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Just as Heyward has made the Cardinals seemingly gunshy about rent-a-players, I feel the Cecil deal has made them respond similarly to relievers.

Signing free agent relievers has never really been the Cards' style. They almost always grow them on the farm. Cecil was the exception, and I still think that contract will work out fine.

Socnorb11 wrote:Signing free agent relievers has never really been the Cards' style. They almost always grow them on the farm. Cecil was the exception, and I still think that contract will work out fine.

Ehh, I think that's debatable. But Goold said last night on Sirius XM that they're talking to Holland but are still reticent to move on the years.

MrCrowesGarden wrote:

Socnorb11 wrote:Signing free agent relievers has never really been the Cards' style. They almost always grow them on the farm. Cecil was the exception, and I still think that contract will work out fine.

Ehh, I think that's debatable. But Goold said last night on Sirius XM that they're talking to Holland but are still reticent to move on the years.

Just pay him more.

Except his walk rate makes me want to not pay him at all.

Addison Reed makes the most sense.

We may see Molina pitching to Molina this year.

Cards signed Nestor Molina and assigned him to Memphis

Holland will be a bust. Stay away.

cardstatman wrote:We may see Molina pitching to Molina this year.

Cards signed Nestor Molina and assigned him to Memphis

Just need one more to re-create that Wallflowers song.

MrCrowesGarden wrote:

Socnorb11 wrote:Signing free agent relievers has never really been the Cards' style. They almost always grow them on the farm. Cecil was the exception, and I still think that contract will work out fine.

Ehh, I think that's debatable. But Goold said last night on Sirius XM that they're talking to Holland but are still reticent to move on the years.

I think you're kind of both right.

They don't spend big on FA relievers- you have to go way back to like Izzy to find that happening. But they will spend for marginal guys just to spackle in depth. Going backwards by year:

2017-Cecil
2016- Broxton
2015- Villanueva and Belisle
2014- Neshek
2013- Choate
2012- JC Romero and Scott Linebrink (neither of whom worked out at all)
2011- Brian Tallet and Miguel Batista and Ian Snell

They pretty consistently sign one or two relievers, usually below market prices... basically gambling on guys with depressed markets. Last year may have been a little different because they felt they HAD to get the guy they wanted, so they probably went higher on Cecil than they ordinarily would have.

This year, they did Gregorson, who's right in line with 2011-2016. Or maybe call it 75% the 2011-2016 model and 25% the 2016/Choate model. They got a depressed market guy with some upside, but probably went over market on him just to make sure it got done. Just not to an extreme.

I don't think Cecil's signing and results did anything to their approach.

I do think it did to a degree because Goold specifically said during that interview the Cardinals don’t want to give out deals longer than two years to relievers, and the most obvious example of going beyond that is Cecil (I think Choate may have got three years, but I’m not positive.) With closer being such an obvious need, and with this team being so close but not quite there, I don’t know that I want them to dig their heels in so much on that. Put another way, if the best reliever (or the only reliever) added this offseason is Gregerson, I think they messed up something.