The offseason is looming.
We’re in the thick of the postseason now. Three teams are one win away from reaching the LCS, with others close to potentially having to start their offseasons early.
One team that has already started their offseason is the St. Louis Cardinals. After a 17-game winning streak propelled them to the postseason, they were knocked out in the NL Wild Card game last week by the Dodgers, who are locked in a dead-even NLDS with the Giants.
St. Louis experienced yet another disappointing year offensively despite reaching the postseason, raising more questions for hitting coach Jeff Albert. Among those who had disappointing seasons individually was Paul DeJong, which has led Cardinals fans to wanting a new shortstop.
Edmundo Sosa took the job from DeJong after a hand injury, but there’s still question as to whether he’s the shortstop of the future. There are plenty of shortstops that will be on the market when free agency hits; guys like Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, and Trevor Story.
And with contracts dished out to Matt Carpenter, Andrew Miller, and Dexter Fowler coming off the books and freeing up cap space, St. Louis is in a good position to try and spend some money this offseason, which helps the case of Cards’ fans who want a new shortstop. Many of them will argue that with more money available, that’s where St. Louis should focus on upgrading.
But even with more financial resources at his disposal, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has rarely been one to dish out huge contracts. The offense does need to improve, and the Cardinals should try to make at least a move or two to boost it, but they should not go after a high profile shortstop this offseason.
Cardinals fans, I hear ya.
A move for one of them would certainly help the team. There’s no doubt about that. They would almost immediately become NL Central favorites with a signing like that. But is it worth spending a ton of money to try and bring them in? No.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t make moves, however. But there are other moves that can be made that won’t cost so much money.
For example, it might be best to explore the second-base market instead. Yes, they already have Tommy Edman there, but they could potentially shift him over to shortstop, as he’s a better defender than DeJong.
But there are some good options out there for second, including Josh Harrison, who hit .279 this past year with Washington and Oakland. He’d be a low-risk, high-reward type move, and is also a guy you can plug in one of the outfield spots, should something happen to Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader, or Dylan Carlson. It’s highly unlikely that there will be a bidding war for him.
They could also try Cesar Hernandez, who has hit at least .250 in all but two seasons of his Major League career. He’s got some power too, hitting 21 home runs during the regular season.
But one second-baseman shouldn’t be the only move they make to boost their offense. They could give former Cardinal Brad Miller another opportunity if they want some bench depth, which is something they should pursue. They were short in that department this year.
Also, with guys like Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, O’Neill, Edman, and Yadier Molina in the lineup, the Cards really don’t need another guy who hits for a ton of power. They already have that. With all the big bats in the lineup, the problem has to be with the coaching staff or the front office. That’s something else they should look at.
But St. Louis shouldn’t waste time going after one of the big name shortstops. The problem in years past wasn’t so much that they weren’t making big moves, but rather, that they weren’t making any moves at all.
Just a couple small moves and maybe a change in hitting coaches could be just what the Cardinals need. Think about how the Giants made small, but savvy moves to increase their depth this past offseason. And look at them now.
The Cardinals would be silly to go after a big name shortstop, even with more cap space. The idea should simply be to increase the team’s depth, like San Francisco did.
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