I was amused when I read the following item:
The Cardinals will rethink the makeup of the bullpen when it comes to lefthanded relief. They will look to move Randy Choate this offseason. Mozeliak said that Choate's role is very specialized and that it was difficult as a result to get him the work that he desired during the regular season. The Cardinals would look for a lefty reliever who could do some of what Kevin Siegrist did at full strength or Marco Gonzales did in the postseason.
"I think we both feel that if we can upgrade there or have an additional arm to choose from, that makes sense," Mozeliak said. "We're certainly not ruling out Siegrist. I think in Choate's case, for us, he's fairly one-dimensional. That makes it difficult for us to use him, particularly during a long season."
The Cardinals signed Choate for three years, two years ago. In his two seasons with the Cardinals, Choate has thrown 35 innings and 36 innings.
That's very specialized!
I'm just a little surprised that Choate thought he would get more work than that. In the three seasons before signing with the Cardinals, Choate threw 45 innings, 25 innings, and 39 innings ... which works out to 36 innings per season. Choate pitches very few innings, but then again he makes relatively little money: $2.5 million per season. And he's been tremendously effective against left-handed hitters.
It seems to me that in these days of seven- and eight-man bullpens, a fair number of teams should have room for an ill-paid pitcher with Randy Choate's skills. And while the Cardinals might not be one of those teams, I do wonder if this has something to do with his struggles, however brief, against the Giants this month.
