Deal with Cards in the works? (Ambiguous Tweet from STL Beat Writer 2012)

[TheBee]

The fact that everyone is stirred up over such minor and vague news (via tweet) is amazing to me. DD hasn't really pulled off a big trade yet. By the looks of the Dana Eveland blockbuster, not sure I want to see it either.

Yep. back to the OP - "Cards fans may start paying attention to the Baltimore Orioles."

[allstar1579]

A couple things... I don't think any baseball writers are perfect, but I think many are more tapped in than ours here in Baltimore. As far as Strauss is concerned, he just made 1 ambiguous statement that indicated we were talking to the Cards, it's not like he brought up Jones or a blockbuster. I exchanged emails with him during the Bedard trade time period and found our correspondance at the time to be beneficial. It turned out that what he was telling me seemed validated later on. We'll see. He isn't actually saying much yet.

Yeah I didn't mean to imply that he was talking about a Jones trade. I was just saying after a little bit of digging, we shouldn't be comparing him to Steve M. or Dan C. Your insider info is only as good as your contacts and relationship with them. He might be a great beat reporter, but that doesn't mean he has the relationships necessarily to scoop a story (or non-story in this case). So people waiting for him to post again might want to temper expectations a bit.

[Dain45]

Any deal for Jones would have to include Shelby Miller. He has everything you would look for in a TOR starter. It might be to much to ask but a deal of Miller, Wong, and Cox would be nice but is probably unrealistic. Cox has not lived up the hype but is still a good prospect. Tyrell Jenkins and Carlos Martinez are 2 other pitchers who have very nice upside but are also very young. Trevor Rosenthal is the other name that St. Louis seems to be really high on. If Jones is going to St. Louis you have to get back one of Shelby Miller or Carlos Martinez. The other name im a big fan of is Maikel Cleto who just about major league ready at 23. I would ask for Miller, Cox, Cleto, and Rosenthal. Honestly I would probably trade Jones straight up for Miller, thats how much I like Miller.

[TheBee]

Yeah I didn't mean to imply that he was talking about a Jones trade. I was just saying after a little bit of digging, we shouldn't be comparing him to Steve M. or Dan C. Your insider info is only as good as your contacts and relationship with them. He might be a great beat reporter, but that doesn't mean he has the relationships necessarily to scoop a story (or non-story in this case). So people waiting for him to post again might want to temper expectations a bit.

Since I can't think of a baseball writer who hasn't missed big, I will agree with tempering expectations, especially since Strauss' post wasn't very provocative in itself. Melewski is directly asking Strauss for updates.

[eb45]

Let's not get into statistics. Jay hit .300 which raises those totals, but he is going to be a CF who could be a legit lead off hitter, but he can't steal bases to save his life. He isn't going to hit for much power. You might get 10 out of him a year, which would be fine as a CF/Leadoff guy if he were a better base runner and could advance when he gets on. He's more a VERY good bottom of the order hitter for an NL team/4th OF to me.

Jones is going to give you very good defense, hit around .275-.280 and will hit you 20-30 HR. It's two different types of offensive players we are comparing, but I'd like to think a CF with that much offensive upside wins out over a bottom of the order CF. I think Jay has done well to this point, but I also think he's overachieved a little bit. He's not going to develop into Jones.

Oh, absolutely. I just think you're undervaluing Jay a bit and simultaneously overvaluing Jones. Jay has almost definitely overachieved and Jones has probably underachieved. I'm not saying Jay = Jones, but he'd be a fine piece in a deal centered around Miller.

[Scrat1]

For one prospect, a RP and a 4th OF??

I don't view Jay as a 4th outfielder. I think he can be our starting center fielder. Hell, last year he was worth just about the same as Jones (2.8 WAR vs. 2.9). Obviously that gets into the whole fielding thing and whether or not Jones' fielding metrics are accurate. For the record, I don't think Jones is as bad as a fielder as fangraphs seems to suggest. However, Jay is also cheaper and under control for a long time. He only has a small fraction of Jones' upside, but he can cover center field admirably enough so we can use our resources to fill other, bigger holes.

Miller, one of the best pitching prospects in the game, plus a cheap league average center fielder, plus a very solid reliever is a fair return for Jones.

[Scrat1]

He's not going to develop into Jones.

I don't think anyone is suggesting he is, which is why you've got Miller and McClellan in the deal.

