondays on their website at STRT Today.com. I'll put the link in the description on this particular episode. the show notes for you. So if you want to go back to it and see all of the things that he talked about. But I want to focus on just a couple of paragraphs that he had in here during the chat yesterday,

Starting point is 00:02:39 where he got a question from a fan named Ron about which players will likely get traded. Obviously, this is a question that is going to be asked nonstop for the next couple of weeks. Again, things aren't really going to get cooking in the hot stove offseason until the G. meetings, which don't take place until November. So we've got a few weeks to kind of kill here. And Heinblu warned us about this during his introduction as the new president of player operations, a baseball operation saying not player operations, but president of baseball operations that, you know, October is going to be slow.

Starting point is 00:03:15 They're not going to be a bunch going on here. But November, things will pick up. And then, you know, we'll see what gets done. Gould responded to that particular question about which players will likely get traded by saying I'll stick with what we've reported, talking about he and the staff that the post-dispatch, that the Cardinals will look to trade Nolan Aronado. They are going to engage with teams who are interested in Sunny Gray to see if there's a mutually agreeable deal for them and for the right-hander.

Starting point is 00:03:43 They have already fielded interest in Lars Neupar and Brennan Donovan, and they will consider hearing offers from them. A few teams are curious what it will take to acquire Nolan Gorman via trade or Alec Berluson. And the Cardinals will have those talks. The return will be key in all of these discussions. because the Cardinals may see Burleson as a better fit for their time table than say Donovan or Newpar, who are closer to free agency. Other teams are going to circle the Cardinals to discuss catching options.

Starting point is 00:04:10 But the Cardinals want to give Herrera time in spring to show he's a catcher. And that will obviously shape their view of depth at the position. Then there was a follow-up question by Jeff who said any indication that Brin Donovan would be traded. That was his question. And Derek replied, be yes, not just indications, but straight up reporting. It's been the pages here at the post dispatch. Multiple sources have said that the Cardinals will listen to offers this winter and that there are going to be a few teams with interest.

Starting point is 00:04:41 We'll get a chance to see if the return is worth the move. He was then asked about Sunny Gray and should the Cardinals keep him? Gold responded. Count me in the group that thinks that the Cardinals should command a strong offer for Sunny Gray and that if he's agreeable, the timing is right for the move this winner, not waiting. There are going to be teams that intend to contend that will be looking for a starter exactly like gray. If he likes the move, the Cardinals should get a solid return. So let's start with the first part here. That's three separate issues, three separate discussions that we can bring up here. Let's start with the first part. We know that the Cardinals will try to

Starting point is 00:05:19 move Nolan Aronado. This is not a secret. Like him leaving the game at Bush Stadium was kind of the farewell there. It seems almost like a foregone conclusion that he will not be back in a Cardinals uniform. Where and what will the return be is a real question. And part of that is honestly, it's going to feel like deja vu. It's going to kind of hinder on what Alex Breggman does again. He can opt out of his deal with Boston. And we know that there was a chance that the Red Sox, if they didn't get Breggman, might pull the trigger on a deal to get Nolan Arnato. If he opts out of the deal, he doesn't have to. But if he does, which a lot of people think he will,

Starting point is 00:06:02 then that's probably going to shake things up at the third base position because outside of him, there's really only one big name. And that's A. E. E. E. E. E. E. E. Haneo Svarez, who had this monster year with Arizona, was solid with Seattle once again. It's 34 years old. This is not somebody who's 27, 28. This is a 34-year-old guy that. honestly, it hasn't been that great as a third baseman defensively.

Starting point is 00:06:30 Obviously, he's got some pop in his bat. We know that. But that's really it. Like, when you look at the other names that are available through free agency, not a lot of exciting names there. And when Bregman and Suarez figure out whatever they're going to do when they find homes, then any team looking for a third baseman could check in with the Cardinals at that point and see what it would take to get them.

Starting point is 00:06:56 I still think he'd be a great fit in Boston. I just feel like he would fit that town very well. But that's just me. So we'll see what transpires. It really kind of depends on Alex Bregman, though. He mentioned Sunny Gray, and as we know, everyone needs pitching. Everyone needs pitching. Sunny's deal is very expensive next season, $35 million.

Starting point is 00:07:18 Then there's that team option the next year with the $5 million buyout if it doesn't get triggered and is an exercise. So that's $40 million somebody is, you know, going in on. But again, teams always want pitching. So if something can be agreed to and fits what Sunny wants to do, then like Derek said, the hall could be significant. The Cardinals could get some pretty decent pieces back in return because, you know, they could have Sunny for two years instead of just one. It's really entirely up to them.

