Biggest Swing and Miss of the Offseason So Far

[Talkin' Baseball]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

[earp]

This is going to be the first of several long years for the passionate Cardinals’ fanbase.

[Melville]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Some good moves.
Three mistakes.
One, retaining The Marmot was idiocy on a scale that is hard to believe.
Two, considering a return to the catching position for Herrera rather than forcing him to spend the winter re-purposing as an outfielder/1B - though, in fairness, this may be a stunt on Bloom's part to placate Herrera with no true interest in allowing him to stay behind the dish.
Three, acquiring a RH middle order corner outfield bat was essential and not doing so is a failure (as it has been every off-season for the past decade).
Always free of bias and free of agenda, I have good news.
All 3 mistakes are easy fixed and I believe they will be.

[ScotchMIrish]

Regarding catchers I wouldn't trade anybody until things shake out. We don't know if Herrera can catch and we don't know which of the prospects will develop into MLB players. I'd stand pat and let it play out.

Rodriguez's bat is to good for his body to take a beating behind the plate...especially with all the catching the cards have...find him somewhere to play and start working him there now...then when he gets to the big leagues he's not learning a new position on the fly...

I tend to agree but there are some guys who can handle the abuse of catching and still hit. Corner outfield or first base are likely spots if he isn't a catcher.

[CCard]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

That's true. Still they were the best starter (Gray) and the best bat in the lineup (Contreras). Arenado...no argument there, he played himself out of St Louis. Contreras could have rebounded this year but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, he didn't have much protection in the lineup. Another thing to note is that it doesn't appear they got very much in return either. Now with Clarke going under the knife, who knows what will come of them. The for sure thing they did was gut....errr...cut salary. Hope Dewitt enjoys his pocket change while the fans have to suffer through seasons of miserable talent on the field.

[Talkin' Baseball]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

That's true. Still they were the best starter (Gray) and the best bat in the lineup (Contreras). Arenado...no argument there, he played himself out of St Louis. Contreras could have rebounded this year but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, he didn't have much protection in the lineup. Another thing to note is that it doesn't appear they got very much in return either. Now with Clarke going under the knife, who knows what will come of them. The for sure thing they did was gut....errr...cut salary. Hope Dewitt enjoys his pocket change while the fans have to suffer through seasons of miserable talent on the field.

I get that you feel that way, but that's not really what this thread is about. This thread is pointing out that they didn't re-organize the roster in a meaningful way when they could/should have.

[CCard]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

That's true. Still they were the best starter (Gray) and the best bat in the lineup (Contreras). Arenado...no argument there, he played himself out of St Louis. Contreras could have rebounded this year but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, he didn't have much protection in the lineup. Another thing to note is that it doesn't appear they got very much in return either. Now with Clarke going under the knife, who knows what will come of them. The for sure thing they did was gut....errr...cut salary. Hope Dewitt enjoys his pocket change while the fans have to suffer through seasons of miserable talent on the field.

I get that you feel that way, but that's not really what this thread is about. This thread is pointing out that they didn't re-organize the roster in a meaningful way when they could/should have.

No argument that they could have and should have done more. But as for swing and misses, I'd say trading your best pitcher and best hitter and getting what appears to be very little in return would fit the bill.

[Talkin' Baseball]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

That's true. Still they were the best starter (Gray) and the best bat in the lineup (Contreras). Arenado...no argument there, he played himself out of St Louis. Contreras could have rebounded this year but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, he didn't have much protection in the lineup. Another thing to note is that it doesn't appear they got very much in return either. Now with Clarke going under the knife, who knows what will come of them. The for sure thing they did was gut....errr...cut salary. Hope Dewitt enjoys his pocket change while the fans have to suffer through seasons of miserable talent on the field.

I get that you feel that way, but that's not really what this thread is about. This thread is pointing out that they didn't re-organize the roster in a meaningful way when they could/should have.

