Mark Polishuk's NL Central comments

Discuss all things Cardinals Baseball
Post Reply
User avatar
mikechamp
Hall Of Famer
Posts: 10132
Joined: April 17 06, 5:05 pm
Location: Southwestern Illinois

Mark Polishuk's NL Central comments

Post by mikechamp »

These comments came from a chat with MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk that occurred on June 6.

A decent amount of questions this time. I included a bonus Q&A about general advice and another (humorous one) about Pujols.

The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://www.jotcast.com/chat/mlbtr-live-chat-10802.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Will the Cardinals trade for a starter? Reliever? Why didn’t they sign a starter in the off-season?

Mark Polishuk
They did re-sign Wainwright but I see your point.

The Cards' logic seems to be that they were playing wait-and-see with Mikolas and Martinez, so with Wainwright back, they felt they potentially had enough depth already. But, "you can never have enough pitching" is a cliche for a reason.

I'm not sure I see STL making a big swing to acquire a Scherzer or someone, but they will likely be making some kind of pitching acquisition at the deadline.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Should the Brewers make a big push for Colorado Rockies SS Trevor Story to help the Brewers struggling offense at SS and 1B?

Mark Polishuk
Story would definitely be a big help to the Brewers, and that kind of splashy acquisition isn't totally out of the team's purview (especially since it'd be just a short-term add). It's a credit to Milwaukee that they've hung in there despite all the injuries.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(He took 3 Trevor Story questions at once.)

Any rumors of Trevor Story going to the REDS or is that just a dream?
Trevor story to the A’s???
What it is going to take to get Story in Pinstripes?

Mark Polishuk
Lots of Trevor Story questions in the queue, as one might expect. I actually think the A's might have the best chance of the three, since crazy at it sounds, they might have more money to work with than the Yankees, who are desperately trying to stay under the $210MM tax threshold. Now, in Oakland's case, it remains to be seen if ownership will green-light enough (any?) extra money for deadline pickups, but Beane and company have swung some notable deadline additions in the past.

As for the Reds, they're on a nice little streak here and gotten themselves back to the outskirts of the race. Assuming they're in contention by the deadline, I expect them to be touch about Story, but they don't have a ton in the way of prospects and their payroll situation may also be a bit uncertain.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Is it me or did the Brewers get an absolute steal in Adames?

Mark Polishuk
The change of scenery has definitely seemed to benefit Adames, who has been on fire at the plate. For all of the (justified) Wander Franco hype, Adames is a good shortstop in his own right, and he seems maybe a bit freed by not having to look over his shoulder and worry about being replaced.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A number of players that had been in Mozeliak's system have been traded away, only to blossom elsewhere. Adolis Garcia, for the most recent example, appeared to be mostly a strikeout artist at the AAA team in Memphis and now shines in Texas, but he's far from alone. Of course, there have been notable others, even appearing in the postseason. What is he to make of this? Be suspicious? Fire his minor league staff? Revamp player development?

Mark Polishuk
Probably not a great time to bring up that current Cubs folk hero Patrick Wisdom is another former Cards prospect....

The Cardinals themselves made mention of this last offseason, and it's naturally as irritating to them as it is to their fans. Obviously every team has "ones that got away," and it's a testament to the Cards development system that they have so many good young players that they're still competitive even with some prominent names "getting away."

But some definite questions have to be asked about why the Cards themselves aren't unlocking or maximizing these players' talent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Should the Rays pursue Richard Rodriguez?

Mark Polishuk
A lot of teams could use Rodriguez, Tampa included. I'm sure Pirates fans will love the idea of another big trade with the Rays!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Reds don’t have much in the way of prospects”. Someone introduce Mark to a couple of guys named Green and Lodolo. Mark makes me laugh each week.

Mark Polishuk
In fairness, I should've specified that the Reds don't have a particularly deep system. Some good names at the top of the list, but I'm not certain the team would deal a Lodolo or a Greene unless they were getting a good player under multiple (and probably more than just two) years of control.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Any inspiring words for middle school, high school, and college grads?

Mark Polishuk
I was actually the valedictorian of my high school class, believe it or not. I believe my advice was for our school to invest in an air conditioner for the auditorium, since it had to be pushing 100 degrees on that day.

In general, "invest in air conditioning" is pretty good advice. Or, just be cool.

/Mark puts on sunglasses
-----------------------------------------------------------------
How old is Pujols? Trick question. He is infinity.

Mark Polishuk
Pujols replacing Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who is not a plot twist I saw coming.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tags:

Post Reply