This was supposed to be a quiet off-season for the Cardinals. A tweak here and there, and here comes the 2015 Cardinals. Then the Oscar Tavares accident. Unfortunately, the Cardinals had to re evaluate the roster as a whole and realized they were going to be short. One thing can be said about the Cardinals as they do not wait for the market to take shape and watch others decide their fate.
Once again the Cardinals raise the stakes to the point where there was no need to watch. They stepped to the plate and took a big swing. Monday the Redbirds traded for Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward and pitcher Jordan Walden. St. Louis gave up former first round pick and fifth starter in the rotation last year Shelby Miller and former first round prospect Tyrell Jenkins.
The key in this deal was certainly Heyward. The 6’5, 240 lbs. outfielder came into the majors at 20 highly touted as he tore it up at every level he ever played in. In making his debut at the age of 20, super stardom was associated with Heyward everywhere he went with All Star appearances and Gold Gloves to follow.
At 25 now the questions were what kind of hitter was he going to be and could the Braves resign one of the prize processions. As for the hitting, Heyward is hard to figure. A great line drive swing that does not produce home runs for a player his size and power potential is the description you get from some. His average had slipped as he hit in the leadoff spot most of last season. With that said, Heyward was considered a threat at the plate.
His defense is stellar to say the least as he has played all three outfield positions and is the owner of two Gold Gloves so that was never a worry.
The question for the Braves became what direction were they going to go with respect to their future. The Braves are building for the immediate future and they are pitching short. They appear to be trying to load up on pitching like they did in the 1990s when they dominated their division and the National League with the like of Hall of Famers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. They also threw in some other good arms along the way to make them hard to beat.
Enter 2015 and the Braves would like to light that fire again. When dealing for pitching, you have to have assets and Jason Heyward became one as the Braves feared they would not be able to sign him to a long-term contract after this season as he is going to be an unrestricted free agent.
The fact that the Heyward could walk after this season did not make the Cardinals flinch in pursuing this deal. They have elected to go all in on Heyward in the hopes that he gives them what they need in a solid outfielder who can produce at the plate in a variety of ways. The risk here is that Heyward will have the ability to test the free agent market at season’s end unless the Cardinals think he is worth the investment.
While the Cardinals are going all in, let me remind you that they are obviously banking on Heyward having the good season most players have when playing for a contract. I am not sure that this applies in Heyward’s case as he has proven to be a tireless worker and holds nothing back. He will bring his best game to the park no matter what the calendar says and that is a good thing. If it does not work out, and the Cardinals cannot sign him, then the worst case scenario would be they would get a draft pick should they offer tender him a contract and he turns it down.
One thing to take in account here and that is the Cardinals have gone down this path before with acquiring players that were going into their final year of their contract. Mark McGwire and Matt Holiday would be the first two to come to mind where the Cardinals got them to stay. In their most recent history, only one player walked on the Cardinals in their free agency year and he had 250 million reasons to go see if the grass was greener elsewhere. If Heyward performs, the Cardinals will keep him.
So what was the real price for Heyward? Two former first round draft choices who are pitchers. Shelby Miller was highly touted out of high school that was brought along slowly to ensure maximum value. Miller cracked the rotation last year with mixed reviews. He was better this season but inconsistency and the inability not to able to go deep into ball games was a concern. Make no mistake, Miller has the talent to be a legitimate big league pitcher, but change scenery may have been needed to enhance his career at this stage of it.
As for Tyrell Jenkins, he too was a high school star who had mad football skills as well. He was headed to Baylor until the Cardinals paid him over a million dollars to commit to baseball. Shoulder injuries had beset Jenkins during part of his minor league career but this season he really showed significant improvement where he once again became a legitimate prospect. Jenkins had all the tools to be a big time Major League pitcher. He may be less than a year away of all goes well.
As for Jason Heyward the first thing that will stand out is his physical presence. A chiseled 25-year-old athlete who is impressive in every element you could imagine on and off the field. A full grown man at the age of 25 who has come from a good family environment as well as good organization in the Atlanta Braves as they have pro mentors who have shaped him into a professional person would be a good description of Jason Heyward.
It has been a while since the Cardinals have had an African-American player have the potential to play a prominent roll on the ball club. You have to go back at least 10 years to find Reggie Sanders who was an everyday player who was important on the field and in the clubhouse.
For years the battle cry was “the Cardinals do not have any black players.” I am not sure if that was the first thing Cardinal General Manager John Mozeliak considered when he made the deal but I’ll take it any way he can see fit at this point.
If Heyward can get it going for Cardinal Nation to appreciate, then it will be the eventual offer he cannot refuse. Let’s hope he sees the good side of St. Louis early as he is a player that can be here for a long time. So the Cardinals have gone all in on the investment of Jason Heyward. It’s a good one as he has talent that should be better along with being off field issue free.
There is always a risk in making deals like this but that is what good teams do. This one has major pluses for the Cardinals that are worth taking. This is just the start of what could be an interesting off-season for the Cardinals as we at one point it would quiet. That has already proved not to be the case and there is plenty of off-season left.
