Sign him or not? The Trevor Bauer question shouldn’t be a tough one for the Cardinals

If he’s healthy and cheap, he’s exactly what John Mozeliak ordered.

Athletes aren’t supposed to be heroes. The idea of a role model is more of a hope than a certainty in a sea of adults who are gifted in a sport. Do you want a scrappy 1.5-2.0 WAR player who does all the right things, or do you want a top level, stone cold mercenary who gets the job done? Trevor Bauer is more like the latter, which doesn’t sit well with the parts of the Cardinals fan base who wants their players to be Waino prototypes.

Boy that’s a nice looking world to imagine, but it’s not reality. More of a lofty goal than something to be expected. Here in the real world, players are paid to do a job and that’s help win baseball games. There’s no other heart of the matter, just business. Short term deals don’t require a ton of empathy votes, thankfully for Bauer.

While Blake Snell demands big dollars, Bauer is a better overall pitcher. He’s a polarizing fella who has Cy Young-caliber stuff and a career 3.79 ERA in the Majors. He posted a 2.59 ERA in the Japan Eastern League last season while serving a suspension that’s stretched over years. If we are told to believe that those players’ talent converts to this league, I don’t think Bauer will be overwhelmed.

Is he a shithead? Probably. Does that have to do with winning games? Nope. Aren’t we all about forgiveness? Yeah. Whatever Bauer was accused of, it never amounted to anything. Major League Baseball suspended him indefinitely due to the allegations, but then one day they all went away with him not paying a cent and being able to sign anywhere. A banishment for sure. But if he can pitch, then you sign him.

I don’t care about the Dodgers clubhouse, a place that spends $200 million plus every year and only wins titles in shortened seasons. They had a problem with Bauer, but they also have a problem with finishing things. What about other teams not signing him? Maybe they’re afraid of a little PR roadblock. It’s our rush to judgement in this current society that makes people want to drop the hammer on Bauer.

Let’s not compare this to Aroldis Chapman, who treated his girlfriend like a stunt double in their kitchen one night. He’s violent and awful, both on and off the field. If Trevor is an asshole, let’s not tag more labels on him just because it makes us feel empowered and all that bullshit.

Can Bauer pitch? Do the Cardinals want to take a genuine look? I also don’t care what local scribes or even John Mozeliak says to them; he could be playing coy. Or there could be zero interest.

The point is simple. If he can still post a 2.00-3.50 ERA, he’s useful. If he can’t and thus the distractions and bad PR will wear and they can release him. Do you think every player on those two NFL teams that will be vying for a Super Bowl on Sunday are genuinely good eggs? If so, please allow me to sell you some property in Dubai.

Bauer isn’t perfect and is a one year deal proposition. He brings fire and has plenty to prove after two seasons out of baseball. The Cardinals rotation is full of potential and suspects. Mikolas, Matz, Lynn, and Gibson go through a rough patch and it may get ugly. Thankfully, they’re all upstanding citizens who were never accused of anything.

It’s not a popular take to approve of a potential Bauer deal in St. Louis; more like polarizing, which is just my temperature. Don’t worry, the Cardinals won’t do it. Hopefully, their reasons for swiping the other direction is based mostly on baseball reasons and not allegations.