Cardinals sign Dexter Fowler

[JL21]

CF-Fowler
SS-Diaz
RF-Piscotty
1B-Carpenter
LF-Grichuk
3B-Peralta
2B-Wong
C-Molina

I'm looking at that lineup and thinking it is a slugger short of being pretty damn good.

I'm thinking it's contingent on Diaz holding on to what he was last year at the plate. And/or Grichuk hitting like he did in 2015 instead of 2016.

[JL21]

We should absolutely care about the amount of money the Cards spend because they have a budget, but also don't forget there is no salary cap. I'm always in favor of simply spending money unless the surplus value is too good to pass up.

This is where I am, too.

Say you overpaid Fowler by $2-3M on the AAV. That would suck, and I'm not fond of the Cardinals willfully throwing money around, but the whole organization is so incredibly risk-averse that an overpay like that isn't going to kill them. Probably wouldn't even bat an eyelash at it.

Now, that doesn't mean they should do that every time, for any FA they want, nor should they go nuts and start signing DHs like Trumbo or Encarnacion. But a guy like Fowler (and a guy like Turner) make a ton of sense for them.

[Fat Strat]

CF-Fowler
SS-Diaz
RF-Piscotty
1B-Carpenter
LF-Grichuk
3B-Peralta
2B-Wong
C-Molina

I'm looking at that lineup and thinking it is a slugger short of being pretty damn good.

I'm thinking it's contingent on Diaz holding on to what he was last year at the plate. And/or Grichuk hitting like he did in 2015 instead of 2016.

Yeah. Our immediate success (on the offensive side) hinges on whether Diaz is for real and Grichuk steadies. I would throw in some improvement from Piscotty as well, who really needs to be a 3 WAR player instead of a 2 WAR player, but not as much as those two.

On the pitching side, it hinges on Lynn. He needs to come back as the near All-Star caliber guy that he was before. Martinez is like Piscotty -- a small step forward to become a true ace would be nice, but not as important as Lynn.

[lukethedrifter]

What a crazy turn of events for Fowler.

First, he reportedly agrees to a 3-year, $35M deal with the Orioles at age 29.
Then, he backs out of the deal, and takes an $8M, one-year contract with the Cubs (+$5M buyout the next year), and wins a World Series.
Now, at age 30, he lands a 5-year, $80M contract.

Wow... talk about a gamble paying off.

A 3 year $58mil contract at age 32, post O's contract, would put him in the same place. Not that unlikely.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

No, not really. There was one guy speculating, one other guy speculating on the first guy's speculation.

Wrong. Three different people -- Frank Cusumano, Derrick Goold and Bernie Miklasz -- all said Fowler was hesitating about playing for the Cardinals. It is your theory that Bernie was ripping off Cusumano's information, which is pretty ludicrous.

Either way, the bigger contract won out, but that doesn't mean Fowler is unsure about playing for him.

The logic pretzel on Fowler's part, if true, is mind boggling.

If unsure about playing for the Cardinals, why would he insist on extra years? obviously it's more guaranteed money. But, why not say, how about instead of 4/60 we do 3/60?

[Fat Strat]

Have we heard the official terms yet?

[lukethedrifter]

CF-Fowler
SS-Diaz
RF-Piscotty
1B-Carpenter
LF-Grichuk
3B-Peralta
2B-Wong
C-Molina

I'm looking at that lineup and thinking it is a slugger short of being pretty damn good.

I'm thinking it's contingent on Diaz holding on to what he was last year at the plate. And/or Grichuk hitting like he did in 2015 instead of 2016.

Yeah. Our immediate success (on the offensive side) hinges on whether Diaz is for real and Grichuk steadies. I would throw in some improvement from Piscotty as well, who really needs to be a 3 WAR player instead of a 2 WAR player, but not as much as those two.

On the pitching side, it hinges on Lynn. He needs to come back as the near All-Star caliber guy that he was before. Martinez is like Piscotty -- a small step forward to become a true ace would be nice, but not as important as Lynn.

Maybe it's every team but it sure feels like the Cards succcess depends on several guys playing like we hope they can. Grichuk, Wong, Reyes, Diaz, Martinez, Piscotty.
They aren't unreasonable hopes. Consistency from Wong and Grichuk. Pitching maturity from Reyes. No regression from Diaz. And a step up to to elite level for CMart and Stanford educated Piscotty.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

You folks will enjoy Fowler. He takes good at bats, doesn't really do anything poorly, and he and his family are fun off the field.

[Tim]

You folks will enjoy Fowler. He takes good at bats, doesn't really do anything poorly, and he and his family are fun off the field.

This ain't no amusement park. We're running a business here. Take the fun, mimes, clowns, pajama parties elsewhere.

[MrCrowesGarden]

We should absolutely care about the amount of money the Cards spend because they have a budget, but also don't forget there is no salary cap. I'm always in favor of simply spending money unless the surplus value is too good to pass up.

This is where I am, too.

Say you overpaid Fowler by $2-3M on the AAV. That would suck, and I'm not fond of the Cardinals willfully throwing money around, but the whole organization is so incredibly risk-averse that an overpay like that isn't going to kill them. Probably wouldn't even bat an eyelash at it.

Now, that doesn't mean they should do that every time, for any FA they want, nor should they go nuts and start signing DHs like Trumbo or Encarnacion. But a guy like Fowler (and a guy like Turner) make a ton of sense for them.

This is what I was trying to say a lot of the time in my "Cardinals have gotten cheaper " thread. I just don't see any realistic contract he could sign where it's going to be an albatross. Overpaid? Sure, but not to the point it will prohibit other moves. This team is so particular with who they target anyway that it may be the case for more free agents.