belker

They used to say the average MLB fastball was 88 or 89 MPH, I forget which... Now there are guys that throw 92-93 and they are classed as control/finesse guys. I wonder what the average fastball is. Do you have to throw 95+ to be considered a hard-thrower now?

I just don't think the Cards would be very interested in Dozier. Not that he wouldn't be an upgrade, it's just they have an overabundance of infielders, and their offense was homer-heavy this year, and it didn't quite work. They're looking to improve the defense (step 1 is to get a good CF & shift Grichuk to LF which would improve both spots defensively), increase the team speed and hopefully get some high OBP-types. Weaver and Flaherty would both be available, but they've had a hard time coming up with a backup for Yadi, not to mention his replacement. They are "all-in" on Kelly for that.

Cardinal fan here....Reyes and Kelly are 2 of the 3 Cards' prospects most unlikely to be traded (along with Delvin Perez). The Cards are in a weird spot, they have lots of average to above-average players, but few superstar types. Reyes is viewed as a potential superstar. Kelly's numbers don't look great, but he won the minor league Gold Glove at catcher last year, and they need a replacement for Yadi, and Kelly looks like he is the one. And I don't think you really want Wacha, his shoulder issue looks to be a long-term issue, he might end up in the bullpen to reduce the strain. The Cards need a CF, but I doubt the Twins would trade Buxton, so I don't think these teams will match up. They also have about 8 legitimate options for the starting rotation, so Santana would not be much of a draw.

Mauer is '10 and 5' player (10 years of service time, at least last 5 with same team), meaning he automatically has a no-trade clause. So any suggestion of trading him assumes that he would be willing to waive that and move away from his hometown team. Usually, players that agree to this are compensated by one of the trading teams. So the Twins would need to throw in more money or receive less of a return. Sooooo, not very likely he will ever be traded, unless he wants to go to a team heading for the playoffs IMO.

And Balazovich has 23 for age in the title, but just turned 18 in the descriptive paragraph....

Cardinal fan here....I can't see them trading Reyes. Their MO is to mix in young talent with their experienced players to keep payroll in the mid-tier. And he is probably their only prospect that has eye-popping talent. He needs work on his command, definitely. But there were several quotes from management and other players admiring his composure recently. They could fit Dozier into their infield, but their offense has been homer-heavy this year. What they really need is a high-OBP player to lead off.

One fairly big trade during AA's time in Toronto that hasn't been discussed is the trade with the Cardinals in 2011 for Colby Rasmus. Along with Rasmus, the Cards sent Trever Miller, Brian Tallet and P.J. Walters to the Toronto Blue Jays for Octavio Dotel, Edwin Jackson, Corey Patterson and Marc Rzepczynski. I don't have salary figures, but at the time this was a trade of a young talent for veterans. It was widely critiqued as LaRussa giving up on young talent due to a personality conflict. AA was praised for getting a young talent for vets he didn't need. And Rasmus draws a lot of walks, so AA was praised by the "Bill James" crowd. This trade ended up helping the Cards win the Series that year. Rasmus never quite took that step to stardom he was expected to. But I think it also shows that AA was willing to dump vets for young talent, which is something many Twins fans would be on board with.