No argument that they could have and should have done more. But as for swing and misses, I'd say trading your best pitcher and best hitter and getting what appears to be very little in return would fit the bill.

It seems like we have different goals, therefore end up with a different plan of action needed.

[CCard]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

That's true. Still they were the best starter (Gray) and the best bat in the lineup (Contreras). Arenado...no argument there, he played himself out of St Louis. Contreras could have rebounded this year but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, he didn't have much protection in the lineup. Another thing to note is that it doesn't appear they got very much in return either. Now with Clarke going under the knife, who knows what will come of them. The for sure thing they did was gut....errr...cut salary. Hope Dewitt enjoys his pocket change while the fans have to suffer through seasons of miserable talent on the field.

I get that you feel that way, but that's not really what this thread is about. This thread is pointing out that they didn't re-organize the roster in a meaningful way when they could/should have.

No argument that they could have and should have done more. But as for swing and misses, I'd say trading your best pitcher and best hitter and getting what appears to be very little in return would fit the bill.

It seems like we have different goals, therefore end up with a different plan of action needed.

Hmmm...my goal is to field a competent team and challenge for a playoff spot. That won't happen by selling off your top talent and not replacing it. They could easily sign two of the top free agent pitchers and they would have a chance. Who knows, if Noot improves and Walker improves maybe they make the playoffs. Maybe they get hot and make to the championship. That's my goal. I'm don't believe in tanking and don't believe it should be allowed. It hurts the fans of the teams that do it and it skews the records and stats of other teams and divisions. You have a team like the Cards, they lose nearly 100 games, all the teams in the Central beat up on them and engorge their records, now teams that shouldn't really be in contention for a wild card or playoff spot are because the Cards tanked. It's an abomination to the sport.

[Talkin' Baseball]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

That's true. Still they were the best starter (Gray) and the best bat in the lineup (Contreras). Arenado...no argument there, he played himself out of St Louis. Contreras could have rebounded this year but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, he didn't have much protection in the lineup. Another thing to note is that it doesn't appear they got very much in return either. Now with Clarke going under the knife, who knows what will come of them. The for sure thing they did was gut....errr...cut salary. Hope Dewitt enjoys his pocket change while the fans have to suffer through seasons of miserable talent on the field.

I get that you feel that way, but that's not really what this thread is about. This thread is pointing out that they didn't re-organize the roster in a meaningful way when they could/should have.

No argument that they could have and should have done more. But as for swing and misses, I'd say trading your best pitcher and best hitter and getting what appears to be very little in return would fit the bill.

It seems like we have different goals, therefore end up with a different plan of action needed.

Hmmm...my goal is to field a competent team and challenge for a playoff spot. That won't happen by selling off your top talent and not replacing it. They could easily sign two of the top free agent pitchers and they would have a chance. Who knows, if Noot improves and Walker improves maybe they make the playoffs. Maybe they get hot and make to the championship. That's my goal. I'm don't believe in tanking and don't believe it should be allowed. It hurts the fans of the teams that do it and it skews the records and stats of other teams and divisions. You have a team like the Cards, they lose nearly 100 games, all the teams in the Central beat up on them and engorge their records, now teams that shouldn't really be in contention for a wild card or playoff spot are because the Cards tanked. It's an abomination to the sport.

Now we're getting to the crux of the matter. Your goal is to challenge for a playoff spot. I'm saying that isn't realistic presently. The problem isn't just the roster right now- and if you make a couple of adds, you fix the issue. The problem is the model. The model doesn't work. It isn't tanking to change the model. It may take more than one season to change the model. It requires focus and patience.

We have missed the playoffs the past 3 years WITH Arenado, WITH Contreras, WITH Helsley, WITH 2 years of Gray. We actually finished last one of those years and lost over 90 games. The attendance went to (bleep) WITH those players. The fact is, we could not "easily sign two of the top free agent pitchers and they would have a chance". IF they could make the playoffs the wouldn't have any better success than the 2022 team did in their run, or than the Reds did last year when they "made the playoffs".