[El Gordo]

The tweet wasn't in reference to a Jones trade, it was in reference to the Cards need to move a SP to make room for Oswalt. Trading Jones for Miller and other prospects doesn't do anything for the Cards. Any trade with the O's would have to involve one of Westbrook, McClellen, or Garcia.

[Sports Guy]

The tweet wasn't in reference to Jones trade is was in reference to the Cards need to move aSP to make room for Oawalt. Trading Jones for Miller and other prospects doesn't do anything for the Cards.. Any trade with the O's would have to involve one of Westbrook, McClellen, or Garcia.

In all likelihood, this is true but you(nor anyone else) know this for sure.

To me, that tweet says more than we are dumping Westbrook to another team.

OTOH, maybe Strauss is just trying to be dramatic, so who knows.

[LookinUp]

Why doesn't Alonso fit with them? If Rizzo hadn't been traded I would have said it's a REAL possibility, he's a better fit for an AL team, but the bat is legit. He's just AWFUL defensively.

You answered why in this paragraph. Couple his defensive liabilities with the fact that his power is still tied to projection, rather than MiL production, and I just don't think he's a great get. Certainly a good player to get, but not the headliner I'd want.

I would throw some pitching prospects in there, but I'd be really picky who since it takes a very specific type of pitcher to be successful in CY, and a top prospect for another team might not be as successful here. You have to have a high GB% or VERY low contact rate to have a chance in BAL. It's like pitching in COL.

I wrote a blog entry the other day that said pretty much the same thing about the Nats. With them launching extension talks with Zimmerman it makes even more sense. Take a guy you normally wouldn't take, and flip him for a ML piece the next year, don't have to wait for results and they can get someone to pair with their core who are ML level now, not in 2-3 years.

I'm not clear why you'd need the pitching prospects to have such an upside but not Alonso. Seems contradictory, to me.

On the Nats. With them missing on Fielder, it makes total sense to put Morse at 1B, Werth in RF and trade for their CF. They could trade for a 1B instead, but that would downgrade their OF defense. It just makes too much sense for them.

[allstar1579]

You answered why in this paragraph. Couple his defensive liabilities with the fact that his power is still tied to projection, rather than MiL production, and I just don't think he's a great get. Certainly a good player to get, but not the headliner I'd want.

I'm not clear why you'd need the pitching prospects to have such an upside but not Alonso. Seems contradictory, to me.

On the Nats. With them missing on Fielder, it makes total sense to put Morse at 1B, Werth in RF and trade for their CF. They could trade for a 1B instead, but that would downgrade their OF defense. It just makes too much sense for them.

Oh ok, I thought you were saying that Alonso was better than the others. If we were bringing him here, he'd be a fine headliner because we could stick him at DH. He's better at this point than Votto was with the bat if that tells you anything. I would want more in ANY package than those guys, but I would want even more with Alonso for the reasons you mentioned. It's like I've been saying, people are right to go after that one big fish in these proposed deals, but the key is what else you get with them.

RE: Nats. They still have LaRoche at 1B and they aren't dumping him at his salary, so that's why Morse is in LF. (He's not very good defensively at 1B anyway) They are sticking Werth in CF because he's pretty decent defensively in CF, and MUCH better than Bernadina. I said the same thing though, they are better off with Werth in RF and getting a CF. They are looking at an OF with 2 catchers and a 1B as is though and Morse isn't very good in LF either.

[Dipper9]

Maybe the Orioles are moving into the NL Central next season?

[El Gordo]

In all likelihood, this is true but you(nor anyone else) know this for sure.

To me, that tweet says more than we are dumping Westbrook to another team.

OTOH, maybe Strauss is just trying to be dramatic, so who knows.

If you read the tweet in conjunction with the article weams linked, that Strauss wrote earlier yesterday, it's pretty clear he is referring to moving a SP.

[MatthewW]

This from Cards Clubhouse is just CLASSIC...

From some poster named Ozarkbird:

It's plausible the Orioles would want Lohse over Westbrook and Jones is just part of it to make the salaries more balanced. Then you're talking something like Lohse/Jay for Jones/Matusz.

LINK

Lohse and Jay for Jones and Matusz... :eektf:

Awesome

[clapdiddy]

This from Cards Clubhouse is just CLASSIC...

From Ozarkbird:

LINK

Lohse and Jay for Jones and Matusz... :eektf:

Awesome

Um...this would severely suck, and I don't believe DD would have any part of such a deal.