Winter Meetings remain noteworthy for the St. Louis Cardinals – MLB News
No substantial transactions to catch media attention and subsequent mention, the St. Louis Cardinals – however, do not go empty-handed from the Winter Meetings.
On the last day of Winter Meetings, if the Cardinals could not issue an excessively proud statement by filling the roster with some big names, they did get what they wanted. After passing the physical, Randy Choate has been added now – a lefty reliever that the Cardinals were looking for.
The three-year deal, worth $7.5 million with the lefty reliever materialised on Wednesday while the other clubs saw the market dwindle when it came to availability of the relievers.
As for being cautious while making the big moves, the Cardinals have their own perspective – a different lens to look at things.
"As a group, we talk about remaining disciplined and staying true to our process," general manager John Mozeliak said. "In this environment, some irrational thinking happens. That's the problem of these Meetings -- sometimes it's because you get the ping-pong effect. There are 30 teams under one roof, and things escalate rather quickly."
What they are now looking for is a batter. There is a talk about second baseman Skip Schumaker who is part of the roster for now, but is getting offers.
"What we're trying to do is really just try to optimize the type of return we might get for him," Mozeliak said of Schumaker. "If we can get Major League talent, we'll definitely consider that. If we can't find that, we will look for someone who can fit into our Minor League system."
Other areas of concern for the Cardinals include filling the bench. That may lead to addition of a middle infielder and right-handed batter. But the Cardinals are looking for the right moment to make the offers.
All these needs are to be addressed so is expected, before Spring Training. That is how the Cardinals are to go about it. Thus, while there might not have been a lot of splendour involved in the Winter Meetings when it comes to striking deal with some big names, the Cardinals have got what they sought to achieve here.
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