who might the st. louis cardinals aquire by trades and free agent market this offseason?

Question

I have heard the names of shortstops going around( furcal, renteria,eckstein, vizquel, lopez etc.) but who are other options in other areas. maybe getting an OF SP or RP please send your thoughts .

Answer 1

Renteria would be a good fit because they need someone at the top of the order, he'd fill the hole at shortstop, and he was a good fit there last time.



The next need is the starting rotation. To compete with that division, the Cubs need someone beyond Lohse and Wainwright even if Carpenter is healthy. Wellemeyer will never be more than a midrotation starter because he gives up too many flyballs.



They don't need to sign an ace, but they need depth. They can't rely on five starters to get them through the year. They could sign a big name like Burnett, who would legitimize that rotation. If they feel confident with their starters, they could sign a lesser innings eater like Jon Garland, who will pitch long enough each game so that they wouldn't need the bullpen as much. Or they could sign a veteran with playoff experience like Randy Johnson.



The Cards need lineup protection behind Pujols. Ludwick, Glaus, and Ankiel don't make for a deep lineup beyond Pujols. While they already have four outfielders capable of playing every day, they could afford to sign another corner outfielder as there are many of them with big bats on the open market.



One possible bat is Milton Bradley, who they should deeply consider. He's a switch hitter and he lead the AL in OBP. He doesn't need to play every single game because of the Cardinal's outfield depth. A lesser name is Rocco Baldelli, who can't play every day, but doesn't need to.



The last need is the bullpen where they could use a few relief pitchers. For closer, I would recommend Trevor Hoffman. He won't cost much and the Cards won't give away draft picks to sign him unlike K-Rod, Fuentes, and Wood. I wouldn't be surprised if they signed a big name at closer, seeing how they paid so much for Isringhausen, but I wouldn't recommend it. There's a lot of middle relievers they could sign as well.



Ideal Roster:



C: Yadier Molina

1B: Who do you think?

2B: Aaron Miles

3B: Glaus

SS: Edgar Renteria

OF: Ludwick

OF: Ankiel

OF: Colby Rasmus



Rotation:



Wainwright

Lohse

Jon Garland

Carpenter

Wellemeyer

Piniero



Closer: Hoffman

Answer 2

We NEED starting pitching and some relief...I honestly do not think the Cardinals are going to sign any big names-Our outfield is fine and our infield will be fine for now (there's really no need to sign a shortstop I like Aaron Miles) but our main concern is pitching. Carpenter is still questionable and we haven't resigned Looper yet and let's face it our relief pitching is pretty bad. I'd like us to go out there and sign a big name but there aren't too many great pitchers out there. So the truth of the matter is we'll probably end up signing some mediocre starters and relievers...Look for a couple of free-agent acquisitions from a group that includes Joe Beimel, Arthur Rhodes, Jeremy Affeldt, and Will Ohman.

Answer 3

I see Renteria being the only possibility. Hard to tell what the Cards are going to do, but it looks to me like they're not going to do much if anything. I'm starting to get really disappointed with the Cardinals front office. They lack the power they had 4 or 5 years ago with Jocketty at the helm. Prepare yourself for extreme disappointment. It's going to be a rough offseason.

Answer 4

Well St.Louis' first priority has got to be to get Chris Carpenter healthy again. Their second need is to aquire more offense for that somewhat weak lineup. I would suspect Furcal or maybe even Rauel Ibanez in the OF somewhere.

Answer 5

Possibly Randy Johnson.

They are in need of a 5-hole starter, and Randy could fit the job.



---BG Just to let you know, Holliday is not on the market anymore. He want to the A's ;)

Answer 6

I'd like them to get Holliday or even Furcal but, they don't seem to want to spend money as freely as some teams do.

Answer 7

I think them signing randy johnson to a 1 year deal would make sense.



1- they need a top line but not ace pitcher (wat randy's lookin 4)



2- he could help teach other young sp (wainwright 4 example)



3- they only need him for a year (then he probably wants 2 retire)