McNeal: After a weekend of acquisitions, Cardinals are a shade better than they were
ST. LOUIS -- Barely three weeks after losing the World Series, the Cardinals already have checked off their off-season to-do list. They traded for center fielder Peter Bourjos, found shortstop Jhonny Peralta on the free-agent market and extended the contract of manager Mike Matheny.
Did general manager John Mozeliak forget that the off-season still lasts for three-plus months, not three-plus weeks? Or did Mozeliak want to finish his work before leaving town for Thanksgiving?
Whatever the explanation, he sounds like he has finished his hot-stove heavy lifting with nearly three months remaining before pitchers and catchers report.
"There's still some things we can look at," Mozeliak said Monday morning at a news conference to announce the signing of Peralta to a four-year, $53 million deal. "But if the clock stopped today, we'd be pretty happy with our club."
How much, at all, have the Cardinals improved?
On paper, which is all we have to go on for many months, I would say they're better than the team that finished the season less than a month ago. But not by much.
Of course, when you win the most games in the NL and reach the World Series, you're already pretty good. Overhauling the roster isn't necessary. It's more about shoring up weaknesses, and the Cardinals have managed to do that at a reasonable price.
It cost them one of their most popular players, David Freese, and a bloated contract for Peralta. On the other hand, Freese endured a disappointing 2013 and should benefit from a fresh start and the Cardinals maintain plenty of financial flexibility despite overpaying for Peralta.
One way to look at the changes is that they have taken one step back but now possess the personnel to move two steps forward.
Let's compare the 2013 club with the 2014 projections:
Start with this: The Cardinals already were set at catcher and left field, the only two positions that -- if the season started today -- would be unchanged from 2013. Both Yadier Molina, 31, and Matt Holliday, 33, should be able to replicate their 2013 success for at least two more seasons.
At first base, third base and in right field, the Cardinals are planning to start a returning player who spent most of his time in another role last season. They would be Matt Adams, Matt Carpenter and Allen Craig, respectively. The club has plenty of reasons to feel good about all three, including Adams' eight-homer September, Carpenter's fourth-place finish in NL MVP voting and Craig's proven ability to produce runs.
In center field, trading for Bourjos will mean a huge upgrade defensively. He covers way more ground and owns a stronger arm (who doesn't) than Jon Jay. Offensively, Jay holds a significant statistical edge over the past two seasons. Bourjos, who has been limited by injuries, has hit just .248/.312/.347 in 156 games to Jay's .289/.361/.383 in 274 games.
But the Cardinals believe Bourjos can be much better with the bat. He's only 26 and has shown stretches of making an impact offensively. He was hitting .333 last year before breaking his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch in June, an injury that effectively curtailed his season.
At second base and shortstop, the Cardinals will give up something on one side of the ball but without damaging themselves on the other. Rookie Kolten Wong at second, for example, will not be expected to hit as well as Carpenter, but Wong's defense is better and he brings much-needed speed to the attack. The Cardinals are confident that Wong will hit far better than he did after being called up in August, when his batting average was only .153 in mostly a pinch-hitting role.
At shortstop, Peralta is a far more potent offensive player than Pete Kozma, but no one denies that Kozma is the superior defender. Mozeliak said the club's defensive metrics graded Peralta as average or a tick above defensively at shortstop. In other words, what the Cardinals will lose defensively with Peralta at short will be more than offset by what they gain offensively.
Because of defensive upgrades at second, third and in center, the Cardinals think they can absorb average defense at shortstop.
The strength of the Cardinals remains pitching and it should be even better in 2014 with all of last year's rookies having a year's experience. The Cardinals have to feel great about finding a shortstop and center fielder without dipping into their stockpile of young, power arms. Not yet, anyway.
"I look at the next six, seven, eight weeks as opportunistic," Mozeliak said. "I'm not going to hide from the fact we still have a lot of pitching depth. If there is something that makes sense, we'd have to think about it. I will candidly say nothing seems like it will, but it won't hurt to explore some things over the next month and a half."
One area where Mozeliak figures to do something is the bench. A right-handed hitter with some power to back up second, short and/or third would be ideal. At this point, Mozeliak said he didn't know who might be available that could handle such a role.
But after getting the rest of his off-season work done so quickly, he has plenty of time to find out.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @stanmcneal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
