Cardinals Nerve Center Update: Arenado trade rumors, Walker in right field, and a losing record disease

After a full round of movie talk, let's talk baseball.

For the first time in decades, the St. Louis Cardinals are bad.

Bad as in their record isn’t kind to any set of eyes. It’s not like 2016-18 when they were decent but not playoff worthy. You have to run back to the early 1990s when Ray Lankford and Bernard Gilkey were putting together what sabermetric scientists would label later as “wins above replacement” to find this kind of rough. As a Cards fan remarked this week, this is classic 1970s Cardinal dread.

The series against the Chicago Cubs-a division rival they used to play over 15 times a year but not see sparingly-this weekend solidified how poor this team’s play has become. A day after losing their starting pitcher and catcher before three outs were recorded, St. Louis lost on a deep fly ball to center field that couldn’t escape the outstretched arm of the Cubs outfielder. Chicago 3, St. Louis 2. Over.

A loss today would give the Cardinals 60 losses. When was the last time they had that many before Aug. 1? I’ll let a paid reporter look that up, because I have a beagle that needs his nails trimmed soon. What this team has become is bad, as in far less than average. If St. Louis had a Cleveland Guardians-type record of 52-52, this would be a different story.

A few deft moves at the deadline and some streaky on the good side play from a couple guys, and you’re back in it. The Cardinals are 13 games below average. They are equally bad at home and on the road, the records being nearly identical. The end of the road hasn’t been reached, but the fat dude is already singing.

So, let’s discuss a few hot topics in Cardinal Nerve Center--a close friend of mine hates the name “Cardinal Nation”, so I’m switching up to something old fashioned

Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports

Is Nolan Arenado really on the trade block?

Yes and no. For instance, everyone is on the trade block, at least technically. Even a guy like the Gold Glove-storing third baseman with a no trade clause can be moved. Nolan just has to say yes. The one team he would say yes to-The Los Angeles Dodgers-were connected to him this week in a trade rumor.

It’s not entirely implausible. The Cards have indeed slunk down to the dirt of Pittsburgh, so all options are open. While they don’t want to trade Arenado, the idea of a monstrous return is hard to avoid. The Dodgers grow pitchers like California grows wine, so their collection of arms would be persuasive to a pitching-deprived team like St. Louis. Furthermore, Arenado is a Southern California native and has made no secret of his desire to play there over the course of his career.

Look, Arenado can tell St. Louis media members until the cows come home that he loves this town and doesn’t want to leave. A call from his agent changes all of that. His top level play ability is on a timer, and the clock is ticking. Does he see front office management-the same crew that traded for Steven Matz-making the conscious effort to get a World Series? I bet not, at least deep down.

Forget what he tells the press. The man’s a soldier, and won’t dog anyone. But he’s also the kind star who really wants to win a title. Listening to him brings no confusion; the man has an innate desire to win a title. I don’t think it’s going to happen here during his better years. When a team is making money and fans are coming to games in droves, why change the model?

If they trade him, $35 million comes off the books too. That’s a lot of money to split up into specific needs. The Cardinals won’t win a pennant with two high-priced position players and no high-paid pitchers, especially when they show little interest in spending $25 million plus on a third player. Paul Goldschmidt doesn’t have much of a contract that extends well beyond 2023, so Arenado is the preferred target.

A trade of Arenado also opens third base back up for Jordan Walker to inhabit. This wouldn’t be the top reason, or even the second best one, in the mindset of trading Arenado; it’s just a convenient byproduct of events. Seeing how bad he is in the outfield, one can assume a return to a minor league position he knows well couldn’t hurt.

As you can see, the biggest reasons to trade Arenado are also the biggest ones to retain him: the glove, passion, steady bat. When prognosticators said he couldn’t bring his power from Colorado over to St. Louis, he did. The defense has remained top tier, even in a less-than-golden 2023 campaign from Arenado’s glove.

But, an earthquake-type trade could be just what this team, and its fanbase, need. The hero we don’t deserve yet desperately need-as a collective watcher of this team. Will it happen? Probably not. Is the team’s weird denial of the report’s existence a sneaky clue to the idea that it could happen? You bet.

The Walker Defense Plan

Watching the team’s next best thing play right field requires a few pours of Johnnie Walker Blue. Some well-made bourbon helps seeing him Jay-hop a throw to home plate last night in a crucial spot. The run allowed on Walker’s weaker-than-Fossas toss crippled the team later when their offensive engine fired blanks.

Here’s the thing. Keep the kid out there, unless something huge *wink, wink* happens. He could end up being a designated hitter for a few years, but the time is now to find out just how rough his defense is, and if it can be mended. A losing season allows a team to extend stays of young players that would usually be prohibited in August.

Let it ride. The throws can only get better. Show Walker some Jim Edmonds videos. Show him the video of Tyler O’Neill’s throw from last night. That is textbook, from the throw to the ball collection from Andrew Knizner at home. He set himself, and started to move in as the ball hit the glove, thus springing his body forward with the throw. It’s like he was tossing half his body weight towards the plate.

Walker can do better, and the team needs his raw-yet-already-potent bat. It’s not his fault the team kept him at third in the minors for too long, even though a guy who has won a Gold Glove (ten of them) in each season of his MLB career already plays for them.

Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports

When you think about it, the only Cardinal that needs to be traded is Mozeliak. He’s warped Bill DeWitt Jr.’s business-minded approach into thinking he is a genius, when he really has won nothing that was built from his own mind. Randy Flores is doing a fine job giving the team solid prospects, ones they learn how to screw up.

Mo should go, but he won’t. Let’s hope the Arenado mess figures itself out (a player addressing rumors before a team is bush league). Let’s hope Walker figures the idea of the outfield out before 2024. Gambles are what make sport-watching great. It’s on them; we just get to watch.

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