Starting point is 00:07:50 You know, I went through the free agent starting pitching yesterday. If you missed that episode, and sorry that the audio, we had all sorts of issues yesterday with the simplecast stuff that we used to upload the audio. Video went up normal, but the audio took forever to get posted. So I apologize to everybody who had to wait on that. But we went through the free agent starting options yesterday. And there's just not a lot of top tier guys out there, like three. So trades are obviously something that's going to be brought up. Terik Scoobel's name has been kicked around as somebody that, you know,

Starting point is 00:08:23 Detroit could move, which would be incredible because he's arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Freddie Peralta from the Brewers could be somebody that gets traded as well. Sunny could be one of those offseason trade pieces that, you know, a team that needs like a number three or even a number two. Some people will think higher of them than, you know, other fans do. Sunny could be one of them. And I still think the Atlanta Braves make the most sense as far as, you know, what he wants to get done, who he wants to play for. the proximity of where he lives and his family lives. Like Atlanta just makes a lot of sense to me.

Starting point is 00:08:59 I feel like he would do quite well with the Atlanta Braves. So that seems like a good fit. He goes on to mention position players after that. You know, Donnie, Gorman, Burley, Newt. We're going to discuss those guys in their situations coming up next year on Lockdown Cardinals. The NFL season is here. And Fandall has an offer you don't want to miss because right now new customers can bet just $5. and get $300 in bonus bets if you win.

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Starting point is 00:11:59 He covers the Cardinals for STL Today.com. post-dispatch, you know, whatever you want to call it, where he mentioned that the Cardinals have, you know, been fielding some interests in certain players. We just talked about Nata, we talked about Sunny Gray. He also mentioned that they've been fielding interests in Lars Dupar and Brennan Donovan. Both of those guys had off-season surgery this year. Donnie had the sports hernia. We know he went through a lot this year. Remember it was like his toe? And then that was leading to issues. And then in the sports hernia, we find out he had to have surgery for. Obviously, we think that he's going to be just fine.

Starting point is 00:12:33 Then Lars Neupar had surgery on his heels, where he had that syndrome thing, where he had to get that fixed on the back of his feet on the heels, which sounds incredibly painful and awkward. Of the two, for my everydayers, I don't think there's much of a debate here about which one I would want to keep. It's Donnie every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Give me the guy who can play multidis. positions, infield, outfield, has in his career, stayed healthier and has just been the better

Starting point is 00:13:07 player, the most consistent player. At the same time, if someone wants to overpay for Donnie's services, then you got to look at that as well. You know, the phone lines are open for the Cardinals. Like, they'll listen to on anybody, I would assume. I don't see why you wouldn't at this point. We've covered this a couple of times already this offseason because you don't have to trade Donnie. This is not a situation where he wants out, doesn't want to be here anymore, but you'll certainly listen to see if there's an intriguing deal that somebody is willing to offer and put on the table. Now, Newt this past year, remember he got up to that amazing start in April and March.

Starting point is 00:13:49 We're like, oh, my gosh, this is great. This is going to be awesome. Look at Newt, healthy, doing his thing. ended up appearing in a career high 135 games this year, and yet still a disappointing year. OPS plus drop to 95, walk percentage drop,

Starting point is 00:14:06 strikeout percentage went up, which is the frightening thing because that's the one thing that we knew Newt had going for him was that he works the count and he can take walks. And as long as the on-base percentage was up, you know, you're willing to

Starting point is 00:14:21 have him be what he is, which in my opinion is just kind of an average outfielder. Another thing that Nudes got going for him, not a lot of depth at the outfield position as far as beyond what the Cardinals have at the roster right now. You know, you're not looking down at Memphis and got like two or three prospects. You're like, ooh, we really need to look at those guys. You know, if JJ Weatherhole takes over at second base and Gorman ends up taking over at third, Brennan Donovan could go to left field. you got Jordan Walker and Wright already.

Starting point is 00:14:57 Alec Berlinson also an outfielder who's been a very good and consistent hitter in back-to-back seasons. Where does that really leave Newt? Like where do you need him to play? I don't really see any spot there. You just have to have him starting over any of these guys. You could say Jordan Walker, but they're going to give him a chance to redeem himself after a couple of down years, you know? It honestly, there's a domino effect here on the knowledge. Nolan Aronado trade.

Starting point is 00:15:25 It's really going to have to happen. That's got to go down first, and then you've got to see where things can fall from there. You know, he says that teams were curious about Gorman and Alec Berlison, as they should be. You know, Gorman hasn't progressed the way the Cardinals wanted him to, but he still got the power potential.

