DeWitt III said if 'giant chunk' of payroll traded..will be spent in other areas

[Goldfan]

You have to be curious about where this is going. I believe Nado is gone. I also believe that the odds are pretty good that Gray is moved. The only question is how much payroll is eaten. Those two represent about 60 million dollars in payroll. Do we eat 30 million of it? 20 million of it? With Mikolas, Fedde, Matz, Helsley also gone, the payroll could drop below 100 million. There has to be money spent. Can you imagine the St Louis Cardinals coming in with a payroll of less than 100 million dollars!!

I think Gray is interesting. How much contract do you eat before it becomes financially viable just to keep him. We need pitching and Gray is still serviceable. Do we eat 10 million of that 35 million he’s owed? 25 million is still a big chunk but maybe in a better ballpark for Sonny. Do we eat 15 million? At 20 million Sonny is a better bargain. Interesting to see what the puke point is on what we will eat.

I think it’s a better than 50/50 chance Contreras is moved. There will be interest in him. How bad does he want to stay here. We have other options for 1B and 18 million for Contreras isn’t the worst deal. An infield of
1B Burleson
2B Wetherholt
SS Winn
3B Donovan
is certainly plausible…..and cheap.

Imagine Arenado, Gray and Contreras all being moved. With the loss of the others (Mikolas, Fedde, Matz, Helsley), that strips our payroll to a bare minimum. There certainly would be dollars to spend. Probably 60-70 million just to get to 2025 levels. What a different time in the STL.

Too much drama and distraction around Contreras. He gets HBP deliberately and then complains that his teammates don't want to back him up.

They signed him to replace Molina at catcher but he can't catch. Trade him for a bag of baseballs.
All for
.250
20HR
80 RBI

A 30+ yr old vet offensive catcher who could never stay healthy to replace Yadi……when they were trumpeting Herrera to be Yadis successor….then take the offensive catcher and move to 1b……play with bad catchers who provide no offense…..talk of putting Herrera behind plate again in ‘26
Hopefully there are adults in the FO now

[Whatashame]

It appears he's for sure dealing NADO but this statement from J. Denton makes me wonder if he has other plans for S. Gray:

Bloom does feel there is a more realistic pathway to the veteran right-hander’s return to St. Louis next season.

If he keeps Gray, then it may show Bloom has some ideas on how to walk (keep acquiring players/prospects via trades and smart FA signings) & chew gum (still compete which could help bolster attendance and thus payroll in 2027).

I think there’s a good chance that Gray is moved but I have no problem keeping him.
Gray
Liberatore
McGreevy
is a good start to a rotation. I think we trade for a starter and acquire one through FA. Give Matthews, Doyle and Henderson next year in AAA and let them develop. If one of them steps up and is ready to help late, that’s great but give them development time. Love to be in on an Alcantara trade, bringing him back to STL. Maybe really try to pry one of the Seattle starters away from the Mariners. I’d take Gilbert, Kirby or Woo. Whomever we trade for could slide in as a TOTR starter. Maybe we bring back Gallen as a FA. A rotation of
Gray
(Alcantara, Gilbert, Kirby, Woo)
Gallen
Liberatore
McGreevy
is a (bleep) good start to a solid rotation.

Then concentrate on bringing in a productive outfielder. I’d prefer two but one is a necessity. Where he comes from is hard to say because we don’t truly know who might be available yet. Could Colorado be tempted to part with Goodman? Young and could play CF. I’m sure there are others.

2 starters and a MOTO outfield bat and this team could take several steps to relevancy and with what we have already moved on from and our payroll is still under control.

[Youboughtit]

Any mention of the “Giant chunk” from last year? $125m is laughable in this market. $200m is acceptable but still not to the winning level of 2006-2011

[JuanAgosto]

They are trading Arenado. I assume he knows and may even have an idea of the destination.

Gray on the other hand, may be traded or may not. If he is dealt, StL should not be eating a large portion of the contract. Unless there is a MLB ready prospect returning.

They would like to move Contreras. Burleson would move to 1b. Bloom would need to find a solid bat to replace him. Maybe an OF or a 3b.

Donovan should be shopped for a SP. Nootbaar for a prospect or reliever.

[ScotchMIrish]

You have to be curious about where this is going. I believe Nado is gone. I also believe that the odds are pretty good that Gray is moved. The only question is how much payroll is eaten. Those two represent about 60 million dollars in payroll. Do we eat 30 million of it? 20 million of it? With Mikolas, Fedde, Matz, Helsley also gone, the payroll could drop below 100 million. There has to be money spent. Can you imagine the St Louis Cardinals coming in with a payroll of less than 100 million dollars!!

