Which Cardinal Offseason Move Was The Best?

Over the period of the 2015 Offseason, the Cardinals have made a number of moves. Whether these moves were headline moves or under the radar, they will still make an impact in some way. Below, we will dive deeper into some of the Cardinals Offseason moves, and see which one will make the most impact.

Photo Credits: washingtontimes.com

One of the Cardinals first moves of the Offseason, was signing Brayan Pena. I think the signing of Pena can impact the team in numerous ways. Not only is Yadi injured at the moment, but he will defiantly need some time off during the season. I personally, had nothing against Tony Cruz, but Pena is a big upgrade in experience and leadership. Throughout this offseason, I have heard nothing but good things about Brayan, and how much of a friendly guy he is. I think this was a great signing for the Cardinals.

Photo Credits: stltoday.com

The next few moves happened to be getting rid/letting go of Tony Cruz, Peter Bourjos, and Pete Kozma. I fully respect these guys and all that they did with the Cardinals, but it seemed that a lot of times they were just taking up a roster spot. I think these were defiantly under the radar moves, but for the Cardinals, good moves. The Cruz move, allows Pena to be the primary backup Catcher for the Cardinals. The Bourjos move, allows Pham, Piscotty, Holliday, and Grichuk to take over as the primary Outfielders. And the Kozma move, just makes a lot of people happy. Just kidding. Kozma only had one really good moment, and that was against the Nationals in the Playoffs. Other than that one moment, he never really did that good. With respect to all three of those players, I think them moving on, was for the better.

Photo Credits: stltoday.com

The first ‘headline’ move that that the Cardinals made was trading Jon Jay for Jedd Gyorko. At the time, it didn’t make a lot of since why the Cardinals would trade Jay, or why they totally needed Gyorko. Obviously, it wasn’t going to kill the team to have an extra 2B/SS, or get rid of  an extra OF. NOW, we know that it was a wonderful deal, to add Gyorko. With the injury to Peralta (click here to read more about the injury), Gyorko will get a chance to be the Cardinals primary SS for a while (click here to read more about Gyorko getting a chance at SS). At the time, the move wasn’t thought to be so great, but now, I rank it at one of the best of the offseason.

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After weeks and weeks of speculation on the Cardinals adding a Starting Pitcher, the Cardinals eventually signed Mike Leake. Signing a starter, was something I thought, really needed to be done, but other people didn’t think it was much of a necessity. With the loss of Lance Lynn to Tommy John Surgery and John Lackey to the Cubs, I think adding a starter was a great idea. Adding Leake to the rotation added the finishing touches, I think. Getting Wainwright back is huge, but the loss of inning eaters like Lackey and Lynn, we needed someone. Leake isn’t a No. 1 for the Cardinals, but will be a huge innings eater for a team that needs it. This move isn’t as big as the Gyorko trade, but was a great move.

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The last move that the Cardinals really made, was signing Korean Relief Pitcher, Seung-Hwan Oh. After losing Belisle and Choate (not that they were huge pieces, but they ate innings), adding a relief pitcher wasn’t a bad idea. Oh will likely play a setup role for the Cardinals and has the potential to make a big impact.

Photo Credits: foxsports.com

I think that he best move of the Cardinals Offseason, was trading Jon Jay for Jedd Gyorko. Like I said before, at that moment it didn’t seem that big, but after the injury to Peralta, it could be huge.

Which move do you think was best?

Thanks for reading.

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