Starting point is 00:15:44 He's still a young man. This is not somebody who's about to be 30. Still has the power potential that teams love, including the Cardinals, who don't have a lot of power. hour already. So shipping somebody off who's got the potential that he has to leave the yard is not something you're actively trying to do when you're already struggling in that area. Burley, he belongs at first base. He really does, you know, or DH. He can play outfield,

Starting point is 00:16:13 but, you know, you look at the metrics and stuff, but he's not that great. He gives you the effort, and that's fine, but, you know, he belongs at first base at this point. The Cardinals already have Wilson Contreras there who doesn't appear to want to go anywhere either. So he's here for, is it two more years? I think it's two more years for Willie. But they got Blaze Jordan, who they got from the Red Sox for Stephen Matt's. He's in the minor, somebody that, you know, could be a guy to keep an eye on as far as a prospect of play first base. I've mentioned before. I think Yvonne Herrera, if he doesn't cut it behind home plate as a catcher, I could see him as a future first baseman as well. But always keep in mind. And it's just like Derek Gold said here, I'm just kind of

Starting point is 00:16:55 reiterating what he said. It really depends on whether or not the return makes sense or not for the Cardinals. None of these guys have to be traded. Even Arnato isn't saying, I got to go, I refuse to be in St. Louis anymore. This place sucks. Get me out of here. That's not being said by people. But they see the writing on the wall. They understand that they want to go younger. They want to put the funds into different places. They're not in a winning situation at the moment. So these guys who are older, like, you know, Sunny and Arnado, they would like to go somewhere where they have a better chance

Starting point is 00:17:31 at winning a world championship. You can't blame them for that. But the Cardinals have the luxury of deciding what's worth it and what is it. So if you don't meet their demands, they don't have to trade any of these guys. You know, Jojo Romero is another name. They will, you know, teams will probably look into as a left-hander from the pen, who's now got closing experience.

Starting point is 00:17:51 And if someone wants to shoot their shot and overpay to get Jojo, then you take advantage of that. But there's nothing forcing Hime and the Cardinals to make any of these deals. But they will listen. You know, in my perfect world, when I think about, all right, how would I love for this to shape out at some point? I like Brinand Donovan and left field. I know he's good at second.

Starting point is 00:18:15 I like him there too. And I'm sure he'll get some action there at some point. And probably a little bit of third base, too. I don't have any problems in playing there either. But when I'm constructing this lineup and hopefully people progress better, you know, I like Donnie and left. I like Vic and Center, Walker to become the stud that we need him to be, and he'll be in right field.

Starting point is 00:18:37 Gorman becomes a slugger and is over at third base, popping 30 home runs and, you know, striking out 180 times in a season, but I need 35 home runs out of him. and give me at least average defense at third base. Mason went at shortstop. J.J. Weatherholt at second base and Wilson Contreras rounds out your infield. And Burley is your DH. What's wrong with that?

Starting point is 00:19:06 What's wrong with that? I know there's question marks because Gorman and Walker, I get it, but the rest of it, I think it fits kind of nicely. I want JJ on this team. But you can see how these guys, you know, can be interchangeable, where Newt still could have a role in all of this if other things are moved. Like, say Nolan Gorman gets traded. Well, the Newt's playing in left field.

Starting point is 00:19:27 And then you've got Donovan who can play third base. If not, Owen Gorman, both go. Maybe JJ Weatherholt play some third base. And Donnie just stays at second. You know, there's ways to make it work. But it's really about the return. It's really about the return and what teams are willing to give up to get these guys. So that's how I feel about it right now.

Starting point is 00:19:50 Let me know your thoughts and comments in the comment section down below on YouTube. Hit me up on X as well. We can further discuss this in future episodes. The World Series is set to start on Friday. And I learned something about Max Scherzer on Monday night. And I'm not sure how I missed it all of these years. He's been a major league player. Plus, Albert Poo-Hulls, not going to manage the Angels.

Starting point is 00:20:14 That is confirmed because they hired somebody else. today. We'll talk about it all coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. There's nothing like catching a baseball game live, the energy, the crowd. Did you see the crowd in Toronto on Monday night? Holy smokes. That was cool. That was pretty cool. The chance to see your favorite team, your favorite players in person. And it doesn't have to be just baseball. Like, you know, like tonight, the blues, why I'm wearing this jersey on the podcast today? The blues in action tonight. The Kings are in town. But getting tickets to go see your favorite teams and players.

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Starting point is 00:21:31 Terms apply. Again, that's promo code LOC, E, D, O, and MLB for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go, download Game Time today. Thanks for making Locked on Cardinals first listed every day for your second list and check out Locked on MLB game night, every game every night until the World Series champion is crowned. get local analysis, but on a national scale, you can find MLB Game Night on the Locktime MLB YouTube channel or wherever you listen to your podcast.