Using a "who knows if Noot", or a "who knows if Walker" strategy to the playoffs sounds a lot like the strategy the old guard has employed for quite a while.

The model needs changing not just for this roster, but going forward. Doing that will bring more winning in the next 10 years than if we don't. That's my goal.

[dugoutrex]

I'm not the least bit disappointed

Anyone who thought we'd get some haul of MLB Top 100 prospects for the likes of S. Gray, Willy and NADO, when all three were nothing more than salary dumps, doesn't understand baseball.

C. Bloom has done as well as can be expected w/those three trades, even adding some players who will see action on the Cardinals in 2026 as well as some real upside, lotto ticket prospects.

And as far as Oli, bringing him back was a BDWJr move and not a Bloom move.

When your goal is to CUT as much payroll as possible before the CBA negotiations there was NO WAY Dewitt was going to pay Oli to sit on his a z z AND allow Bloom to hire his Manager before the new CBA is in place.

I also like Bloom holding steadfast on Donny until he gets his asking price.

There's no rush to deal him just to "make a deal".

Worse case is we have Donny to start the season and then you see what type of offers you can get midseason..........

......wash, rinse, repeat again next offseason (if there is an offseason) or just sign him to a new deal and keep him.

JMO

you don't know that - Bloom has been talking about an extension for Oli - was BDWjr under the table holding a gun to his nut sack when he said that?

[CCard]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

That's true. Still they were the best starter (Gray) and the best bat in the lineup (Contreras). Arenado...no argument there, he played himself out of St Louis. Contreras could have rebounded this year but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, he didn't have much protection in the lineup. Another thing to note is that it doesn't appear they got very much in return either. Now with Clarke going under the knife, who knows what will come of them. The for sure thing they did was gut....errr...cut salary. Hope Dewitt enjoys his pocket change while the fans have to suffer through seasons of miserable talent on the field.

I get that you feel that way, but that's not really what this thread is about. This thread is pointing out that they didn't re-organize the roster in a meaningful way when they could/should have.

No argument that they could have and should have done more. But as for swing and misses, I'd say trading your best pitcher and best hitter and getting what appears to be very little in return would fit the bill.

It seems like we have different goals, therefore end up with a different plan of action needed.

Hmmm...my goal is to field a competent team and challenge for a playoff spot. That won't happen by selling off your top talent and not replacing it. They could easily sign two of the top free agent pitchers and they would have a chance. Who knows, if Noot improves and Walker improves maybe they make the playoffs. Maybe they get hot and make to the championship. That's my goal. I'm don't believe in tanking and don't believe it should be allowed. It hurts the fans of the teams that do it and it skews the records and stats of other teams and divisions. You have a team like the Cards, they lose nearly 100 games, all the teams in the Central beat up on them and engorge their records, now teams that shouldn't really be in contention for a wild card or playoff spot are because the Cards tanked. It's an abomination to the sport.

Now we're getting to the crux of the matter. Your goal is to challenge for a playoff spot. I'm saying that isn't realistic presently. The problem isn't just the roster right now- and if you make a couple of adds, you fix the issue. The problem is the model. The model doesn't work. It isn't tanking to change the model. It may take more than one season to change the model. It requires focus and patience.

We have missed the playoffs the past 3 years WITH Arenado, WITH Contreras, WITH Helsley, WITH 2 years of Gray. We actually finished last one of those years and lost over 90 games. The attendance went to (bleep) WITH those players. The fact is, we could not "easily sign two of the top free agent pitchers and they would have a chance". IF they could make the playoffs the wouldn't have any better success than the 2022 team did in their run, or than the Reds did last year when they "made the playoffs".

Using a "who knows if Noot", or a "who knows if Walker" strategy to the playoffs sounds a lot like the strategy the old guard has employed for quite a while.

