One Big Trade.

I know this a Cards blog, but I used to once upon a time write about non-Cards things that caught my eye on occasion. It helped keep me posting when I’d hit my quota of praising Yadi. Giving my lack of posting of late, I thought I’d do a little bit of that here to give myself a kick start.

But first, an aside: I applaud the Cards acquisition of Steve Cishek from the Marlins for a mid-level prospect. The move really reinforces the pen without costing much. We had a pretty deep ‘pen already, but now we have an elite ‘pen, in my opinion.

Anyways, the big trade: Troy Tulowitzki going to Toronto.

Going into the trading deadline, everyone was talking about Toronto needed pitching. However, clubbing people to death can work just effectively! Add Tulo to Jose Bautista, Russell Martin, Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion, and you have a potent group of thumpers. Add in some guys who are currently hitting for average in Chris Colabello and Devon Travis (both are hitting over .300 with 350+ OBP.) and you have the potential to rack up the runs.

The concern of course is the pitching. The rotation has struggled, but they have three guys with ERA’s below 3.60. With that offense, that should be good. It all comes down to what that can squeeze out of the other two spots.

To me, the bullpen is a bigger concern. Roberto Osuna has ascended into the closer role, and he’s doing a good job so far, but he’s 20, so I’d be concerned if he might have been rushed a little.

Liam Hendriks is doing well, but this is his best year ever, by a long shot. Did the light suddenly dawn for him in his first year in Toronto, or is this year a fluke? When he came over from KC last year, he had a .225 BABIP in his remaining time last season for Toronto. This year it’s up to .277, but that’s still lower than anything he posted elsewhere, so it’s something to keep an eye on.

Bo Schultz is doing well, but this is his first full season, and he’s 29. Why did it take so long?

Those are just a few questions about the pitching. Even with all that though, I think this team could make the playoffs and make waves when they get there, all thanks to an offense that was potent already and got even moreso.

As always, thanks for reading.

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NL Central Standings

TeamWLPct.GB
Cardinals9369.574 -
Brewers8676.5317.0
Cubs7488.45719.0
Reds62100.38331.0
Pirates62100.38331.0

Last updated: 10/06/2022

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