Matz isn't very sexy (Scherzer etal) but he's functional. Mid level rotation dude. He's a lefthander which they need. Slightly above average ground ball rate which suits the GG inf. He's had a tendency to give up hrs but they will be a little less in StL (Hopefully). He is one of the better LSP options in free agency. I would have liked a 3 year deal instead of 4 but with 7 other teams bidding on him it had to be. For at least the first couple of years this should be a win.
I know what you are saying and I don't disagree with your point of view. Thing is this is the Saint Louis Cardinal organization not the LA Dodgers or the NY Yankees. They ain't gonna spend top dollar in the free agent market. They have made trades for top tear talent (Goldy and Arenado are recent examples) but to get into a bidding war with the top free agents is something that they have not done in a while. I don't expect Waino to repeat. I doubt they do either.Yeah, that all makes sense to a certain degree but my thinking is at a certain point loading up on 2 WAR pitchers is diminishing returns. Matz is better than doing nothing, but worse than doing something significant. Add on that Matz has a bad track record with staying healthy enough to pitch a lot of innings, and it seems like we committed 4 years to a 1-year stopgap. We honestly need a front of the rotation guy. Waino was awesome this year, but should we really be counting on a 40-year-old to do that again? This guy's thinking on this is kind of where I'm at:
I keep hearing we aren’t done with starting pitching, and we should see something shake from the tree soon. Not sure if this is true but who else could we realistically get at this point?I know what you are saying and I don't disagree with your point of view. Thing is this is the Saint Louis Cardinal organization not the LA Dodgers or the NY Yankees. They ain't gonna spend top dollar in the free agent market. They have made trades for top tear talent (Goldy and Arenado are recent examples) but to get into a bidding war with the top free agents is something that they have not done in a while. I don't expect Waino to repeat. I doubt they do either.
I keep hearing we aren’t done with starting pitching, and we should see something shake from the tree soon. Not sure if this is true but who else could we realistically get at this point?
150 innings isn't really that impressive a number. The most he's ever pitched is 160.1. Stroman, the same age, has topped that 4 times, and pitched more than 200 innings twice. Stroman pitched 179 innings last season to Matz's 150. He pitched 59 in the shortened 2019 season to Matz 30. Matz' best season was worth 2.4 WAR. Stroman has topped 3 WAR 3 times (including last season) and his best season was worth 5.2 WAR. Stroman has never had a negative WAR season, Matz has twice. Stroman is more expensive because he is a significantly better pitcher.I'm okay with this move, especially by comparison with the money that Stroman was likely going to command. He'll definitely be an innings eater. In the last 3 full MLB seasons, he's pitched at least 150 innings. He has a sinker that averages about 94.5 MPH. He doesn't have a K rate so my guess is the Cardinals are banking on him being able to get outs with the elite defense behind him.
150 innings isn't really that impressive a number. The most he's ever pitched is 160.1. Stroman, the same age, has topped that 4 times, and pitched more than 200 innings twice. Stroman pitched 179 innings last season to Matz's 150. He pitched 59 in the shortened 2019 season to Matz 30. Matz' best season was worth 2.4 WAR. Stroman has topped 3 WAR 3 times (including last season) and his best season was worth 5.2 WAR. Stroman has never had a negative WAR season, Matz has twice. Stroman is more expensive because he is a significantly better pitcher.
Scherzer to Mets for $130 million for 3 years. No way Cardinals (or any sane organization) were getting anywhere near that.
There has always been talk/concern over the salaries given to players. Some have expressed concern that it is too much. (Including me) There has to be a time when this all comes tumbling down. Ticket prices keep going up. I go to fewer and fewer games. I watch less games every year. Stl still draws 3 + million in a full season so I don't think they are "overly" concerned. Even so there has to be a tipping point where ad revenue no longer justifies the exorbitant pay outs by tv.Lefty Matz calls Cardinals 'a great fit', finalizes four-year deal as free-agent signing frenzy reaches 'fever pitch'
Lefty signs a four-year, $44-million deal that installs him as part of Cardinals' rotation.www.stltoday.com
“The advice I got was to pick a place that will also set you up for success,” Matz said from his home in Franklin, Tenn., during a Zoom meeting. “I’ve always admired the Cardinals organization from afar. I’ve always really admired the way they did things. Right off the bat, being able to throw to an incredible catcher in Yadier Molina. They have incredible defense. The run they went on last year. The excitement of the fans. The great ballpark. These are all the things you start to think about. … The Cardinals felt like a great fit.”
“An ideal fit,” echoed John Mozeliak, the club’s president of baseball operations.
Elsewhere in the marketplace, the Cardinals have told inquiring teams they see Paul DeJong as their starter at shortstop for 2022 with Edmundo Sosa as the challenger for the job in spring training, according to sources. Matz is the starter they sought to add as the fifth and final member of the rotation, their interest shifting to identifying a swingman such as righthander Jake Woodford who can shift between starter and relief roles.
In Matz, the Cardinals saw a pitcher who signed for four years at the cost Scherzer commanded for one and righthander Marcus Stroman is likely to command for two. They’re betting on his upside — and their defense’s ability to boost it.
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The bold type above shows how insane salaries have become........I'm not begrudging the players as they are the ones on the field , but where does it stop....????
Will we soon , like the next 5 years , have a $ 100 million man PER YEAR ??????
Who pays for this ....I really don't know , but i do know that the regional sports networks are freezing out a lot of fans because of the demands of the carriers , etc ....I don't know enough about it to really discuss it thoroughly , but I'm so glad to have found a website to watch my Blues and Cardinals without having to pay 30-40 dollars a month extra......It's like BTN + and ESPN +......keep pushing the extra $ 5 here or $ 10 there.........
Strange that the Cardinals are announcing now that Paul DeJong is the starter at SS....I thought Sosa hit better and fielded better but with DeJong's salary maybe the Cardinals are advertising DeJong for a mid season trade if there is a season....
JMHO
While I never said the owners should keep all the money, I do feel that if someone invests in a business they should get the lion's share of the profit.With salaries going up its pretty clear owners are making bank. I'm fairly certain baseball is not the one business in America in which owners sacrifice their own interests in order to overpay their employees. Scherzer's deal is nuts because he's 37. But sports are big business and these guys have the rarest of skillsets. Would you rather owners kept more of the profit to themselves?
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They have removed all picture and references to the current players on all MLB team pages. Very strange…
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