More Disappointed Than Us

[JuanAgosto]

I get that Arenado is owed a lot of money for two years and that his performance doesn't match the payment- but do you think his contract has the Cardinals cash strapped? I'm skeptical.

BDW and his wigged son will lead you believe they are poverty ridden because 3 million fans didn't show up to watch the Mozeliak and Marmol circus.

Luckily for them they've been storing up dry powder for years and years.

They could fill the stadium with the dry powder they've gotten from the fans.

[Catfish4U]

While Sonny Gray has not been an ace for us, he has pitched fine and his contract is over next year. They need to probably get 2 of him. If you look at the Cards record in games he pitched v. say Fedde or Mikolas, replace one of those 2 with another Gray and the Cards are likely in a playoff spot now.

The Cardinals have to be VERY disappointed in Sonny Gray thus far! Signed for 3 years and $75 million he has only produced 3.0 bWAR through most of the first two years. At 36 years old in November we should not expect a great year next year! jmho

And he's produced 6.9 fWAR...

His k/9 and bb/9, are still very good. bb/9 of 1.5 this season is a career best and leads the league as does his k/bb ratio of 6.46. His h/9 this year is third highest of his career on the back of a .339 BABiP is likely a career high, but I'm not going through all the split pages at BB-R - his next closest was 2018 at .327. Last season his k/9 was second highest of his career and his bb/9 was career best(until he improved on it this season).

While W/L numbers aren't given nearly as much weight as they used to, his .615 win% as a Cardinal coupled with his peripherals above tells me the Cardinals aren't "VERY disappointed" with him.

I am pretty sure our new GM (Bloom) is VERY disappointed to be paying 36 year old Sonny Gray $35 million next year. Gray has an era+ of 95 this year (well below league AVERAGE) and probably will not be better as he ages. jmho

[Talkin' Baseball]

While Sonny Gray has not been an ace for us, he has pitched fine and his contract is over next year. They need to probably get 2 of him. If you look at the Cards record in games he pitched v. say Fedde or Mikolas, replace one of those 2 with another Gray and the Cards are likely in a playoff spot now.

The Cardinals have to be VERY disappointed in Sonny Gray thus far! Signed for 3 years and $75 million he has only produced 3.0 bWAR through most of the first two years. At 36 years old in November we should not expect a great year next year! jmho

And he's produced 6.9 fWAR...

His k/9 and bb/9, are still very good. bb/9 of 1.5 this season is a career best and leads the league as does his k/bb ratio of 6.46. His h/9 this year is third highest of his career on the back of a .339 BABiP is likely a career high, but I'm not going through all the split pages at BB-R - his next closest was 2018 at .327. Last season his k/9 was second highest of his career and his bb/9 was career best(until he improved on it this season).

While W/L numbers aren't given nearly as much weight as they used to, his .615 win% as a Cardinal coupled with his peripherals above tells me the Cardinals aren't "VERY disappointed" with him.

I am pretty sure our new GM (Bloom) is VERY disappointed to be paying 36 year old Sonny Gray $35 million next year. Gray has an era+ of 95 this year (well below league AVERAGE) and probably will not be better as he ages. jmho

Not an apologist, but they were probably giddy last year when they were only paying him $10M. He was always going to be grossly underpaid in year 1, and grossly overpaid in year 3. That's the trouble with kicking the can down the road- the bill always comes due. Welcome to year 3.

[AnExParrot]

While Sonny Gray has not been an ace for us, he has pitched fine and his contract is over next year. They need to probably get 2 of him. If you look at the Cards record in games he pitched v. say Fedde or Mikolas, replace one of those 2 with another Gray and the Cards are likely in a playoff spot now.

The Cardinals have to be VERY disappointed in Sonny Gray thus far! Signed for 3 years and $75 million he has only produced 3.0 bWAR through most of the first two years. At 36 years old in November we should not expect a great year next year! jmho

And he's produced 6.9 fWAR...

His k/9 and bb/9, are still very good. bb/9 of 1.5 this season is a career best and leads the league as does his k/bb ratio of 6.46. His h/9 this year is third highest of his career on the back of a .339 BABiP is likely a career high, but I'm not going through all the split pages at BB-R - his next closest was 2018 at .327. Last season his k/9 was second highest of his career and his bb/9 was career best(until he improved on it this season).