Starting point is 00:22:04 Last night we were on there, and, you know, it was the Toronto Blue Jays guys were so excited for obvious reasons or going to the World Series. But then we saw this the other side where, you know, Tai Dan Gonzalez, who does Locked on Mariners and how just like his heart had been ripped out. Like he was so upset. So, you know, you're not going to get that for,

Starting point is 00:22:28 many other podcast companies. You know, these are fans that, you know, talk about their favorite teams and, you know, stuff like that hurts. You know, we've all been there, right? As Cardinal fans, we, you know, celebrate the championships and then the agony of defeat as well. A guy that was having a good time last night was Max Scherzer. Max Scherzer and the Toronto Blue Jays are going to the World Series for the first time since 1993 after coming from behind to beat the Mariners last night in game seven of the ALCS 4 to 3.

Starting point is 00:22:56 after the game, they interviewed Vladdy Guerrero Jr. who won the ALCS MVP, hit almost 450. George Springer, who had the go-ahead three-run, home run in the seventh inning to give them the lead. And then St. Louis State of Max Scher hopped onto the headset and was getting interviewed and having a blast in the clubhouse at age 41 as he should. He was so excited. And then they start talking to him. And for the first time, I realized that Max Scherzer has got two different colors. eyes. I've never noticed this before. I have been apparently under a rock. You know,

Starting point is 00:23:33 normally, I am pretty observant at stuff. And I just, maybe I just have never paid attention. I got a photo up on the YouTube, you know, feed right now. And look at it. Two different colored eyes. And I don't know how I missed it over the years. Never paid close enough attention, I guess, but the Chesterfield native has been in the league for almost 20 years now. And I just noticed this. last night. Heterochromia eridium is what it's called. And I don't want to say he suffers from it because it doesn't hurt anything. It just makes his eyes different colors,

Starting point is 00:24:07 which is pretty wild and cool looking. I forget which X-Men movie, X-Men past and present or whatever the hell. I don't know what you say. He talks about it in there because he's talking to a girl at the bar that's got two different colored eyes. You know, he's like it's a, you know, it's a mutation. But anyway, I just thought that was funny. I don't know if anybody else noticed. I also noticed all the fun that he was having and how much this man loves winning.

Starting point is 00:24:37 And that basically, in my opinion, squashed any dream of mine that he would ever play for the Cardinals before he retires. He's 41 years old now. If the team was in a better position, then perhaps he would consider coming back home. But why would he come here? while the tears in the situation is he's in right now. Like, dang it. Dang it. Would have been awesome.

Starting point is 00:25:00 Would have been awesome to see Max Scherzer, but I just, I don't know why he would sign anywhere, but any of like the top six teams, with a chance to go to the World Series. Speaking of which, game one between the Dodgers and Jays will take place on Friday night in Toronto. I know we don't like rooting for the Dodgers

Starting point is 00:25:17 because, you know, they're the favorites and they spend the most money, yada, yada, yada. but this is now kind of America versus Canada in the World Series. So are the Dodgers America's team in the series? Like is all of America going to back the L.A. Dodgers now just so that, you know, America, we win the World Series as opposed to Toronto, who is trying to win in for Canada. All of that aside, I'm going to take the Dodgers in this one. I'm going to take their rotation of Snell, Yamamoto, Glassnow, and Otani over Gosman,

Starting point is 00:25:56 Yassavage, Bieber, and Scherzer. Give me the Dodgers in six. I don't see how that they, I can't see that they sweep like they did the brewers, but I could see him winning in five, too. They're just, that starting pitching has just been so dominant. So they're very good. They're very good. Also news from L.A., Albert Pooholz is not going to be the manager of the Angels.

Starting point is 00:26:19 Instead, they've hired Kurt Suzuki as their new head honcho. He's been like an assistant to the GM and has never managed in the minor leagues. Why don't teams keep doing this? He's never managed in the minors or at the major league level. You're in charge. Go get them. The cardals have done this with three managers in a row and where they didn't have major league experience.

Starting point is 00:26:42 And I don't know. It's just weird that they just hand the keys over to, to situations like this. But according to John Heyman, pool holes in the Angels couldn't line up on a contract as well as on coaches and resources. Okay. Albert is going to interview for the Padres job now,

Starting point is 00:27:02 which after former cardal manager, Mike Schilt stepped down last week. Now they have that opening, and Albert's going to interview there. We've also heard the Orioles as a team that was mentioned being interested in Albert as well. Still nothing new on the Yadier Molina situation. but I'll keep my eyes out in case something pops off about that.

Starting point is 00:27:22 So there you go. Thanks for making Locktown Cardinals. Your first list on every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on X at L0 underscore Cardinals at a JD Sports Radio, TikTok, and Instagram at Lockdown Cardinals. Please like, subscribe on YouTube and help our channel and love for the Cardinals. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. And we will see you next time on Lockdown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals WILL Field Trade Offers for MULTIPLE players including Arenado and Sonny Gray

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