Update: Yadi gettin' paid y'all, 3/$60-ish

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BW23
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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by BW23 »

I just hope that there's some kind of agreement that keeps him here, doesn't break the bank, and allows a smooth transition to Kelly IF he's ever ready to take over. Anything else will be extremely disappointing.

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Famous Mortimer
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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by Famous Mortimer »

The idea of Yadi spending his remaining years on any other team saddens me.

jack76
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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by jack76 »

Realistically, the Cardinals have no incentive to work out a deal with Yadi unless he is willing to take a tapered deal that implies the slowly diminished role he'll play.

I wonder, from the perspective of Carson Kelly's development, what sort of progression makes the most sense for him: in terms of learning the league, learning the position better, and developing the conditioning to handle a full MLB season?

I imagine Kelly comes up in September again and then is the primary back-up next year. You could imagine a scenario where 2018 he is the personal catcher for someone like Leake and maybe a few other spot starts, in 2019 he takes on a second pitcher, and then becomes the full-time primary catcher in 2020.

Is that so unreasonable a proposition? Yadi would turn 38 in 2020. Not even he can expect to catch full time at 38...right?

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JoeMcKim
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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by JoeMcKim »

That is way too slow of a progress, your plan for him is that he is ready to take over in 4 years? He needs to be the regular starter by 2019 at the latest if he's any good. He'll start this coming season at AAA, that's obvious with the Fryer signing. But depending on how well he does and how well Fryer does and/or if they have an injury to Molina or Fryer he could be up by June or July. Then next year being the backup as of opening day with him being a personal catcher by that point. 2018 he should be getting 60% of the starts.

TimeForGuinness
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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by TimeForGuinness »

While Yadi has begun to taper, he still holds a certain value to the team. As the team starts to transfer to Kelly, there is still value as a mentor/teacher for Kelly. The knowledge that Yadi commands as a catcher/leader should be valued by the Cardinals...in-game indicators, situational strategy, etc...

The question is how much is it worth, and how/when to start to sharing time. I could see Yadi taking the share of the time for a year or two and then tapering back to catch only for Waino (for example), all while Kelly is being groomed by the coaching staff and Yadi for the full-time job in a few years.

Monetarily, the Cardinals are fine even if they overspend a bit to keep Yadi for a few years...they are flush with cash, and in the long run, it might make more sense to keep Yadi to make sure Kelly has a solid foundation to lead the staff and be competitive for years to come.

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JL21
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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by JL21 »

I thought Ben Markham at VEB made a pretty compelling case for an extension. It was up over the weekend:

http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2017/1/21/1 ... ier-molina
With adding in saved runs from framing, Yadi’s 2019 currently looks to be worth a little more than $20M. Worst case scenario, Yadi is a very expensive personal catching coach for Carson Kelly in 2019. That’s where I think the Cardinals and Yadi should find middle ground. The calculation above, plus the framing value, makes the case that Yadi is worth about $50M in 2018 and 2019. Again, that’s halving the framing value, and giving him nothing for the intangibles that the entire baseball world sees in Yadi. Discount that a little for the risk the Cardinals are taking a year earlier than they have to, and I like a deal at $44M over two years.

Things get trickier if Yadi’s side wants 2020 guaranteed. Even when factoring in framing value, he only projects to be worth a little north of $15M. Hey, everything has it’s price though. $54M over three years is far from ideal, but the above calculation implies he’s worth it. It would, however, require an understanding between Yadi and the team that he would have to take a backup/mentor role once that becomes what is best for the team.
Admittedly, some of it involves the very imprecise value from stuff like framing and fuzzy intangibles, but I think it's fair. In the very least, I think it's fair to say that the Cardinals have more advanced metrics on stuff like framing than even the best sites. So IF they're comfortable offering the extension incorporating framing value and the like into their evaluation, I'm ok trusting them on it.

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IMADreamer
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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by IMADreamer »

I think we should give Yadi the benefit of the doubt in that he knows that in three years the Cardinals will need to have Kelly ready and that Yadi won't be an every game player. He's a smart baseball guy he has to know that. I see no reason why Yadi would be unreasonable in wanting this extension.

Maybe the last year of the deal isn't for Yadi to be the catcher but for him to replace Matheny. ha One can dream right?

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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by wart57 »

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... user-share

Yadi is my current favorite Card - I know, it is a hollow fandom...

I would hate to see him finish his career in a different Uniform.

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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by pioneer98 »

Here is another article along those lines:
http://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-cardi ... rson-kelly


It would be cool if Kelly could back up Yadi this year, but it sounds like they plan to put him at AAA for now.

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JoeMcKim
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Re: Cards and Yadi have discussed extension

Post by JoeMcKim »

They wouldn't have brought back Fryer if they intended on Kelly being Yadi's backup. But its probably better for him to play everyday, especially since he's only been catching for a few years.

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