Hunting for Free Agents

As the baseball offseason continues to drag out, more and more Cardinals fans grow impatient at the team's inability or unwillingness to sign legitimate free agents. The front office made claims of being aggressive in filling the team's holes this offseason, promising to break the mold of more recent years which saw the team  continually finish "a close second" in many a free agent bidding. That has not been the case so far, however. Six weeks have passed since the World Series ended and there is less than a month before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, yet the Cardinals offseason consists of resigning a starting pitcher (Kyle Lohse), trading for a hit-or-miss shortstop (Khalil Greene), and signing three extremely questionable left handed relievers. So where is the aggressive behavior? Where is the new closer that Tony LaRussa has begged for? Where is the answer to the constant problem at second base? What has happened to the prodominant winning team?

To begin answering these questions it is first important to note the abrupt change in philosophy the team made upon letting former GM Walt Jocketty go and promoting John Mozeliak. It was then that the Cardinals decided to place much more emphasis (and money) on the draft and player development. Since that time, St. Louis' farm system has made gargantuan improvements. A system that was continually ranked either last or next or last in all of baseball was recently placed 8th. Along with this new single digit ranking comes legitimate prospects (no, Jimmy Journell doesn't count) such as Colby Rasmus, Brett Wallace and Bryan Anderson. All of these players are young and quickly rising through the system, something the organization has not seen in some time. A lot of change is also being spent in Latin American countries such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, a potential wellspring of talent. This improvement is something that not quite shown dividends at the big league level yet, but promises to do so as early as this season.

The other side of this equation has seen the Redbirds evolve into perennial non-contenders when it comes to free agents. The organization continually makes the claim of not spending money just to spend money and that they are saving their bullet for another day. Well, roughly three years of bullets (and potentially more since I am in a forgiving mood) have accumulated and sit dormant somewhere in New Busch Stadium. Free agent after free agent signs elsewhere while the Cardinals make their camp next to the retread bid, hoping so once again find a diamond in the rough on the cheap. While one or two gambles is fine, hoping to solve all a team's problems that way can only lead to disaster. While it's not realistic nor financially prudent to expect the Cardinals to sign the top tear free agents, there have been several players who seem to be perfect for the team, yet sign extremely reasonable contracts elsewhere. Players such as Brad Penny (1 yr. 5 mil., and expressed an interest in playing in St. Louis), John Smoltz (1 yr. 5 mil) and Takashi Saito (1 yr. 1.5-2.5 mil) seem to be right up the Cardinals' wheelhouse. These are cheap players with potentially high upsides in positions that of need, players that don't even require firing the afore mentioned bullet. You could use a stick and pick this fruit off. 

So what is a Redbird fan to do? Fortunately, the offseason is not yet over. Quality help still looms roams in the Cardinals' hunting ground. An addition such as second baseman Orlando Hudson or starting pitcher Derek Lowe would turn the offseason around. The farm system should begin to significantly help the big club this season as well, with Rasmus, Chris Perez, Jason Motte and others slated to make appearances. At some point however, the Cardinals are going to have to use a bullet on a player of real consequence.  3.4 million fans and a new stadium have provided a little bit of spending cash, now go lay some cabbage down and act like you want to win.