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Something had to give to St. Louis, and give it a.
The Cardinals missed the playoffs in 2016 and 2017, and the 2018 season was more than promised for a few months now. The frustration in the fan base threatened to turn into apathy, which is a frightening idea for any front office. The club, as it was currently built, was not a winning group.
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Change was needed. Big seismic changes were needed.
Manager Mike Matheny was sacked a few days before the all-star break and the club made a series of moves on Friday. The veteran relievers Greg Holland and Tyler Lyons were appointed for the badignment and the reliever Sam Tuivailala was traded to Seattle. Rookie pitchers Daniel Poncedeleon, Austin Gomber and Dakota Hudson have been recalled from Triple-A Memphis. And that, promised the chairman of the team John Mozeliak, was just a taste.
The revision #STLCards has not ended today. Said Mo: "Today, it was not an end, by Tuesday at 3 pm, I think we will exhaust as much as possible."
– Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) July 27, 2018
Tuesday morning, around 10 am, the Cardinals gave their alignment another dramatic jolt. Center fielder Tommy Pham, who produced a .306 / .411 / .520 slash to go with 23 homers, 25 stolen bases and a 6.2 bWAR stellar in just 128 games last year, was traded to the Rays for three minor leagues: outfielder Justin Williams and throwers Genesis Cabrera and Roel Ramirez, all out of the top 10 Rays hope list.
After a good start to the 2018 season, Pham seemed long lost. In his last 59 games, Pham has a .201 / .262 / .304 slash line. It has been hard, it is the least that can be said. For the season, Pham has an average of .730 OPS, 14 homers and 11 bases stolen.
Pham's time with the Cardinals has had its ups and downs, with hollows deeper than the highs. He was selected by the team in the 16th round of the MLB draft in 2006, but his full-time Major League entry was delayed by injuries and vision problems. When he finally got his breakthrough season in 2017, his age of 29, he was not happy with the way the Cardinals dealt with him financially in the offseason.
Tommy Pham's relationship with the #STLcards took a hit when the team renewed its $ 570,000 contract in the spring. He expressed his dissatisfaction at the time. The year was difficult for many people in St. Louis. He should benefit from a fresh start with the #Rays .
– Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 31, 2018
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And this relationship between the team and the player did not improve much during the season, and the problems were not just about the struggles of Pham and his team.
Like Cras references here, the tension never really went down between Tommy and the front office. Recently, he asked for expensive exercise equipment and became dissatisfied when the team did not provide it. Many small clashes, I am told by source. Tuberculosis has been on him for a long time. https://t.co/L9FiZ49Rt7
– Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) July 31, 2018
At this point, a change was probably the best for both parties. The Rays buy low on a player who was one of the top five players in the NL in 2017, and he remains three years of club control. Six months ago, it is safe to say that the cost for Pham – which comes directly from a season of .300 / .400 / .500 with three years of control – would have been much, much higher than that Cardinals on Tuesday.
And so the remake of the list goes on in St. Louis.
Other changes are coming too. It remains a few hours before 4 o'clock in the morning. ET expires, and it is quite possible for players to go through the waivers and be moved in August. And the Cardinals will be busy in the coming offseason, both through trades and free agent signatures.
For the moment, Spreading Pham opens the way for rookie Harrison Bader to be the full-time starter in the center, and the slugger Tyler O'Neill – who has 26 homers at Triple-A and three in the big this year – figures to play a bigger role in the major leagues ahead.
The recruits are going to have their turn in the honor. Not just Bader and O 'Neill, but also Poncedeleon, Gomber and Hudson. Rookies Jack Flaherty and Jordan Hicks have already been part of the parent club in 2018.
It's time to see what they can do.
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