Shohei Ohtani of the Angels celebrates as he finishes first after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning of a game against the Yankees, Monday, July 17, 2023, in Anaheim, California.
Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press
Aside from a Blue Jays fan’s intrepid private plane tracking, some solid reporting from baseball writers, and a manager’s unscripted, unauthorized frankness, little about Shohei Ohtani’s court has slipped through the veil insisted on by the megastar free agent and his representatives. .
But its influence on the rest of the market?
Well, it’s no secret.
The otherwise stagnant MLB winter meetings culminated late Wednesday night with the New York Yankees’ acquisition of MVP-caliber outfielder Juan Soto from the divesting San Diego Padres. It was the first big move for a market that had otherwise been stuck waiting for Ohtani. The information shines for a moment, then it is nothing. And baseball is waiting. Few, if any, teams are entirely free to set their clocks to Ohtani time and count down the days until the American League MVP decision.
That’s certainly the case for a team shopping for an outfielder and not knowing if the deals might sweeten once the top players on the market move on. A team like the Cardinals.
“We don’t touch everything (the market); there are some things that are still trying to be worked out,” John Mozeliak, the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, said before leaving the team’s suite at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and leaving Nashville, Tennessee, Wednesday evening. “I think there is some fluidity in this market because teams can do something that can pave the way for something else. Although we were hoping to do something this week, I don’t know if it will happen.
The Cardinals are exploring trade opportunities involving outfielder Tyler O’Neill, and teams have also expressed interest in young outfielders Dylan Carlson and Alec Burleson. Teams pursuing Ohtani are unlikely to see a trade with the Cardinals as the next alternative – but the repercussions of a move will eventually reach them.
Ohtani is both the best pitcher and hitter on the market, and teams looking to pay a record, mythical price for baseball’s unicorn will always be on the lookout for talent if and when he chooses another suitor.
Cody Bellinger, a former MVP, offers arguably the best outfield bat available for a team that doesn’t sign Ohtani. And the options flow from there. With Soto traded, the depth of available outfielders shifts toward KBO star Jung Hoo Lee and thins quickly. Teoscar Hernandez, Jorge Soler, Randal Grichuk, Harrison Bader, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are all in the mix, and several, if not most, will require multi-year commitments. Joc Pederson and Tommy Pham are also free agents. This is where the trade possibilities come in. O’Neill is a one-year commitment.
And the trading market has gained some definition over the past 72 hours.
No, not the talent they assembled to lure Soto, the 25-year-old wunderkind who already has 160 homers, three top-six MVP finishes and four Silver Slugger Awards. Earlier in the week, the Yankees acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from Boston. Like O’Neill, he has one year of control remaining. Verdugo is 27, O’Neill 28. He has a higher career win total of 11.1 to O’Neill’s 10.0. O’Neill has won two Gold Glove Awards in left field, but Verdugo has the more valuable durability — with at least 600 plate appearances in three consecutive years. O’Neill has one season with over 500 plate appearances, and he has been limited by injury to 649 total from 2022-23.
Few available outfielders have a 6.1-WAR season like O’Neill, but injury concerns will shape any offer presented to the Cardinals.
To acquire Verdugo, the Yankees sent the rival Red Sox a trio of pitchers, including their 12th-ranked prospect, 23-year-old right-hander Richard Fitts. He had a 3.48 ERA in 27 starts in Class AA. Sandwiched with Fitts were 28-year-old right-handed reliever Greg Weissert, who had a 2.90 ERA in the minors last season, and right-handed pitcher Nicholas Judice, a recently drafted 22-year-old. In exchange for O’Neill, the Cardinals are looking for a reliever who can strengthen the big league bullpen, increase the pitching depth for the organization or, if possible, include him in a broader deal to gain a boost for the front of the rotation.
The Cardinals have, according to sources, targeted a return they want for O’Neill and have stuck to it thus far. Teams believed to be interested include Kansas City and Seattle, and other unidentified clubs looking for offense have spoken to the Cardinals. The Cardinals have had ongoing meetings with free agent reliever representatives and, in some cases, O’Neill’s reported trades will give them clarity on what they can spend or need in these trade moves. free agents. The Cardinals want to add two relievers to their bullpen options.
If they are going to entice O’Neill into signing a reliever first, then they need the market to make it clear to them what they can expect in return, and for that to happen, they need the demand is defined by the supply leaving the market.
And so, downstream from Ohtani, the Cardinals also wait.
“Sometimes it’s kind of a dam that bursts and a lot of things happen,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins told Chicago reporters in Nashville this week.
Shohei Ohtani speaks to the media during All-Star Game player availability Monday, July 10, 2023, in Seattle. Ohtani, a free agent this offseason, is the biggest prize on the market.
Lindsey Wasson, Associated Press
The Cubs are one of the few known teams pursuing Ohtani, and their president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, vehemently refuted a report that their chances had “diminished.” Toronto general manager Ross Atkins held a Zoom call with Toronto reporters last week and, with a blank wall behind him, refused to say where he was. The Athletic reported that day that Ohtani visited the Jays’ spring training complex in Florida and that a Jays fan followed two private jets departing from a nearby airport – one to Anaheim, in California, and one for Nashville, site of the winter meetings.
The Giants reportedly visited Ohtani, and last week, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admitted his team met at Dodger Stadium with the two-time MVP. He even detailed how many hours they spent together.
“Clearly he’s a priority for us,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers’ front office told the Los Angeles Times it was “surprised” by Roberts’ comments, which contrasted with how other teams are remaining tight-lipped and how Ohtani’s representatives have prioritized the discretion of the interested teams. Yet whatever Roberts said publicly or Toronto privately supported, neither was likely to influence Ohtani’s final choice. Even though his agent has kept quiet about the draw, it’s like any other draw: money talks.
Spectators of this theater, the Cardinals used their time to get ahead of the market and sign three free agents, including the highly prized right-hander Sonny Gray, instead of waiting, looking for other options with longer schedules and leaving themselves vulnerable to find themselves empty. on pitching. Mozeliak agreed with the description that his group had reversed annual meetings. While November general managers’ meetings are often used for exploration, conversation and preparation for future moves, the Cardinals then wanted to move toward agreements as they would at the December winter meetings.
The last week then became their explorations and conversations.
“We went into this a lot more open-minded and a lot more exploratory,” Mozeliak said. “If anything could be done, we would be happy. But we weren’t going to leave here like we had to accomplish something.
There are still relievers available.
There are still teams interested in outfielders.
There are still several weeks before Christmas.
The Cardinals can afford to wait and see…
2023-12-08 08:57:05
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