Put Your Owner Hat On: Would you hand over 200M+ to Jordan Walker?

[cbcardsfan]

Hell no

[stlbirdlover]

No Way!

[CCard]

He briefly went from the worst player in baseball to the best.
That was over maybe 40 games or so.
Now he's coming back to reality.
Pitchers and the league figured him out.
Still a lousy defender or average at best.
Probably a LT DH candidate.
No way I'm giving this person 200M contract.
Doesn't have the mental fortitude either.

I'm likely going to try and sign the following LT:

1. Burleson-Consistently good.
2. Winn-You can bank on the D and hope he continues to improve the bat.

That's it.
There are no worthy players to sign LT here.
The rebuild is showing little talent thus far.
And the pitchers are generally all hacks too.
Gonna be a long, long decade of [shirt] baseball.

He's slumping and pressing. He has very little protection in the lineup, yet he's probably your best bat and he's still young and learning. Yeah, I give him the long term contract. If he continues to hit the way that got him to the all-star team then you have a great deal and if he falls off of a cliff, well, you took a gamble, just as you do with every (drat) signing you ever commit to.

Protection is a myth. I think he will work thru this. Will he be a 900 OPS hitter? I sure hope so...but I'm not locking him up for $200 million

Common sense tells you that protection is not a myth. Would you walk Harrison Bader to face Albert Pujols? No, you'd challenge Bader. That's just plain stupidity to say otherwise, I don't care where you read it. When he consistently carries .900 OPS you won't be able to sign him because the Dodgers or Yankees will step in. Like the Angels did for Pujols. Over 8 years that's around $25 million a year for a cleanup hitter. I'd do that deal every day.

It's a myth.

No, the gray matter supposedly between your ears is a myth. Batting order protection is common sense. My god, they walked Barry Bonds with the bases loaded because they were afraid of his bat. Your stance is unsupportable.

Nope. Look into it. There's studies

You're welcome to cite the studies with a link and I'll look but I prefer the common sense approach. Would you rather pitch to Pujols or Bader? Answer honestly.

[scoutyjones2]

He briefly went from the worst player in baseball to the best.
That was over maybe 40 games or so.
Now he's coming back to reality.
Pitchers and the league figured him out.
Still a lousy defender or average at best.
Probably a LT DH candidate.
No way I'm giving this person 200M contract.
Doesn't have the mental fortitude either.

I'm likely going to try and sign the following LT:

1. Burleson-Consistently good.
2. Winn-You can bank on the D and hope he continues to improve the bat.

That's it.
There are no worthy players to sign LT here.
The rebuild is showing little talent thus far.
And the pitchers are generally all hacks too.
Gonna be a long, long decade of [shirt] baseball.

He's slumping and pressing. He has very little protection in the lineup, yet he's probably your best bat and he's still young and learning. Yeah, I give him the long term contract. If he continues to hit the way that got him to the all-star team then you have a great deal and if he falls off of a cliff, well, you took a gamble, just as you do with every (drat) signing you ever commit to.

Protection is a myth. I think he will work thru this. Will he be a 900 OPS hitter? I sure hope so...but I'm not locking him up for $200 million

Common sense tells you that protection is not a myth. Would you walk Harrison Bader to face Albert Pujols? No, you'd challenge Bader. That's just plain stupidity to say otherwise, I don't care where you read it. When he consistently carries .900 OPS you won't be able to sign him because the Dodgers or Yankees will step in. Like the Angels did for Pujols. Over 8 years that's around $25 million a year for a cleanup hitter. I'd do that deal every day.

It's a myth.

No, the gray matter supposedly between your ears is a myth. Batting order protection is common sense. My god, they walked Barry Bonds with the bases loaded because they were afraid of his bat. Your stance is unsupportable.

Nope. Look into it. There's studies

You're welcome to cite the studies with a link and I'll look but I prefer the common sense approach. Would you rather pitch to Pujols or Bader? Answer honestly.

Of course you do...why investigate, just be ognorant

[CraigPaquette]

200M for half a season of good is definitely a MO type deal. Any rational GM would allow the guy to show consistency for at least 2 full years before offering an excessive contract. No way he is worth even half that at this moment. He's been in the league for 4 years and this is the only time he'll have a positive WAR.

[Bully4you]

No...no...and H E L L NO!

