There has been a lot of chatter about the St. Louis Cardinals so far this offseason but not much action yet.
This certainly will change, but there have been much more rumors than actual moves made so far this offseason for St. Louis.
Pitchers and catchers will start to report to Spring Training in February and by then it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Cardinals cut ties with some veterans through trades.
One player who MLB.com’s John Denton suggested could use a “change of scenery” is veteran pitcher Steven Matz while on “BK & Ferrario” on 101ESPN.
“I think that they believe that Steven Matz needs a change of scenery,” Denton said. “They’ve tried that for three years and it’s gone poorly for three years. Steven’s a wonderful human being but he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He’s also owed quite a bit of money. He’s owed ($12.5 million) this year. If there was one of them that they would prefer to move, I think it would be Steven Matz over Erick Fedde.”
Matz signed a four-year, $44 million deal with the Cardinals and has one more year left on his deal. In three seasons so far with the Cardinals, Matz has logged a 4.47 ERA across 52 total appearances — including 34 starts.
Things haven’t worked out so far and a trade involving him easily could trim payroll, but will another team want his deal? The Cardinals likely would have to pay it down a little bit.