The model needs changing not just for this roster, but going forward. Doing that will bring more winning in the next 10 years than if we don't. That's my goal.

Here's some of the problems with your argument.
1. What do you mean by change the model? They added coaches. They didn't change minor league affiliations. Until you can show me what they
actually did to change the "model" I have to disagree with your statement.
2. The teams that had Gray and Contreras still didn't have the pitching to compete. Mikolas, Fedde and Pallante are not viable starters for any team
looking to make the playoffs.
3. It's true that they would be underdogs if they made the playoffs. First the fans get excitement to root for. Second, there's always a punchers
chance. Not long ago the Cards won something like 13 games in a row. You do that in the playoffs you bring home a trophy.
4. There's simply no reason to make fans suffer through terrible seasons. They have the money, they can put professional quality players on the field
right now. This austerity bull is a slap in the face to fans that have supported this team their entire lives.
5. Lastly, tanking seldom leads to a championship. It never leads to a dynasty. The Dodgers have now won back to back and will probably win again.
Why? They bought talent. They still draft, they still do trades but they buy the premium talent it takes to win. The Cards just a few years ago had
$350 million dollars in profit. Did they spend it on talent? They bought Gray and Contreras. They planned to compete. Then something happened.
The Brewers won, because of their superior pitching and a few lucky trades that panned out, then the article by Woo came out about how the
Brewers had so many coaches and all of a sudden it was time to tank. Oh and the CBA happens to be in the immediate future. That would leave
some, me included to become very suspicious of their trues motives.

[Ozziesfan41]

Some of you have already had disappointments with Bloom & Co. Some are unhappy that he retained Marmol as manager. Some of you are upset that he traded the veterans and reduced payroll. For me, his biggest swing and miss so far is failing to deal with the clunky roster in any meaningful way this winter.

Part of the point of taking a year to transition the front office the way they did was so that the incoming POBO would be familiar with the organization and could hit the ground running. In a lot of ways they have made phenomenal progress, but I am stunned that they have done virtually nothing about the clunky roster construction.

Catchers- We have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. You can argue about which one needs to go- but that at least one needs to go, seems plain.

Middle infield- Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, Fermin, Torres, and Prieto are all on the 40 man roster with more in the pipeline. This goes beyond depth- there are more players here than can be responsibly deployed.

Left-handed hitters- We’ve gone through the last few seasons too left-handed. We know this. Nothing is being done to address this. Arenado and Contreras were traded- removing two of the RH bats we did have. The new additions this year (Wetherholt and Crooks) are both left-handed. You can debate who should be moved- but there should have been some move to address the clunky roster here.

Left-handed pitchers in the system- This is tricky because they aren’t fully formed, and you don’t know for sure who will pan out and who won’t, but there are more left-handed starting pitchers in the minors than can be deployed to the major league roster. This too, makes a roster clunky.

I have no one player that I am unhappy with not trading, but I am disappointed not to see anything done to streamline the roster into something that fits together better.

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

That's true. Still they were the best starter (Gray) and the best bat in the lineup (Contreras). Arenado...no argument there, he played himself out of St Louis. Contreras could have rebounded this year but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, he didn't have much protection in the lineup. Another thing to note is that it doesn't appear they got very much in return either. Now with Clarke going under the knife, who knows what will come of them. The for sure thing they did was gut....errr...cut salary. Hope Dewitt enjoys his pocket change while the fans have to suffer through seasons of miserable talent on the field.

I get that you feel that way, but that's not really what this thread is about. This thread is pointing out that they didn't re-organize the roster in a meaningful way when they could/should have.

No argument that they could have and should have done more. But as for swing and misses, I'd say trading your best pitcher and best hitter and getting what appears to be very little in return would fit the bill.

It seems like we have different goals, therefore end up with a different plan of action needed.

