What’s up guys and Happy Saturday! This April we saw the return of the major-league season, headlined by two amazing stories, one about comebacks and one about come-ups. There were also two pretty major contract extensions in April, both signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Just like we did last month, I want to cover these contract extensions signed and give you my opinion on who I think the winner of the deal is. Feel free to tweet me (@kevinjmoore92) or comment your thoughts. Enjoy!
Yadier Molina (April 2)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
If you have haven’t been living under a rock in the last decade or so, you know that Yadier Molina aka Yadi is the greatest catcher of our generation (sorry Giants fans!). No ifs, ands, or buts. 8x Gold Glove winner, 7x All Star, 2x World Series Champ, 1x Silver Slugger…the dude is all time and will forever be immortalized as one of the greatest Cardinals of all time. Growing up in St. Louis, I had the pleasure of watching him develop not only as defensive specialist but also into one of the better offensive catchers in the game.
The last six years in St. Louis has been interesting to say the least. The city has said goodbye to legends such as Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. This time, they decided to keep the STL legend at whatever costs, signing him to a three-year deal totaling $60 million.
While Yadi has a storied career, his defense has fallen off dramatically in the past couple of years. The last year Yadi led the league in CS% (Caught Stealing %) was 2014 and so far, in 2017 is in the bottom half of qualified catchers.
In 2016, Yadi put up a DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) of -1, which ranked 10th of 15th, and had a CS% of 21.2%, which ranked 11th. At 34 years old, Yadi is trending in the wrong direction defensively.
Holistically, Yadi hasn’t produced a 3.0+ WAR season since 2013. He’s still hitting at a decent clip, and provided above average offense last year.
Winner? Yadier Molina (hint: it’s not even close)
I can’t fault the Cardinals for making this decision. Yadi will now be able to comfortably retire a Cardinal, he is a phenomenal leader, and still produces above average results at the plate. The Cardinals can avoid the scrutiny of letting another team legend walk and can help fill more seats in the stadium with Yadi playing daily.
With that being said, this is a clear-cut win for Yadi. Yadi would most likely have not seen this type of job security (3 years) as a 35-year-old catcher when hitting free agency. Good for him, he is one of the best to ever play the position. Now on to the young gun…
Stephen Piscotty (April 3)
(AP Photo/Scott Kane)
Ever since the Cardinals drafted Piscotty with their first-round pick in 2012, he hit and hit and hit. On April 3rd, the Cards decided he was worth the risk and extended him 6 years guaranteeing him $33.5 million. This will allow the Cards to control two would-be free agent years for Piscotty.
Piscotty came on the scene with the Cards in 2015 and immediately made an impact with the bat. In 63 games, he a had a triple slash of .305/.359/.494 and was an integral part of the 100-win season. He also flashed some power with 7 HR, 15 doubles, and 4 triples. Piscotty shined, though, in the 2015 playoffs. In the NLDS against the Cubs, he had an OBP of .444 with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs.
In 2016, Piscotty took a step forward defensively. Per DRS, he went from a below-average fielder to an average fielder and ranked 8th amongst qualified right fielders. However, he did not progress as quickly as Cardinals fans would have liked, posting a 115 wRC+ (weighted runs created) and posting a 20-point drop in his wOBA.
Piscotty is still young and full of talent. While he is off to a challenging start to the 2017 season, the Cardinals fanbase is confident he will turn it around. With newly acquired Dexter Fowler struggling, he might need to do so, sooner rather than later.
Winner? Cardinals
While Piscotty isn’t perfect (who is?), he has shown signs of being a very effective ballplayer. He might not turn out to be the clean-up power hitter some have expected, but he has the chance to be a major contributor with the bat and blossom into an above-average fielder.
If you’re the Cardinals do you lock down Piscotty to a team-friendly deal or try to lock down the high potential Randal Grichuk? Gary says Grich, I say Piscotty…I see him as a player with a good ceiling, but a high floor.
