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Orcin · 07-02-2014, 02:48 PM

St. Louis Cardinals Off-Season Planning

Last year was about clearing dead wood off the 40-man roster and adding players that could help us win a championship. Much of that work has been accomplished and the core of major league players is in place. The initial decisions during this off-season will involve contracts, but then we need to evaluate every spot on the roster and look for better options if they are available.

There will be additional emphasis and attention on the minor league organization in the coming year. Looking at the prospect depth chart, I see systemic weaknesses such as left-handed pitching and right-handed power. Those deficiencies must be addressed in quantity at the lower levels of the organization. Obviously, most of this work is done in the June draft, but international scouting and careful scrutiny of the free agent list can bear fruit.

Owner Bill Dewitt III provided some good news on the first day of the off-season. The Cardinals market size has increased to “very big”. As a consequence, the 2022 budget has been increased by $3M to $188 million.

One contract extension was signed while the playoffs were in progress, but we delayed the announcement so as not to interfere with the main business of baseball. I will start the off-season news with that item, and move on to arbitration and free agency.

St. Louis Cardinals News – November 2021

Cardinals 3B Trey Michalczewski Signs Contract Extension
T-Mick proposed a 4-year contract at $36 million. I was expecting him to ask for $50M over four years, so I was really happy to meet his reasonable demands. The only thing that I changed from his proposal was to front-load the payments a bit more, and remove his request for a player option in the final season. The contract pays him $8M next year, $9M x 2 years, and $10M in 2025.

Cardinals Scout Dan Kantrovitz Leaves Team
In a surprise move, the contract of scout Kantrovitz was not renewed. Some observers claimed that GM Otto Orcin fell asleep at the switch and just overlooked this expiring contract. Sources inside the organization say otherwise – that this was a conscious decision by Orcin to upgrade a key position in the organization. Legendary international scout Deron Johnson has been offered a four-year contract to oversee the Cardinals player evaluation department. He was with the Minnesota Twins from 2013-2016, and discovered much of the talent that populates their playoff roster today. Johnson is said to favor tools.

Closer Rex Brothers Will Return to St. Louis
A post-season question was answered when Rex Brothers exercised his player option at $8.6M for the 2022 season. Brothers is expected to be the closer for the Redbirds again next season.

Minor League House Cleaning
The Cardinals announce the release of 37 players today. Notable names on the list of departures were SP Jesse Biddle, reliever A.J.Cole, and 1B Matt Adams. Several minor league players were offered non-guaranteed contracts for next season. They would still be eligible for the Rule 5 draft unless added to the 40-man roster before December 1.

Cardinals Sign Extension with J.P. Crawford
Shortstop J.P. Crawford has agreed to a one-year contract at a salary of $10.5M plus award bonuses. Crawford made $8M last year, and was slated to go to arbitration with an estimate of $10.35M. The parties apparently could not agree on a long-term deal, but GM Otto Orcin stated that the two sides were still talking and simply wanted to avoid an “unpleasant” arbitration hearing.

Cardinals Avoid Arbitration
St. Louis has signed four arbitration-eligible players to one-year contracts. The players (and their new salary amounts) are LF Dutch Deol ($6M vs. $5.5M estimate), C Steve Bean ($4.5M vs. $4.4M), CF Vance Knox ($3M vs. $2.6M) and SP Ray Chambers ($2M vs. $1.9M). The only remaining arbitration case for the Cardinals is LF Min-Zhong You ($900K estimate). There has been no comment from the Cardinals about You (or you).

07-02-2014, 02:48 PM	#237
Orcin Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 9,850	St. Louis Cardinals Off-Season Planning Last year was about clearing dead wood off the 40-man roster and adding players that could help us win a championship. Much of that work has been accomplished and the core of major league players is in place. The initial decisions during this off-season will involve contracts, but then we need to evaluate every spot on the roster and look for better options if they are available. There will be additional emphasis and attention on the minor league organization in the coming year. Looking at the prospect depth chart, I see systemic weaknesses such as left-handed pitching and right-handed power. Those deficiencies must be addressed in quantity at the lower levels of the organization. Obviously, most of this work is done in the June draft, but international scouting and careful scrutiny of the free agent list can bear fruit. Owner Bill Dewitt III provided some good news on the first day of the off-season. The Cardinals market size has increased to “very big”. As a consequence, the 2022 budget has been increased by $3M to $188 million. One contract extension was signed while the playoffs were in progress, but we delayed the announcement so as not to interfere with the main business of baseball. I will start the off-season news with that item, and move on to arbitration and free agency. St. Louis Cardinals News – November 2021 Cardinals 3B Trey Michalczewski Signs Contract Extension T-Mick proposed a 4-year contract at $36 million. I was expecting him to ask for $50M over four years, so I was really happy to meet his reasonable demands. The only thing that I changed from his proposal was to front-load the payments a bit more, and remove his request for a player option in the final season. The contract pays him $8M next year, $9M x 2 years, and $10M in 2025. Cardinals Scout Dan Kantrovitz Leaves Team In a surprise move, the contract of scout Kantrovitz was not renewed. Some observers claimed that GM Otto Orcin fell asleep at the switch and just overlooked this expiring contract. Sources inside the organization say otherwise – that this was a conscious decision by Orcin to upgrade a key position in the organization. Legendary international scout Deron Johnson has been offered a four-year contract to oversee the Cardinals player evaluation department. He was with the Minnesota Twins from 2013-2016, and discovered much of the talent that populates their playoff roster today. Johnson is said to favor tools. Closer Rex Brothers Will Return to St. Louis A post-season question was answered when Rex Brothers exercised his player option at $8.6M for the 2022 season. Brothers is expected to be the closer for the Redbirds again next season. Minor League House Cleaning The Cardinals announce the release of 37 players today. Notable names on the list of departures were SP Jesse Biddle, reliever A.J.Cole, and 1B Matt Adams. Several minor league players were offered non-guaranteed contracts for next season. They would still be eligible for the Rule 5 draft unless added to the 40-man roster before December 1. Cardinals Sign Extension with J.P. Crawford Shortstop J.P. Crawford has agreed to a one-year contract at a salary of $10.5M plus award bonuses. Crawford made $8M last year, and was slated to go to arbitration with an estimate of $10.35M. The parties apparently could not agree on a long-term deal, but GM Otto Orcin stated that the two sides were still talking and simply wanted to avoid an “unpleasant” arbitration hearing. Cardinals Avoid Arbitration St. Louis has signed four arbitration-eligible players to one-year contracts. The players (and their new salary amounts) are LF Dutch Deol ($6M vs. $5.5M estimate), C Steve Bean ($4.5M vs. $4.4M), CF Vance Knox ($3M vs. $2.6M) and SP Ray Chambers ($2M vs. $1.9M). The only remaining arbitration case for the Cardinals is LF Min-Zhong You ($900K estimate). There has been no comment from the Cardinals about You (or you).