Hmmm...my goal is to field a competent team and challenge for a playoff spot. That won't happen by selling off your top talent and not replacing it. They could easily sign two of the top free agent pitchers and they would have a chance. Who knows, if Noot improves and Walker improves maybe they make the playoffs. Maybe they get hot and make to the championship. That's my goal. I'm don't believe in tanking and don't believe it should be allowed. It hurts the fans of the teams that do it and it skews the records and stats of other teams and divisions. You have a team like the Cards, they lose nearly 100 games, all the teams in the Central beat up on them and engorge their records, now teams that shouldn't really be in contention for a wild card or playoff spot are because the Cards tanked. It's an abomination to the sport.

Now we're getting to the crux of the matter. Your goal is to challenge for a playoff spot. I'm saying that isn't realistic presently. The problem isn't just the roster right now- and if you make a couple of adds, you fix the issue. The problem is the model. The model doesn't work. It isn't tanking to change the model. It may take more than one season to change the model. It requires focus and patience.

We have missed the playoffs the past 3 years WITH Arenado, WITH Contreras, WITH Helsley, WITH 2 years of Gray. We actually finished last one of those years and lost over 90 games. The attendance went to (bleep) WITH those players. The fact is, we could not "easily sign two of the top free agent pitchers and they would have a chance". IF they could make the playoffs the wouldn't have any better success than the 2022 team did in their run, or than the Reds did last year when they "made the playoffs".

Using a "who knows if Noot", or a "who knows if Walker" strategy to the playoffs sounds a lot like the strategy the old guard has employed for quite a while.

The model needs changing not just for this roster, but going forward. Doing that will bring more winning in the next 10 years than if we don't. That's my goal.

Here's some of the problems with your argument.
1. What do you mean by change the model? They added coaches. They didn't change minor league affiliations. Until you can show me what they
actually did to change the "model" I have to disagree with your statement.
2. The teams that had Gray and Contreras still didn't have the pitching to compete. Mikolas, Fedde and Pallante are not viable starters for any team
looking to make the playoffs.
3. It's true that they would be underdogs if they made the playoffs. First the fans get excitement to root for. Second, there's always a punchers
chance. Not long ago the Cards won something like 13 games in a row. You do that in the playoffs you bring home a trophy.
4. There's simply no reason to make fans suffer through terrible seasons. They have the money, they can put professional quality players on the field
right now. This austerity bull is a slap in the face to fans that have supported this team their entire lives.
5. Lastly, tanking seldom leads to a championship. It never leads to a dynasty. The Dodgers have now won back to back and will probably win again.
Why? They bought talent. They still draft, they still do trades but they buy the premium talent it takes to win. The Cards just a few years ago had
$350 million dollars in profit. Did they spend it on talent? They bought Gray and Contreras. They planned to compete. Then something happened.
The Brewers won, because of their superior pitching and a few lucky trades that panned out, then the article by Woo came out about how the
Brewers had so many coaches and all of a sudden it was time to tank. Oh and the CBA happens to be in the immediate future. That would leave
some, me included to become very suspicious of their trues motives.

Well they did begin working with Baez in January 2024 on cutting down his strike outs during 2025 he did cut down on his strike outs and increase his production they also worked with Henderson and Mautz on refining their pitches and working. On Hendersons gyro change up they both dramatically got better. Could all of these be mere coincidences sure but until it is proven they are mere coincidences I think maybe fixing the player development system just might be working

[CCard]

Well articulated and explored. I can agree with it. I would add that the trades that were made were basically salary dumps. What talent they did get is unproven at best and as we've seen with the Clarke debacle they're possibly unsound. This team needs stable talent and when you look around you see very little of it. Wynn is solid and at times spectacular. No one else really stands out. Pitching wise, Libertore is your number 1 and at times he's shaky. This team is a car with loose wheels. One or two comes off and we're looking down the barrel of 100 losses. If everything goes good, and I mean everything, I just don't see this team making the playoffs. If they add some premium talent, then I could see it maybe. But apparently they're intent on losing and losing big. A shameful time to be a Cardinal fan. I bet Wynn wishes they'd trade him too.

