In the 36 hours between my writing this column and it hitting the street (or at midnight Thursday at the fabulous www.stlamerican.com) the St. Louis Cardinals might have pulled off a stunning blockbuster of a deal.
Alfonso Soriano or maybe even Bobby Abreu could be a Redbird.
But any deal that can be accomplished should not involve Anthony Reyes. Not only is he a keeper, he should be a starter through the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.
Instead of Reyes being the odd man out when Mark Mulder returns from his lengthy stay on the disabled list, the roles should be reversed.
In fact, the Cardinals should deal Mulder.
The free agent to be will be too rich for the Cardinals’ blood during the offseason. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will both make major runs at him, so why not try to swap him for a decent prospect or two immediately? These prospects don’t have to be phenoms, because you’re about to get nothing for Mulder if he is still with the team when the season ends.
In fact, whoever was captured in the Mulder deal could then be moved on for another offensive player such as Soriano or Abreu.
I doubt the Cardinals have enough to compose a deal for either of those players, but let’s not rule it out. More importantly, let’s not make Reyes a part of the package.
After Monday’s rocky start in Colorado, Reyes is 2-4 with a 4.57 ERA. Remember, this should be 3-3, except for the Cardinals wasting a stellar 1-hit effort from Reyes against the Chicago White Sox. That hit was a Jim Thome home run, but a gem is a gem. This one was flawed by the now-you-see-me-now-you-don’t Cardinals offense.
While Reyes struggled early against the thin-air inspired Rockies, the Cards didn’t muster a run.
Jason Marquis has a 5.62 ERA, but also is tied for the National League lead with 12 wins. You see what offensive support can do for you?
In comparison with Reyes and Marquis, staff ace Chris Carpenter is 9-4 with an NL-leading 2.83 ERA
Which brings the discussion back to Mulder.
He’s a pedestrian 6-5 with an explosive 6.09 ERA. Many of his 15 starts were disasters, which left the Cardinals behind by large margins early.
Yet, he will apparently jump back into the rotation as early as this weekend. Reyes will return to the bullpen.
This would be a waste.
The Cardinals have no idea what to expect from Reyes as the season winds down, but what can be expected of Mulder?
Mulder has also proven that he’s very average in the postseason. He went 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA in his three starts, losing twice to the Houston Astros.
Game Six of the 2005 NLCS – following Albert Pujols’ dramatic series-saving home run in Game Five – was Mulder’s stage for the ages.
He fell off into the orchestra pit.
The Cardinals should let the youthful Reyes work out of his slump on the mound with more starts. He should not be relegated to the bullpen.
Not only would it help him prepare for the playoffs, it will make him that much better in the future.
Trade Mulder. Pitch Reyes. Go Cardinals.
