It’s that wonderful time of year again when we hear those magical words that makes every baseball fan grin from ear to ear: “pitchers and catchers report.” The time when baseball nuts come out of hibernation to track every last detail of what is going on with their team. This offseason was the one of the craziest in recent memory with players switching teams almost every day. The Cardinals have all but set their opening day roster with the exception of a few contested positions. One substantial position is the 5th starter in the rotation. General Manager John Mozeliak has gone on record saying that he would like to see Carlos Martinez take the helm. Something that could get in the way of this is the health of one Jaime Garcia. Cardinal pitching is in a logjam due to the fact that the bullpen is almost set and likewise with the rotation.
Last year, Martinez all but won the starting job by wholly out-performing Joe Kelly in spring training; only to have the job go to Kelly anyways based on experience. This year has a completely different feel to it in terms of whether or not there should be a competition at all. I definitely feel for Martinez and hope that he doesn’t get the short straw this time around. That being said, a couple of factors could point to Garcia making that 5th day start and it may not be a bad thing.
From a professional standpoint, Garcia has the experience advantage when it comes to knowing how to pitch a full season and keep a level head (at home anyway, not so much on the road.) He’s even trying to prove that he is the 5th starter with the odds against him right now as he showed in an interview with STLtoday.com‘s Derrick Goold. Jaime made a blunt statement that he’s “a starting pitcher” and that he can only control his own attitude and work ethic. He’s got a chip on his shoulder and it could lead to great results. Martinez is certainly a firecracker who lets things get to him sometimes and his lack of experience is a disadvantage. In his time as a starter, he looked antsy and erratic with his pitch location. This can easily be mended with maturity and the help of Yadi behind the plate.
The next factor isn’t necessarily a positive one–depending on how you look at it. Jaime Garcia is owed 9.3 million dollars for the 2015 season with two options worth 11 and 12 million dollars, respectively. That is a large chunk or change for a guy that gets hurt way too often to be counted on regularly. It is, however, too much money to pay a reliever in my honest opinion. So what is the best case scenario? The answer is not a popular one: start him and hope that he performs in order to trade him and eat some of his salary in return for a decent prospect. This makes C-Mart a reliever again for a short time, sorry buddy. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though because he’ll be ready for the day Garcia gets traded regardless.
Jaime Garcia isn’t a bad pitcher or else I wouldn’t be writing this article. I like the guy and he still has a good future ahead of him. Do I think it should be with St. Louis? No. Both sides need to move on with their eyes on the future. Garcia’s stuff is great and he’s a dominant pitcher at home; which means there’s a market for him if he can prove he’s healthy. The time he has left in St. Louis is still valuable and he can definitely still contribute in many ways. Let’s not forget he’s only a few seasons removed from this type of pitching:
Thank you all for reading! Length will be better next time I promise!