All minor league talent is unproven- and even some young major league talent. If we aren't used to that, we need to get used to it. It doesn't mean they are untalented, just unproven. Some will pan out. Some will not. That's the way it works. We need to get better at helping it pan out, and identifying which ones will pan out. It seems like that is getting better.

That's my point. They're trading proven talent for unproven talent. Some will fail, it always happens. Some may succeed, some always does. But to count on them to carry a starting staff is foolhardy at best. Unless you plan on losing and don't care.

On the flip side, two of the three the Cardinals traded were experiencing regression from their proven levels.

That's true. Still they were the best starter (Gray) and the best bat in the lineup (Contreras). Arenado...no argument there, he played himself out of St Louis. Contreras could have rebounded this year but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, he didn't have much protection in the lineup. Another thing to note is that it doesn't appear they got very much in return either. Now with Clarke going under the knife, who knows what will come of them. The for sure thing they did was gut....errr...cut salary. Hope Dewitt enjoys his pocket change while the fans have to suffer through seasons of miserable talent on the field.

I get that you feel that way, but that's not really what this thread is about. This thread is pointing out that they didn't re-organize the roster in a meaningful way when they could/should have.

No argument that they could have and should have done more. But as for swing and misses, I'd say trading your best pitcher and best hitter and getting what appears to be very little in return would fit the bill.

It seems like we have different goals, therefore end up with a different plan of action needed.

Hmmm...my goal is to field a competent team and challenge for a playoff spot. That won't happen by selling off your top talent and not replacing it. They could easily sign two of the top free agent pitchers and they would have a chance. Who knows, if Noot improves and Walker improves maybe they make the playoffs. Maybe they get hot and make to the championship. That's my goal. I'm don't believe in tanking and don't believe it should be allowed. It hurts the fans of the teams that do it and it skews the records and stats of other teams and divisions. You have a team like the Cards, they lose nearly 100 games, all the teams in the Central beat up on them and engorge their records, now teams that shouldn't really be in contention for a wild card or playoff spot are because the Cards tanked. It's an abomination to the sport.

Now we're getting to the crux of the matter. Your goal is to challenge for a playoff spot. I'm saying that isn't realistic presently. The problem isn't just the roster right now- and if you make a couple of adds, you fix the issue. The problem is the model. The model doesn't work. It isn't tanking to change the model. It may take more than one season to change the model. It requires focus and patience.

We have missed the playoffs the past 3 years WITH Arenado, WITH Contreras, WITH Helsley, WITH 2 years of Gray. We actually finished last one of those years and lost over 90 games. The attendance went to (bleep) WITH those players. The fact is, we could not "easily sign two of the top free agent pitchers and they would have a chance". IF they could make the playoffs the wouldn't have any better success than the 2022 team did in their run, or than the Reds did last year when they "made the playoffs".

Using a "who knows if Noot", or a "who knows if Walker" strategy to the playoffs sounds a lot like the strategy the old guard has employed for quite a while.

The model needs changing not just for this roster, but going forward. Doing that will bring more winning in the next 10 years than if we don't. That's my goal.