2024 & 2025 actually happened and we're seeing some serious regression post all star break:

65 PA
0 HR
5 RBI's
.200 .262 .267 .528

He's still going to end up having a very good season, .825+ OPS/30+ HR/95+ RBI's would be strong.

But is 2026 an outlier season?

A deal similar to JJW's dollar wise is more in line, generational wealth and he can still hit FA again at age 30/31/32 depending on how many years the extension would be.

Thank you.
Some reasonableness about Walker is finally creeping into Cards Talk.
I think Walker got a bit lucky and now it's over.
The past couple of months probably are a fugazi.
Can't discount the prior 1000 AB's and his defense is still lousy.
He may just be a DH at this juncture.

[Bully4you]

He briefly went from the worst player in baseball to the best.
That was over maybe 40 games or so.
Now he's coming back to reality.
Pitchers and the league figured him out.
Still a lousy defender or average at best.
Probably a LT DH candidate.
No way I'm giving this person 200M contract.
Doesn't have the mental fortitude either.

I'm likely going to try and sign the following LT:

1. Burleson-Consistently good.
2. Winn-You can bank on the D and hope he continues to improve the bat.

That's it.
There are no worthy players to sign LT here.
The rebuild is showing little talent thus far.
And the pitchers are generally all hacks too.
Gonna be a long, long decade of [shirt] baseball.

What do you mean by saying that he doesn't have the mental fortitude?

He isn't able to forget and move on.
I think that anyway.
He dwells on the negative too much.

[Bully4you]

He briefly went from the worst player in baseball to the best.
That was over maybe 40 games or so.
Now he's coming back to reality.
Pitchers and the league figured him out.
Still a lousy defender or average at best.
Probably a LT DH candidate.
No way I'm giving this person 200M contract.
Doesn't have the mental fortitude either.

I'm likely going to try and sign the following LT:

1. Burleson-Consistently good.
2. Winn-You can bank on the D and hope he continues to improve the bat.

That's it.
There are no worthy players to sign LT here.
The rebuild is showing little talent thus far.
And the pitchers are generally all hacks too.
Gonna be a long, long decade of [shirt] baseball.

He's slumping and pressing. He has very little protection in the lineup, yet he's probably your best bat and he's still young and learning. Yeah, I give him the long term contract. If he continues to hit the way that got him to the all-star team then you have a great deal and if he falls off of a cliff, well, you took a gamble, just as you do with every (drat) signing you ever commit to.

And that do you say about his prior 1000 AB's?
You discount those over 2 to 3 solid months?

[ramfandan]

I would sign him to a 5 year deal for nothing more than $20 mill a season. If he takes off then revisit in 3 years on a reworked extension. Otherwise if he balks then trade him while he has high value. He is just too inconsistent and strikes me as someone that will figure it out in year 29 to 32 for a good 4 or 5 year run. To pay the money it will take for the good years during the bad years your better off going with someone else. The reason the Cards locked up JJ when they did was because the kid exudes confidence and ability all day long, every day. You can see it as a fan he is a professional with a singular focus and a personality to persevere through the hard times. Those are the kind of players that win championships. Walker seems like a good guy, but he does not exude confidence. His results are scattered. Winn is another one that has the glove but is not bringing the wood. You would hope there is time for him to figure it out, but he is apparently pressing for that long term deal now. This speaks to attitude and personality of the individual. I get it, he wants the Lamborghini while young, but you don't go showing frustration the day after another player gets a contract. In the long run both may need to be gone as they are best friends, and best friends talk and bleed together. They can be a dynamic duo for the Cards if given deals seems to be the narrative and that is not how you build a winning team.

Very good analysis . There is more to extending any player beyond the numbers he is putting up . You correctly outline that with JJ . The personaliy, the focus, perseverance, etc. Any major leaguer (from the so so talent to the higher level guys Ex. Alex Rodriguez ) often say how difficult it is to considently hit a baseball . You are facing the best pitchers in the world with some throwing 100 mph heat but just as devastaing the ones who can throw wicked breaking balls that fall off a table. Remember even a .300 hitter (which is quite rare in today's game ) only gets a hit 3 times in every 10 at bats. The other 7 times you head back to the dugout either after striking out or ball being caught , or thrown out at 1st base. You must have a mindset that you can deal with making outs 7 of every 10 times. Those guys hit over .500 in HS baseball so were pretty pleased, then less and less as they move thru the minors. Even .300+guys in AA and AAA don't do that in The Show. The Mizz , Tarki Skubals, Paul Skenes, etc . are premier pitchers. Batters are lucky to hit .160 vs those guys. If you can handle the mental failure at the big league level , you have a shot and being a very good major leaguer. Some can and others get too frustrated and wilt.

