Comments on: Andrew Brown Claimed on Waivers

By: Brian B

Brian B — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:23:42 +0000

Freese is an outstanding 3rd baseman. As long as he’s healthy we don’t need any 3rd baseman. Honestly, we already have Delcaso who defends himself. In my personal opinion, especially after seeing both M. Carpenter and Cox in Palm Beach. Carpenter is a better 3rd baseman Cox. Furcal even though is not the hottest batter, is an outstanding SS. They will properly keep him for a couple of years. Beckman should be kept for as long as he.wants to play. He’s been an outstanding hitter and have helped our team since he’s arrived.

By: jjray

jjray — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:44:18 +0000

Players on the 40 man roster start the year in the major league spring training camp roster and must be optioned to the minors to begin the season (assuming they do not make the 25 man roster). Cox burned one option in 2012. He’ll burn another in 2013. The club needs to push him up the ladder for this reason. You want him to go to the MLB for his first stint with at least one option left to get acclimated and be able to go back to the minors if he struggles or just plain needs ABs. I think Cox needs to be challenged in Memphis as soon as possible.

By: Gruntosaurus

Gruntosaurus — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:06:47 +0000

You’re correct, sometimes I can’t tell up from down. :-) A player who is in the MAJORS all year doesn’t burn an option.

However, as regards development, I am not completely convinced that AAA meets that goal more effectively than AA, at least for a player whose game is fundamentally sound. For someone like Matt Adams, whose ceiling depends in no small part on whether major-league pitchers can exploit his unwillingness to take a walk, exposure to the former major leaguers who get warehoused at AAA may be educational. For Cox, whose ceiling may not be as high but who also doesn’t have that one clear question mark, continued development at AA, against up-and-coming young pitchers rising through the systems (and, in many cases, skipping AAA), may suffice.

By: zuke354

zuke354 — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:27:14 +0000

No. That is correct. Minors, any level, equals 1 option.

However, I think jjray’s point was about development. You only get 3 option years, so repeating AA is not the best use.

Its the disadvantage to major league contracts for drafted players.

Its one of the big issues people didn’t understand about Porcello.

By: Gruntosaurus

Gruntosaurus — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:09:04 +0000

I’m missing something here. Is an option burned if the player stays in the minors all year? I thought the option _per se_ was only exercised if there’s a yo-yo between minors and majors. However, there is still a service-time issue, option or no option, so your basic points holds even if he didn’t burn an option this year.

Sad to say, but MCarp may be destined to be trade bait. He has simply been lapped as a starting prospect by Cox and Wong (not to mention that Freese is settling in as a bona fide major-league third baseman), and you can only have just so many super-utility guys on the roster at a time. I could imagine him competing for the roster slots vacated by Theriot (PLEASE tell me he won’t be back) or Schumaker, but he’ll have competition, and he’ll have to step up. Your prescription of starting his evolution into super-utility guy sounds sensible to me.

By: jjray

jjray — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:14:53 +0000

I think Cox is the starting the 3B @ AAA right out of the gate in 2012, not MCarp. Cox is the more highly rated prospect and this will be his second season on the 40 man roster thanks to the lovely contract JMo awarded him. You can’t have him burn a second option year down in AA. We need to find out what sort of value he gives the organization. MCarp I think can be a utility guy if need be whereas Cox can’t. Cox is a 3B or nothing. MCarp could get ABs on the major league roster as a Tony super utility player. I think he was even in the outfield for a game during spring training 2011 and I know he started at SS one game in Memphis this year. He plays 2B too. If MCarp doesn’t make the 25 man roster as a utility player out of camp in 2012, they could play him all over the diamond in Memphis to groom him for a utility role.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:37:06 +0000

Carpenter lacks power…he will be squeezed out and Cox will be at AAA. Freese stays with the Cardinals next year.

By: Zach

Zach — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:30:19 +0000

I agree, the third base situation is interesting; to me, it’s obvious that Freese is your every day third baseman in 2012, with Carpenter in AAA. The question becomes, where does Zack Cox fit into the future? Freese has health problems and Carpenter, in my opinion, will have to force his way onto the major league team if that’s going to happen. I do think this off-season will bring a couple of trades and it would not surprise me if one of these guys was involved

By: BigRob

BigRob — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:04:24 +0000

You’re right about change coming next year. The biggest thing I see is the stockpile of firstbasemen. It will help once we know where Pujols will be in 2012, but in 2011 we had a logjam of Mark Hamilton, Nick Stavinoha, and Matt Adams that all should probably be playing 1B in AAA, but only one could. I full expect Stavinoha to be gone next season. As for Hamilton, his situation is on Pujols. If Albert is back, Hamilton is gone. If Albert is gone, Hamilton may be the 25th man on the roster as back-up firstbaseman and lefty power off bench.

Another interesting thing in 2012 will be 3B. Freese, Carpenter, and Cox. One will play every day in MLB. One will play every day in AAA. Cox may start the season in AA, but I doubt he’s there very long if he does. It’s nice having the depth, but at some point you have to trade one of the three to see what you can get in return to help the team at another position (SS? 2B?). But we’ll worry about 2012 after the 2011 season end, which hopefully won’t be for a while yet.

By: Brian B

Brian B — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:01:48 +0000

Wishing the best to Brown change is always good cause it’s gives players more opportunity that they didn’t get with the Cards. Castellanos has been doing very well. It was sad to see him go but that’s baseball. There will be more changes I’m sure next year.