So The Cardinals Did Something

The fans (some of them anyway) had been demanding it. I think LaRussa had been expecting it as well, and now the Cardinals went and traded for Mark DeRosa, sending Cleveland Chris Perez and a player to be named later. So, good deal, bad deal?

Well, on the plus side, one thing the Cardinals seem to have plenty of in the minors is hard throwing right-handed relief pitchers, so in trading Perez, I guess they're trading from a position of strength. Perez also hadn't been terribly effective this year, having lost some velocity, but not gained any control as a benefit. He was still walking almost six batters per nine innings, though he was also striking out over 11/9 IP. So for Cleveland, it's a matter of whether someone in their organization can help Perez sort things out. If so, then they landed themselves a young relief pitcher, with little service time in the majors, so he'll be relatively cheap for the next few years.

As for the Cardinals landing DeRosa, well, he certainly can't hurt. This is a team where there is a 408 point gap in OPS between their best hitter (Pujols, 1.173), and their 2nd best hitter (Schumaker, .765). That's just ridiculous. And pathetic. He started the season slowly, hitting .238 in April (though he drew 10 walks) but since May he's brought his average up, continued to draw some walks, and hit for some power (.500 slugging in the month of June). So they Cardinals added a hitter demonstrating patience and the ability to crush the ball. Other than Pujols, I don't think anyone else on the roster could make a similar claim*. Heck, DeRosa's 13 home runs would rank 2nd on the team, and his 29 walks would be 3rd.

Also, DeRosa has that defensively versatility LaRussa seems to love so much, since you could theoretically play him just about anywhere except catcher or centerfield. He probably wouldn't be anything special in the outfield, but the Cardinals use Duncan and Ankiel out there all the time, so that wouldn't be anything new. At this point, I'd think the Cardinals would prefer to use him at 3rd, since that seems to be the most glaring hole. Most of the defensive stats I've managed to locate suggest DeRosa is right around average at 3rd, which is also true of the guys he'd most likely be replacing (Thurston and Khalil Greene, neither of whom are natural 3rd basemen). Factor in that DeRosa is easily out hitting those two, and it's definitely an upgrade overall.

I like the move. They don't seem to have traded away anything irreplacable, which is good, since DeRosa is a free agent at the end of the season, so he might end up being a 3-month rental. He can hit lefties (1.070 OPS, though it's only 66 PAs), something most of the team** (and none of the outfielders) can do with any skill, so that's a plus. DeRosa certainly doesn't fix all the Cardinals' problems, but he can patch at least one, and maybe his presence relegates players to bench roles that are better suited for that, which could improve the bench (by also removing players from the major league roster that don't really belong there). I'm curious to see if things turn around a bit here in the next few weeks, before management makes any more moves. See how DeRosa strengthens (or weakens) the team, then decide whether they need to go out and get someone else. I don't think he's enough to make the Cardinals a serious World Series threat, but he gets them a little closer. The NL Central is a bastion of mediocrity this year, so DeRosa might be enough to win the division.

* I'd say Schumaker, Thurston, Duncan, and maybe Molina could claim they're showing patience, at least based on their walk totals, but none of them are hitting for much power.

** On Viva El Birdos this morning, the post pointed out that the team has a .667 OPS against lefties. Further, Schumaker's OPS is .546, Duncan's is .670, Ankiel's .570, and Rasmus' is .417. I mean, that's four of the Cardinals five potential starting outfielders there, all of whom hit like pitchers against lefties. So what do they do if they have to face, say, Ted Lilly? Besides strike out a lot, I mean.