STLtoday.com

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 09:04 am**

Just catching up on my reading. I see Blaze went unprotected. Although he did not do great I’m a little surprised. He was connected to Matz deal? I thought Matz was a fairly valuable trade piece. Another blown Mo deal I guess?

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 09:10 am**

John Denton
@JohnDenton555
Other notable #STLCards prospects left unprotected and eligible for the Rule 5 Draft: Blake Jordan, Max Rajcic, Pete Hansen, Miguel Ugueto, Mike Antico, Randel Clemente, Alex Cornwell & Noah Mendlinger.

Leo Bernal, Josh Baez, Cooper Hjerpe and Brycen Mautz added to the roster.

(Typo by Denton on "Blaze")

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 09:30 am**

I'm a little surprised. But in a weird way it's encouraging.

Blaze was a pretty well known Bloom guy. Seems he's not letting favorites get in the way of roster decisions.

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 09:35 am**

I thought the narrative at the time was Bloom knows Blaze and wanted him.

Winds blowing differently today...

I can't see any team picking him up and on the MLB roster.
..that's how poorly he's shown

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 09:37 am**

So if someone were to select Blaze in the Rule 5 draft, he would have to be on their MLB roster for the entire 2026 season?

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 09:43 am**

I think there’s a strategy to protecting from rule 5.

One of them is trying to protect the most vulnerable, while banking on guys like BJ being passed over.

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 09:59 am**

rage-STL wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 09:37 am So if someone were to select Blaze in the Rule 5 draft, he would have to be on their MLB roster for the entire 2026 season?

Yes, that is my understanding. This process is always somewhat of a poker game.

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 10:04 am**

rage-STL wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 09:37 am So if someone were to select Blaze in the Rule 5 draft, he would have to be on their MLB roster for the entire 2026 season?

That's correct.

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 10:17 am**

Strummer Jones wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 10:04 am
rage-STL wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 09:37 am So if someone were to select Blaze in the Rule 5 draft, he would have to be on their MLB roster for the entire 2026 season?
That's correct.

I think the calculus is pretty obvious by Bloom. The kid couldn't hit above the Mendoza line in AAA. Worst case is someone selects him and has to put him on their roster and he cannot hit in the show. They are forced to return him if the Cards want him back. The odds of the kid actually hitting in the show are pretty low. If he does figure it out so be it and good for him and the team that selects him. A calculated risk by Bloom.

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 10:40 am**

Blaze needs more minor league development time. It's a good decision by the Cardinals. Even if selected, my guess is he doesn't stay in the majors.

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 10:59 am**

bccardsfan wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 10:17 am
Strummer Jones wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 10:04 am
rage-STL wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 09:37 am So if someone were to select Blaze in the Rule 5 draft, he would have to be on their MLB roster for the entire 2026 season?
That's correct.
I think the calculus is pretty obvious by Bloom. The kid couldn't hit above the Mendoza line in AAA. Worst case is someone selects him and has to put him on their roster and he cannot hit in the show. They are forced to return him if the Cards want him back. The odds of the kid actually hitting in the show are pretty low. If he does figure it out so be it and good for him and the team that selects him. A calculated risk by Bloom.

It could also blow up in our face, but unlikely.

What this tells me is that Bloom's not afraid to take a risk. Mo got so risk adverse the back half of his time here. Think of all of the guys we've protected who really never amounted to much.

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 11:01 am**

Jatalk wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 09:04 am Just catching up on my reading. I see Blaze went unprotected. Although he did not do great I’m a little surprised. He was connected to Matz deal? I thought Matz was a fairly valuable trade piece. Another blown Mo deal I guess?

Blaze is not good. The Sox knew that and that’s why they made him available. The value of “prospects” and even long shots is vastly over inflated in this generation and so the value you get back for a mid-level rental like matz is rarely worth the paper announcement is printed on.

Conversely, the cost for us to get midseason MLB help might be nothing more than a Luken Baker type if timed right. We let his value fall before releasing him, but at one point he had more value in the trade market than he was ever going to produce on the field.

We can’t look at every last prospect like they are gold that can’t be spent. At some point what ever we accumulate will need to be flipped for producing talent that can actually help us. Otherwise the vast majority of prospects will lose their trade value and either be released or added to the back of the roster and just take up space as warm bodies.

At the end of the day, the advantage to Bill in trading Matz was saving seven figures in prorated salary. And the fans will see none of this.

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 11:14 am**

Carp4Cy wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 11:01 am
Jatalk wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 09:04 am Just catching up on my reading. I see Blaze went unprotected. Although he did not do great I’m a little surprised. He was connected to Matz deal? I thought Matz was a fairly valuable trade piece. Another blown Mo deal I guess?
Blaze is not good. The Sox knew that and that’s why they made him available. The value of “prospects” and even long shots is vastly over inflated in this generation and so the value you get back for a mid-level rental like matz is rarely worth the paper announcement is printed on.

Conversely, the cost for us to get midseason MLB help might be nothing more than a Luken Baker type if timed right. We let his value fall before releasing him, but at one point he had more value in the trade market than he was ever going to produce on the field.

We can’t look at every last prospect like they are gold that can’t be spent. At some point what ever we accumulate will need to be flipped for producing talent that can actually help us. Otherwise the vast majority of prospects will lose their trade value and either be released or added to the back of the roster and just take up space as warm bodies.

At the end of the day, the advantage to Bill in trading Matz was saving seven figures in prorated salary. And the fans will see none of this.

My thoughts exactly! Nothing has been done for over a year that wasn’t done but to simply save money! That’s it! And this off season won’t be any different! All the players rumored to be available, make over 5 mil. ! But go ahead and think they are doing a rebuild, they are doing nothing but slashing payroll! So far nothing they have gotten back in trades amount to much of anything! I’ll be shocked if that changes with the trades yet to be made.

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 11:22 am**

hugeCardfan wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 10:40 am Blaze needs more minor league development time. It's a good decision by the Cardinals. Even if selected, my guess is he doesn't stay in the majors.

agree

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 11:24 am**

Strummer Jones wrote: ↑19 Nov 2025 09:30 am I'm a little surprised. But in a weird way it's encouraging.

Blaze was a pretty well known Bloom guy. Seems he's not letting favorites get in the way of roster decisions.

This is a good way to look at it. The only reason any of us know his name now is because he came through trade, which naturally makes any prospect stand out more. Had he been drafted by the Cardinals, high chance nobody here would even recognize the name and think anything of it.

Likely the rest of the league sees it that way and he doesn’t get picked up. Especially with hot not ready he is for big league at bats.

And even if he doesn’t get picked up the chances are he never amounts to much, and he just ends up being a guy traded for a 34 year old left reliever that all of us couldn’t wait to get rid of for most of his contract. Not exactly a premium prospect we squandered

Posted: **19 Nov 2025 11:25 am**

I haven't looked through all the unprotected prospects from each team, but I imagine every team has a guy or two they're concerned with losing. Heck, the Subleasers left a former 1st-round draft choice unprotected that put up slightly better offensive MiLB numbers at a position on the opposite end of the defensive spectrum:

Blaze Jordan, 1B, age 23 (2025 numbers): .270/.331/.450 19 HR
Blake Susac, C, age 24 (2025 numbers): .275/.349/.483 18 HR

I think he'll be okay.

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