I think Gray is interesting. How much contract do you eat before it becomes financially viable just to keep him. We need pitching and Gray is still serviceable. Do we eat 10 million of that 35 million he’s owed? 25 million is still a big chunk but maybe in a better ballpark for Sonny. Do we eat 15 million? At 20 million Sonny is a better bargain. Interesting to see what the puke point is on what we will eat.

I think it’s a better than 50/50 chance Contreras is moved. There will be interest in him. How bad does he want to stay here. We have other options for 1B and 18 million for Contreras isn’t the worst deal. An infield of
1B Burleson
2B Wetherholt
SS Winn
3B Donovan
is certainly plausible…..and cheap.

Imagine Arenado, Gray and Contreras all being moved. With the loss of the others (Mikolas, Fedde, Matz, Helsley), that strips our payroll to a bare minimum. There certainly would be dollars to spend. Probably 60-70 million just to get to 2025 levels. What a different time in the STL.

Too much drama and distraction around Contreras. He gets HBP deliberately and then complains that his teammates don't want to back him up.

They signed him to replace Molina at catcher but he can't catch. Trade him for a bag of baseballs.
All for
.250
20HR
80 RBI

A 30+ yr old vet offensive catcher who could never stay healthy to replace Yadi……when they were trumpeting Herrera to be Yadis successor….then take the offensive catcher and move to 1b……play with bad catchers who provide no offense…..talk of putting Herrera behind plate again in ‘26
Hopefully there are adults in the FO now

Evidence the organization was long on analytics and short of baseball men. Guys like Mike Matheny for example. He mentored a guy who was a pretty good catcher.

[Bomber1]

What exactly is a “gigantic chunk”?

[Melville]

It appears he's for sure dealing NADO but this statement from J. Denton makes me wonder if he has other plans for S. Gray:

Bloom does feel there is a more realistic pathway to the veteran right-hander’s return to St. Louis next season.

If he keeps Gray, then it may show Bloom has some ideas on how to walk (keep acquiring players/prospects via trades and smart FA signings) & chew gum (still compete which could help bolster attendance and thus payroll in 2027).

Only an idiot would trade the sole strikeout producing starting pitcher on a team which ranked 29th in MLB in that area.
Particularly since any such move would be a contract dump with very little return as a result.
Unlike Super Slo Mo, Bloom is no idiot (quite possibly weak, but not an idiot).
I suspect he knows, as I have advised, the best option is to have Gray return.
The team can keep him AND compete for a W/C in 2026, with 3 relatively easily accomplished moves.

I don't see Bloom being "weak", seems like a pretty solid guy unlike the prior POBO.

I don't see Bloom one way or the other, but his decision to retain Marmol suggests possible weakness.
It bears watching.

[Bomber1]

It seems like the handwriting is on the wall that Big Man intends for Arenado to come back. NA's not getting younger or cheaper, and his value has only gone down since the spring, when there was not exactly a feeding frenzy over his availability.

I think Gray will be traded, and his salary turned into a couple of overpriced, underperforming short-term SP.

Because it's becoming clear that the future is going to be a lot like the past.

Personally I would keep Arenado and get rid of Gorman. Maybe in a couple years somebody else can emerge.
But hoping Gorman is it is a fool’s errand.

[C-Unit]

What exactly is a “gigantic chunk”?

Seems to me they're talking about the money being reinvested in other departments, not other players like the fans seem to hope.

[Goldfan]

What exactly is a “gigantic chunk”?

Seems to me they're talking about the money being reinvested in other departments, not other players like the fans seem to hope.

The Dept where the SS Billy III is registered

[C-Unit]

What exactly is a “gigantic chunk”?

Seems to me they're talking about the money being reinvested in other departments, not other players like the fans seem to hope.

The Dept where the SS Billy III is registered

...yep

[ilcubuffs]

"Giant chunk" is nebulous. Typical DinWallet speak.

I would be most concerned about "spent in other areas". IF he let the minors go to hell why should anyone trust them to put money towards the team and not their dry powder storage?

[JuanAgosto]

In other areas? What does that mean? He mentioned gameday experience. Is he throwing payroll money at a new Fredbird outfit? Booking some pregame concerts? Remodeling the restrooms? What is the grown-up Eddie Munster planning?

[brock118]

It appears he's for sure dealing NADO but this statement from J. Denton makes me wonder if he has other plans for S. Gray:

Bloom does feel there is a more realistic pathway to the veteran right-hander’s return to St. Louis next season.