[CCard]

He briefly went from the worst player in baseball to the best.
That was over maybe 40 games or so.
Now he's coming back to reality.
Pitchers and the league figured him out.
Still a lousy defender or average at best.
Probably a LT DH candidate.
No way I'm giving this person 200M contract.
Doesn't have the mental fortitude either.

I'm likely going to try and sign the following LT:

1. Burleson-Consistently good.
2. Winn-You can bank on the D and hope he continues to improve the bat.

That's it.
There are no worthy players to sign LT here.
The rebuild is showing little talent thus far.
And the pitchers are generally all hacks too.
Gonna be a long, long decade of [shirt] baseball.

He's slumping and pressing. He has very little protection in the lineup, yet he's probably your best bat and he's still young and learning. Yeah, I give him the long term contract. If he continues to hit the way that got him to the all-star team then you have a great deal and if he falls off of a cliff, well, you took a gamble, just as you do with every (drat) signing you ever commit to.

And that do you say about his prior 1000 AB's?
You discount those over 2 to 3 solid months?

He clearly has the talent. He is a gamble but then so is every other player in the game. If you lock him up then you're taking a chance but the possible benefits far outweigh the risks. Perhaps, go along with me now, perhaps giving him security will ease the mental burden some and allow him to play with less pressure.

[CCard]

He briefly went from the worst player in baseball to the best.
That was over maybe 40 games or so.
Now he's coming back to reality.
Pitchers and the league figured him out.
Still a lousy defender or average at best.
Probably a LT DH candidate.
No way I'm giving this person 200M contract.
Doesn't have the mental fortitude either.

I'm likely going to try and sign the following LT:

1. Burleson-Consistently good.
2. Winn-You can bank on the D and hope he continues to improve the bat.

That's it.
There are no worthy players to sign LT here.
The rebuild is showing little talent thus far.
And the pitchers are generally all hacks too.
Gonna be a long, long decade of [shirt] baseball.

He's slumping and pressing. He has very little protection in the lineup, yet he's probably your best bat and he's still young and learning. Yeah, I give him the long term contract. If he continues to hit the way that got him to the all-star team then you have a great deal and if he falls off of a cliff, well, you took a gamble, just as you do with every (drat) signing you ever commit to.

Protection is a myth. I think he will work thru this. Will he be a 900 OPS hitter? I sure hope so...but I'm not locking him up for $200 million

Common sense tells you that protection is not a myth. Would you walk Harrison Bader to face Albert Pujols? No, you'd challenge Bader. That's just plain stupidity to say otherwise, I don't care where you read it. When he consistently carries .900 OPS you won't be able to sign him because the Dodgers or Yankees will step in. Like the Angels did for Pujols. Over 8 years that's around $25 million a year for a cleanup hitter. I'd do that deal every day.

It's a myth.

No, the gray matter supposedly between your ears is a myth. Batting order protection is common sense. My god, they walked Barry Bonds with the bases loaded because they were afraid of his bat. Your stance is unsupportable.

Nope. Look into it. There's studies

You're welcome to cite the studies with a link and I'll look but I prefer the common sense approach. Would you rather pitch to Pujols or Bader? Answer honestly.

Of course you do...why investigate, just be ognorant

So...You'd have no problem facing Pujols over Bader?

[rockondlouie]

No...no...and H E L L NO!

2024 & 2025 actually happened and we're seeing some serious regression post all star break:

65 PA
0 HR
5 RBI's
.200 .262 .267 .528

He's still going to end up having a very good season, .825+ OPS/30+ HR/95+ RBI's would be strong.

But is 2026 an outlier season?

A deal similar to JJW's dollar wise is more in line, generational wealth and he can still hit FA again at age 30/31/32 depending on how many years the extension would be.

Thank you.
Some reasonableness about Walker is finally creeping into Cards Talk.
I think Walker got a bit lucky and now it's over.
The past couple of months probably are a fugazi.
Can't discount the prior 1000 AB's and his defense is still lousy.
He may just be a DH at this juncture.

Welcome bully

[AtillaTheBlue1]

nope, i make him do it one more year

then i pay him the moola, or trade him for a haul