St. Louis Cardinals News December 2021
Cardinals, Nationals Agree to Swap
Finch will compete for a spot on the roster next spring. He can play center field well enough to be the regular if he can hit. I gave up virtually nothing to get him because Stewart was not going to make the team and Rodebaugh was likely to be cut to make room for a left-handed reliever. Finch has great intangibles including leadership.
Wong Signs with Baltimore
The Baltimore Orioles signed former Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong to a 6-year contract worth $92M. St. Louis will receive a supplemental first round pick in next Junes draft as compensation. Fan reaction was generally negative, but the club can use this money to retain shortstop J.P. Crawford next year (which the fans will like).
Phillies Sign Catcher J.R. Murphy
The 30-year-old Murphy received $129M over 7 years. He is a helluva hitter but fairly ordinary behind the plate. This is newsworthy for me because I have previously had an interest in Phillies catcher Jonathan Denney. Maybe Philadelphia would move him now.
Dodgers Sign Posey
Buster Posey will be the Dodgers catcher for the next 2 years and receives $33 million.
Cardinals Add Bullpen Depth
St. Louis signed 27-year-old left-handed reliever Wayne Conley to a minor league contract with a $500K signing bonus. Conley was previously with Detroit. Last year, he was 5-4 with a 4.19 ERA in 59 appearances with Toledo (AAA International League).
Winter Meetings
Several big-name free agents signed on the first day of the session:
SS Addison Russell, LAA, 3 years, $40M
SP Chad Billingsley, CLE, 2 years, $21M
SP Tim Lincecum, CLE, 2 years, $32M
CL Al Alburquerque, CHN, 3 years, $22M
I shopped my excess position players in search of pitching with no success.
More Free Agents Sign
Houston lured 35-year-old SP Andrew Cashner away from the Dodgers on a 3-year, $56M deal. Texas inked former Royals 1B Eric Hosmer to a 3-year, $48M contract. Pittsburgh signed SS Brock Hebert for 3 years, $40M and will pair him with MVP 2B Gian-Andrea Massari.