I would most like to obtain Michael Bourn.

Simply put, that's not realistic.

The Cardinals are just about set. They signed their right-handed hitter for the bench, Ty Wiggington, and their LOOGY, Randy Choate.

The last remaining question mark might be second base, but the Cardinals will fill it with an internal option. I'm hoping Matt Carpenter can step up and claim it.

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Edited 12/29/2012 4:41 pm by jaynovahawk07

Not sure I like that name for the money he'd cost us. John Jay seems to be doing a real fine job already out in center field, plus he's got decent speed and doesn't cost us very much, and unless you want to ship him or Beltran off for next to nothing in return to clear a roster spot that would be where we'd be at on a Bourn deal.

I'd say we could use a LH veteran starter around age 30 that can throw in the 90's, is not an injury risk, and has maybe 3 pitches he can control real well. We do have some decent RH pitchers, both starting and bullpen, that we could move...but no LH name comes to mind for me.

Whoops, sorry to forget the part about not being realistic. Of course, Bourn's not realistic but I would sure love to have him.

kyle lohse

Bourn will be way overpriced, and will cost us some compensatory draft picks.........which is most of the reason why nobody has signed him yet.

This. Very much.

Lohse was my close second. Part of me wants him back and part of me is like, screw it, hand the ball to Miller, Rosemthal, Lynn and Kelly and lets roll.

While I grew to like Kyle Lohse over the 2011 and 2012 seasons, I don't want him back with the St. Louis Cardinals. No thanks.

Lohse is going to command a contract that, simply put, will require a higher AAV and more years than I'd be willing to go with him, especially after I take into consideration the fact that he'll be 34 at the start of his new contact.

Re-signing Adam Wainwright is a much more pressing matter for me, and with Lohse off the books, I think it can easily be done. Chris Carpenter and his $10.5 million will be gone following the 2013 season. That clears up even more room for Waino.

The Cardinals have a stash of young power arms (Miller, Rosenthal, Kelly, Lynn) that are rising. They're MLB-ready. I'd like to see them get their chance. Lohse can't figure into the Cardinals' plans for the future. There just isn't room.

True, true. It's a good feeling that we could theoretically lose Waino, Westy, Carp and Garcia and have four quality, young arms to replace them with even more youth finding their way up,

Two thumbs up on that Carp to second base suggestion.

1b- Craig
2b- Carp
3b- Freese
SS- Furcal
C- Yadi
Rf- Beltran
CF- Jay
Lf- Holliday

With the addition of Taveras (potentially) and the imminent acquisition of a shortstop when Furcal goes down, we are looking good. Man, can't wait for baseball season!

And even in the next to impossible situation where Bourn is a Cardinal, there would be no reason to ship out Beltran...

The Cardinals have a $9.5 million option on Jake Westbrook for the 2014 season, meaning that the Cardinals can potentially save $8.5 million by not bringing him back.

I say $8.5 million because there is a $1 million buyout.

Combined with Carpenter and his $10.5 million, that's potentially $19 million freed up by exiting players. That right there basically gets the Cardinals where they need to be with Wainwright on a per-season basis, and that's before we even start talking about the $12 million Wainwright is already taking up. He won't be getting a $19 million raise.

If the Cardinals feel confident about Waino's future, I see no reason as for why they couldn't reach an agreement.

Lets not forget that bringing back Waino isnt automatic. I expect a good season from Adam, but if he isn't any better than last year, or worse, I'd be very hesitant to give him a long term contract.

The Cardinals should be strong for years to come.

Furcal is another player that will not be with the 2014 Cardinals.

That's another $7 million freed up. And then Carlos Beltran's $13 million, too.

But I'd like to see the Cardinals upgrade at SS with that money. Perhaps the Cardinals could bid Stephen Drew away from the Red Sox if he has a good year. Outside of him, the 2014 free agent class at short stop is weak.

The Cardinals might have to make a trade, either during 2013 or next offseason.

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Edited 12/29/2012 10:10 pm by jaynovahawk07

It doesn't feel like the Cardinals signed Holliday to his 7-year contract all that long ago, but the truth is that the Cardinals will be on the back side of the guaranteed portion of the contract following the 2013 season.

Right now, all that is remaining is 4 years and $69 million, unless his 2017 option is picked up. In that case, 5 years and $85 million remain.

I agree. I wouldn't bring Waino back if his ERA is still 3.50+.

But if he returns to being the old Waino, it'd be nice to have him under contract for five more seasons.

Not really fair to judge him with last years stats but a 14-13 pitcher with 3.94 ERA really isn't that hard to come by.

It's not fair to judge him off of last year's stats, but if he has a repeat of last year, I think you can. At that point, his last three seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals couldn't be considered very productive.

And Waino probably wouldn't look at it that way.

But Waino started to get better as the season unwound.

Yep