While W/L numbers aren't given nearly as much weight as they used to, his .615 win% as a Cardinal coupled with his peripherals above tells me the Cardinals aren't "VERY disappointed" with him.

I am pretty sure our new GM (Bloom) is VERY disappointed to be paying 36 year old Sonny Gray $35 million next year. Gray has an era+ of 95 this year (well below league AVERAGE) and probably will not be better as he ages. jmho

And I'm certain Bloom is more of a stathead than you, which tells me he looks at more than the base results and certainly more deeply at pertinent stats than you. As a consequence Bloom likely isn't all that worried about Gray's cost next season, even if he's a year older and even if there isn't a ton of value to be had at Gray's price.

[scoutyjones2]

It is the poster child for not signing older free agents and expecting spectacular results.

Semien age 34 OPS 670 signed through 2028
Seager age age 31 OPS 842 signed through 2031
Adolis Garcia age age 32 OPS 655 signed through 2026
Joc Pederson age 33 OPS 559 signed through 2026

Jake Burger who is arb eligible has fallen off and their young players are no better than the Cards players. Seager has more or less played to his contract. But, man that contract won't age well. Semien is playing like Arenado and they have 1 more year of that contract than the Cards have for Arenado. The Rangers are going to have to eat a lot of money or they will be worse next year.

As much as people complain about the Cards, this is the long awaited reset many clamored for. After next year, the Cards have no remaining contracts on their books except for Contreras and Arenado for 1 more year. Contreras has at least been serviceable at the plate and Arenado is a plus in the field. So the Cards should be in a position to contend again if they are willing to spend a bit on TOR pitching and another MOTOB. Baez is mashing in Springfield and is a stolen base machine. If and I strongly lean on the word if, he can translate into a ML player, the Cards may have what they need between Wetherholdt, Herrera and Baez to put together a formidable line-up again...

I really do hope Baez becomes another right-handed force in the lineup. That would be a big piece.

The Cards have to hit on at least 1 prospect don't we? The Cards have produced some solid major leaguers, Winn, Donovan and Burleson. But none that are huge stars. They really need Wetherholdt and Baez to be that and maybe Herrera.

Baez in my mind gives us a second chance at what we might not get to see Walker become.

3B Wetherholt
2B Donovan
LF/DH Herrera
1B Contreras
DH/LF Burleson
RF Baez
SS Winn
C Bernal
CF Scott/Church

Run that out there for 2026, it'll be fine for the purpose of that season. But know that Contreras isn't a longterm piece. Also know that the lineup would look very very deep if you can eventually find enough offense to have Herrera slide down to 5th.

Don't forget about Blaze Jordan, although he has sucked at Memphis so far. He seems like a good buffer to have on hand for Contreras.

Herrera is a 1WAR player. Crushes lefties. Garbage vs righties. Falling like a rock each and every month
The belief in him is misguided

[Ozziesfan41]

While Sonny Gray has not been an ace for us, he has pitched fine and his contract is over next year. They need to probably get 2 of him. If you look at the Cards record in games he pitched v. say Fedde or Mikolas, replace one of those 2 with another Gray and the Cards are likely in a playoff spot now.

The Cardinals have to be VERY disappointed in Sonny Gray thus far! Signed for 3 years and $75 million he has only produced 3.0 bWAR through most of the first two years. At 36 years old in November we should not expect a great year next year! jmho

And he's produced 6.9 fWAR...

His k/9 and bb/9, are still very good. bb/9 of 1.5 this season is a career best and leads the league as does his k/bb ratio of 6.46. His h/9 this year is third highest of his career on the back of a .339 BABiP is likely a career high, but I'm not going through all the split pages at BB-R - his next closest was 2018 at .327. Last season his k/9 was second highest of his career and his bb/9 was career best(until he improved on it this season).

While W/L numbers aren't given nearly as much weight as they used to, his .615 win% as a Cardinal coupled with his peripherals above tells me the Cardinals aren't "VERY disappointed" with him.

I am pretty sure our new GM (Bloom) is VERY disappointed to be paying 36 year old Sonny Gray $35 million next year. Gray has an era+ of 95 this year (well below league AVERAGE) and probably will not be better as he ages. jmho

Not an apologist, but they were probably giddy last year when they were only paying him $10M. He was always going to be grossly underpaid in year 1, and grossly overpaid in year 3. That's the trouble with kicking the can down the road- the bill always comes due. Welcome to year 3.

Mo was fine with leaving that headache for bloom