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2009 3B

Glaus has a player option for next season, which he may well exercise. but if he does exercise it, he'd actually be taking a pay cut from this season (from $12.5mn this year to $11.25mn next). he may not want to do this, especially if he thinks he could still get a max multi-year contract elsewhere. he's only 31 this year, so it's definitely possible that an AL club which could DH him once or twice a week might offer 3 years @ $12+mn per. the Cards shouldn't match that. if he finishes the season healthy and with the type of numbers that he's on pace for (~ 120 OPS+, 25-30HR), i'd consider it likely that he's gone.

but the in-house 3B options are pretty bleak. Barden and Freese aren't exactly tearing up AAA, and nobody else is even close to MLB-ready. it might only take Wallace a couple of years, but the team seems positioned to contend in '09-'10. 

so who's available? the main 3B FAs in '09 (other than Glaus) seem to be Joe Crede, Casey Blake, Dallas McPherson, and Nomar Garciaparra. Nomar shouldn't be considered for obvious reasons, and it definitely seems possible that Blake and/or Crede will be re-signed by their respective clubs. both are solid, if unremarkable, but both are on the wrong side of 30 and have had some injury concerns. they will be the top two non-Glaus options for teams looking to upgrade 3B in the off-season, so they will probably be priced out of the Cards' range anyway.

McPherson, however, is younger than the others (27 this year), is destroying AAA (1.121 OPS with 30 HR already), and has already proved that he is capable of holding his own in the bigs when healthy. he had a back injury that hurt him with the Angels, but he seems to be fully recovered from that. the dude is a monster talent and probably won't cost as much as any of the other options, especially if the Marlins decide to re-sign Cantu. i wanted the Cards to take a flyer on McPherson this past off-season (he ended up signing for less that $0.5mn), and i hope that they have their eye on him for next year. a 2-3 year contract could bridge the gap to Wallace without costing too much cash and subtracting zero prospects. it would be a little bit of a gamble, but i don't think a prohibitive one, and the potential pay-off is huge.

other (realistic) possibilities include going after Andy Marte (if the Tribe re-sign Blake), who will be out of options next year, but his star has certainly faded since '04-'05. the only other FA 3B are guys like Ensberg and Helms who are... uninspiring, to say the least.

thoughts? 

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Barden

He is hitting over .300 looks solid right now but i agree w/ u on freese

by fzeballer15 on Jul 7, 2008 7:13 PM EDT   0 recs

Barden...

... is OPSing .837 as a 27 year old in AAA. he could keep the spot warm if necessary, but he’d be a pretty desperate option at this point.

meanwhile, McPherson is OPSing 1.121 as a 27 year old in AAA. i’ll take those .200 points of OPS if i can, thank you.

by kindred on Jul 7, 2008 7:59 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

i'm not...

... but i was talking about the options for ‘09 if Glaus was gone. this is Freese’s first year above A-ball, and he hasn’t adapted very well yet. he might get back on track and be a big-league contributor in the next few years, but he won’t be ready to be an impact player next year.

by kindred on Jul 7, 2008 8:02 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

'09 Option

Wasn’t a condition of the Rolen-Glaus trade that Glaus had to exercise his option for 09?

As seen on Bleed Cubbie Blue message board... "Wait until the Cardinals call up Rasmus..."

by urgeernieball on Jul 7, 2008 7:24 PM EDT   0 recs

yes

the ‘09 option has already been exercised.

by jeff_abs on Jul 7, 2008 7:51 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

nevermind then...

... Cot’s needs to update.

thanks for the correction.

by kindred on Jul 7, 2008 7:57 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

if glaus left

I think we would be up shit creek…

with the options in the minors not being huge power threats as I understand it.

My best suggestion, as always is Atkins from Colorado. I believe he hits well on the road, is a good power hitter, not as much as Glaus at his peak but he hits for average.

he wouldnt require as much in trade as Holliday, and could man the post for some time.

the only problem would be we would have to trade for him, and this team doesnt want to give up prospects for him, and the Rockies would have to give up to trade him

www.GriffinandtheGargoyles.com
www.myspace.com/GriffinandtheGargoyles

Dont take me seriously :-D

by jealousblues on Jul 7, 2008 7:52 PM EDT   0 recs

hello?

Rico Washington. He can throw a football over the Arch.

by Evilfrog on Jul 7, 2008 10:09 PM EDT   0 recs

This is actually one of the few positions I don't worry about

Glaus exercised the option; he’s here until at least 2009. Even with the prospect pan-out rate being what it is, I would be willing to wager that either Freese, Craig, or Wallace will be ready to step in at that point.

by tdawg on Jul 8, 2008 9:42 AM EDT   0 recs

I thought we exercised Glaus's option as part of the Rolen deal.

I think he is already a Cardinal for ‘09

Baseball's only fun if you're playing it, watching it, or thinking about it.

by Eckstreem on Jul 9, 2008 9:52 AM EDT   0 recs

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