Cardinals rumors: Pursue Aaron Nola over Blake Snell this offseason?
This offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals are going to be very active in the starting pitcher market, as John Mozeliak said this week. Luckily for them, the market is going to be loaded with a plethora of potential aces for them to attempt to sign.
Two of the premier starters that'll be available in free agency are the Phillies' Aaron Nola and the Padres' Blake Snell. St. Louis could pursue either. But given a choice between the two, even with Snell putting up superior numbers in 2023, the Cardinals should pursue a deal with Nola over Snell, as noted by Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Cardinals need multiple starters and they'll likely want one of those to be an ace-caliber pitcher to hold the rotation down. Nola has a track record of being one of the better pitchers in the National League and he's just 30 years old. But Snell has had a better season this year, so why would the Cardinals pursue Nola instead?
The contracts. Coming off a Cy Young-caliber season, Snell is going to demand a huge contract in the offseason. Nola's contract won't be a slouch of a deal, but it'll likely be nothing compared to the one that Snell is going to get.
With the trio of Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Miles Mikolas taking up nearly $80 million combined with the need to add multiple starters in the offseason for the 2024 season, the Cardinals will need to be meticulous with their spending and Snell may be just out of their price range. Nola, however, could fit right into the framework for the future.
Cardinals rumors: Masyn Winn should finish 2023 in Triple-A, not the big leagues
As the Cardinals entered a rebuild midseason and shipped away Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, and Paul DeJong, among others, many Cardinals fans began questioning if and when their top prospect, Masyn Winn, should be called up to the big leagues.
Many fans wanted it to happen this year, as it would give him some added experience and kick-start his big-league career now rather than next season.
But there's no reason to rush it this season, as expressed by Greg Simons of Redbird Rants.
Winn is playing really good baseball, slashing .284/.355/.464 at Triple-A this year. There's no reason to slam the brakes on his hot stretch by bringing him up and not allowing him to play as consistently as he has in the minors this year. The Cardinals are best off allowing him to play every day at Triple-A and continue to grow and learn on his hot streak, instead of risking it.
They're in no position to win this year and the season is basically over from a team standpoint. Winn is going to be a huge part of the future of the Cardinals, as he's likely their shortstop of the future. His development should be the first priority for him and the Cardinals and they shouldn't risk that to get additional MLB experience.
Cardinals rumors: Steven Matz may be done for the rest of 2023
After a rough start to the year, Steven Matz appeared to be back to form after a brief move to the bullpen and then return to the rotation. But an injury seems to have put a halt to that progress and potentially ended his season.
When the calendar turned to June 15, Matz was 0-7 on the season with an ERA closing in on 6. The season appeared to be a lost cause for the lefty following a move to the bullpen.
But the move to the bullpen proved to be a great change of situation for Matz, as he was able to hold opposing hitters to a slash line of .224/.308/.276 in 8 relief appearances. This adjustment allowed him to get in the groove of the season, making a switch back to starting rather seamless. This allowed him to hold opposing hitters to a batting average of less than .200 over his last 5 starts dating back to July.
But he was recently moved to the IL with a lat strain and there are serious question marks on whether he'll be back in the rotation this season. With less than 50 games remaining, the odds of him returning this year will drop as the days go by, as it would provide the Cardinals no benefit to rush the veteran back to the mound.