If he keeps Gray, then it may show Bloom has some ideas on how to walk (keep acquiring players/prospects via trades and smart FA signings) & chew gum (still compete which could help bolster attendance and thus payroll in 2027).

I think there’s a good chance that Gray is moved but I have no problem keeping him.
Gray
Liberatore
McGreevy
is a good start to a rotation. I think we trade for a starter and acquire one through FA. Give Matthews, Doyle and Henderson next year in AAA and let them develop. If one of them steps up and is ready to help late, that’s great but give them development time. Love to be in on an Alcantara trade, bringing him back to STL. Maybe really try to pry one of the Seattle starters away from the Mariners. I’d take Gilbert, Kirby or Woo. Whomever we trade for could slide in as a TOTR starter. Maybe we bring back Gallen as a FA. A rotation of
Gray
(Alcantara, Gilbert, Kirby, Woo)
Gallen
Liberatore
McGreevy
is a (drat) good start to a solid rotation.

Then concentrate on bringing in a productive outfielder. I’d prefer two but one is a necessity. Where he comes from is hard to say because we don’t truly know who might be available yet. Could Colorado be tempted to part with Goodman? Young and could play CF. I’m sure there are others.

2 starters and a MOTO outfield bat and this team could take several steps to relevancy and with what we have already moved on from and our payroll is still under control.

And who do you think we should trade to get one of these TOR pitchers. We don't have much on the major league level that is good and our minor leagues only have a few prospects that other teams would want. So if you trade our top prospects for a TOR starter we gut our minor league system that we are trying to build up. Then we have a TOR with a gutted minor league system with no top end talent. If any of these pitchers become available I would guarantee you other teams would outbid us easily with suprerior minor league or major league talent.

[Alex Reyes Cy Young]

It appears he's for sure dealing NADO but this statement from J. Denton makes me wonder if he has other plans for S. Gray:

Bloom does feel there is a more realistic pathway to the veteran right-hander’s return to St. Louis next season.

If he keeps Gray, then it may show Bloom has some ideas on how to walk (keep acquiring players/prospects via trades and smart FA signings) & chew gum (still compete which could help bolster attendance and thus payroll in 2027).

Unless something has changed, I think Gray controls the “pathway” to return to St Louis. Full NTC, as I understand it.

Not necessarily PRT.

Bloom doesn't have to trade him.

If he chooses not to, then Gray will be here on the mound OD 2026.

But he does indeed have a full NTC, so he'd have to approve any trade Bloom "might" bring to him.

Oh the promise of FREED UP MONEY next season……Are you fellas falling for that one again…..Almost every year theres this mysterious freed up money from ending contracts….we see it.
And just as magically it somehow evaporates(arbitration, current salary increases…..) poof all gone…..BDW magic

Not me GF, I have never "fallen" for anything.

I figured out many years ago how BDWJr operates in good times (re: 3+M attendance) where he'd only spend money from expiring or traded contracts.

In bad times like 2024/2025 he simply puts the huge payroll slashing savings into his pocket.

I see it like this. They will pocket a lot of it. I think they will also use some of it for their new development centers including instructors and coaches etc. even new gadgets and facilities. Jmho

[rockondlouie]

It appears he's for sure dealing NADO but this statement from J. Denton makes me wonder if he has other plans for S. Gray:

Bloom does feel there is a more realistic pathway to the veteran right-hander’s return to St. Louis next season.

If he keeps Gray, then it may show Bloom has some ideas on how to walk (keep acquiring players/prospects via trades and smart FA signings) & chew gum (still compete which could help bolster attendance and thus payroll in 2027).

Only an idiot would trade the sole strikeout producing starting pitcher on a team which ranked 29th in MLB in that area.
Particularly since any such move would be a contract dump with very little return as a result.
Unlike Super Slo Mo, Bloom is no idiot (quite possibly weak, but not an idiot).
I suspect he knows, as I have advised, the best option is to have Gray return.
The team can keep him AND compete for a W/C in 2026, with 3 relatively easily accomplished moves.

I don't see Bloom being "weak", seems like a pretty solid guy unlike the prior POBO.

I don't see Bloom one way or the other, but his decision to retain Marmol suggests possible weakness.
It bears watching.

Wasn't his decision, that was BDWJr who knew 2026 was a throwaway season and he wasn't putting any "real" money into the team so why pay Oli to sit on his a z z?

He' far from a "weak" POBO, seems like a pretty decisive guy who has a plan and will execute it.