The St. Louis Cardinals should resign Marcell Ozuna if he will take a short-term deal

The Major League Baseball talent market has shifted dramatically in the past three days and it could create some opportunities for the St. Louis Cardinals if the front office is really interested in being “opportunistic.”

First, I’ve mentioned a couple times in the last month that if predictions that St. Louis cleanup hitter and left fielder Marcell Ozuna will command a contract of more than $100 million over at least five years, it would make more sense to find a replacement who could be inked to a shorter pact.

A rumored deal that Ozuna had such a deal in hand from the Chicago White Sox has been revealed to be false. MLB Trade Rumors projects that Ozuna might only get three years at a total of about $45 million.

Meanwhile, my favorite alternative, Josh Donaldson, has bucked the projection that he could be had for a two or three year deal. Despite the fact that he’s 34 years old — five years older than Ozuna — he’s demanding four seasons of commitment.

If all of that is true, the ball’s back in the Ozuna court. The appeal of Donaldson to St. Louis would be that he’d demand less years since he was older. If that’s not the case, might as well stick with Ozuna. But that doesn’t do anything to help the crowded Cardinals outfield situation, nor does it resolve the fact that the Cardinals are weak defensively at third base with Matt Carpenter playing there every day.

Cardinals should trade for David Price

While the Cardinals continue to insist that they’re holding the line on payroll, rumors persist that the team is interested in former San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, one of the best lefty pitchers in the game over the past decade. Meanwhile, talk surfaced Tuesday that the Boston Red Sox are intently shopping another great southpaw, David Price, in effort to cut payroll.

Bumgarner reportedly wants at least five years and more than of $100 million — which he’ll easily get since Zach Wheeler was able to secure $118 million over five seasons from the Philadelphia Phillies. Wouldn’t it make more sense to make a trade with Boston for Price, whom the Cardinals thought they’d signed a few years back before Boston swooped in to spoil the party?

Price is owed less than half of what it would take to sign Bumgarner. He’s owed $96 million over three years. But Boston is resigned to the fact that it’s going to have to pay part of the freight to send away the big lefty. If the Cardinals could get three years of Price for $60 million, that would be a much more sensible deal. Price has struggled with injuries during the past couple of years. But let’s not pretend that Bumgarner hasn’t slowed down a notch or three with all the miles on his arm.

I don’t see St. Louis spending big money for pitching. But if it did, Price makes more sense than getting in a bidding war for Bumgarner. While it might be satisfying to say let’s watch the Red Sox lie in the bed they made when they overpaid for Price, that’s not realistic. Someone will take him off Boston’s hands. It might as well be the Cardinals.

Will St. Louis target Anthony Rendon?

The Cardinals say the budget doesn’t really matter if a player who makes sense falls into their lap. I hate to even bring this up because it’s never going to happen. But, with Donaldson floating around on the third base market, we’re not hearing a whole lot about the best player out there, Anthony Rendon.

The latest talk is that Rendon is seeking seven years and could get $270 million. That’s a ton of money, there’s no denying it. But it’s less than the totals Manny Machado and Bryce Harper got last year and, in many ways, Rendon is superior to both those players. He’s a much better glove than Harper and a much more important position. And he isn’t the clubhouse headache Machado is with his bouts of laziness and his inexplicable erratic behavior that includes spiking opponents and starting shoving matches on the field.

Stick Rendon a third base and next to Paul Goldschmidt in the batting order and you’ve got something to build around for years.

Scott Wuerz

Belleville News-Democrat

Scott Wuerz has written “Cheap Seats,” a St. Louis Cardinals fan blog for the Belleville News-Democrat, since 2007. He is a former BND reporter who covered breaking news and education.