Here's some of the problems with your argument.
1. What do you mean by change the model? They added coaches. They didn't change minor league affiliations. Until you can show me what they
actually did to change the "model" I have to disagree with your statement.
2. The teams that had Gray and Contreras still didn't have the pitching to compete. Mikolas, Fedde and Pallante are not viable starters for any team
looking to make the playoffs.
3. It's true that they would be underdogs if they made the playoffs. First the fans get excitement to root for. Second, there's always a punchers
chance. Not long ago the Cards won something like 13 games in a row. You do that in the playoffs you bring home a trophy.
4. There's simply no reason to make fans suffer through terrible seasons. They have the money, they can put professional quality players on the field
right now. This austerity bull is a slap in the face to fans that have supported this team their entire lives.
5. Lastly, tanking seldom leads to a championship. It never leads to a dynasty. The Dodgers have now won back to back and will probably win again.
Why? They bought talent. They still draft, they still do trades but they buy the premium talent it takes to win. The Cards just a few years ago had
$350 million dollars in profit. Did they spend it on talent? They bought Gray and Contreras. They planned to compete. Then something happened.
The Brewers won, because of their superior pitching and a few lucky trades that panned out, then the article by Woo came out about how the
Brewers had so many coaches and all of a sudden it was time to tank. Oh and the CBA happens to be in the immediate future. That would leave
some, me included to become very suspicious of their trues motives.

Well they did begin working with Baez in January 2024 on cutting down his strike outs during 2025 he did cut down on his strike outs and increase his production they also worked with Henderson and Mautz on refining their pitches and working. On Hendersons gyro change up they both dramatically got better. Could all of these be mere coincidences sure but until it is proven they are mere coincidences I think maybe fixing the player development system just might be working

You're working under the assumption that wouldn't get done without Bloom. No way to prove that one way or the other. You choose to believe, that's on you. Players have been developed in the Cardinal system for a long time. Even before Mo, there was the Cardinal Way. All teams have that or some version of it.Bloom even had it in Tampa, called the Ray Way. There are plenty of farm hands that were produce through the Cards minor league system, even on Mo's watch. Many are still in the big leagues with other teams.

[rockondlouie]

I'm not the least bit disappointed

Anyone who thought we'd get some haul of MLB Top 100 prospects for the likes of S. Gray, Willy and NADO, when all three were nothing more than salary dumps, doesn't understand baseball.

C. Bloom has done as well as can be expected w/those three trades, even adding some players who will see action on the Cardinals in 2026 as well as some real upside, lotto ticket prospects.

And as far as Oli, bringing him back was a BDWJr move and not a Bloom move.

When your goal is to CUT as much payroll as possible before the CBA negotiations there was NO WAY Dewitt was going to pay Oli to sit on his a z z AND allow Bloom to hire his Manager before the new CBA is in place.

I also like Bloom holding steadfast on Donny until he gets his asking price.

There's no rush to deal him just to "make a deal".

Worse case is we have Donny to start the season and then you see what type of offers you can get midseason..........

......wash, rinse, repeat again next offseason (if there is an offseason) or just sign him to a new deal and keep him.

JMO

you don't know that - Bloom has been talking about an extension for Oli - was BDWjr under the table holding a gun to his nut sack when he said that?

Actually Oli has been talking about an extension, Bloom has remained mum on it for some time now.

[dugoutrex]

I'm not the least bit disappointed

Anyone who thought we'd get some haul of MLB Top 100 prospects for the likes of S. Gray, Willy and NADO, when all three were nothing more than salary dumps, doesn't understand baseball.

C. Bloom has done as well as can be expected w/those three trades, even adding some players who will see action on the Cardinals in 2026 as well as some real upside, lotto ticket prospects.

And as far as Oli, bringing him back was a BDWJr move and not a Bloom move.

When your goal is to CUT as much payroll as possible before the CBA negotiations there was NO WAY Dewitt was going to pay Oli to sit on his a z z AND allow Bloom to hire his Manager before the new CBA is in place.

I also like Bloom holding steadfast on Donny until he gets his asking price.

There's no rush to deal him just to "make a deal".

Worse case is we have Donny to start the season and then you see what type of offers you can get midseason..........

......wash, rinse, repeat again next offseason (if there is an offseason) or just sign him to a new deal and keep him.

JMO

you don't know that - Bloom has been talking about an extension for Oli - was BDWjr under the table holding a gun to his nut sack when he said that?

Actually Oli has been talking about an extension, Bloom has remained mum on it for some time now.

high em talked about extending Marmol at the winter warm-up