Focus shifts for Cards after Winter Meetings

SAN DIEGO -- Cardinals officials left the Winter Meetings on Thursday without any changes to their roster, but more information was gathered in their pursuit of offense and rotation help.

The Cardinals are taking things slow this offseason, believing that they don't have to chase one specific thing and hoping that their plans to improve the offense from within, as well as building off their pitching from 2019, will pay off with another National League Central title in 2020.

BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS

1) Left-handed bat: The Cardinals' primary goal this offseason is to improve the offense, and they'll mostly try to achieve that with the hitters they already have. But they were interested in understanding what the market was for left-handed bats -- and specifically left-handed outfielders -- this week. As the week rolled on, the conversations about offense slowed, and the Cardinals turned their focus to pitching. They'll continue to search for a valuable lefty bat as the offseason rolls on and the market shifts.

2) Starting pitcher: The Cardinals saw some of the top free agents sign this week, realizing that the market is moving rapidly. They were never expected to engage in talks about Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, but they are interested in the next tier of free agents -- Dallas Keuchel and Madison Bumgarner are two that seem likely to sign next. But with many different options on how to fill their rotation vacancy, the Cardinals prefer to be patient when searching for a starter. They still would like to see Carlos Mart¨ªnez return to the rotation, and they also have Daniel Ponce de Leon and Austin Gomber ready to compete for a rotation spot. But the Cardinals would like to add a pitcher to the rotation, and they're inquiring about both free agents and potential trades with other teams.

RULE 5 DRAFT

With a full 40-man roster, the Cardinals didn't select anyone in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday morning. They had protected Rule 5-eligible prospects Alvaro Seijas, Jake Woodford and Elehuris Montero by adding them to the 40-man, but the Cardinals also didn't lose any of their prospects in the Major League phase. Outfielder Conner Capel (the club's No. 24 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) and infielder Max Schrock (No. 30 prospect) were the top prospects eligible but will stay Cardinals. Schrock was with Triple-A Memphis in 2019, while Capel spent most of the year with Double-A Springfield.

Yet the Cardinals were busier during the Minor League phase of the Draft, adding three right-handed pitchers to their system:

RHP Jordan Brink: A hard-throwing starter with independent ball roots, Brink was selected from the Brewers' Rookie-level Arizona League roster. Cardinals director of baseball administration John Vuch compared Brink to John Brebbia, who was selected in the 2015 Rule 5 Draft after two years of independent ball. Like Brebbia, Brink is a fastball-slider pitcher with the ability to hit the upper 90s. Vuch said that at 26 years old, Brink has a chance at moving quickly through the system if he does well in 2020.

RHP Enrique Saldana: On the opposite side of the spectrum is Saldana, a 20-year-old reliever who was selected from Colorado's Dominican Summer League team. Saldana was signed as a shortstop but converted to pitching late last year. He throws around 91 mph, and the Cardinals are hoping that there's more in the tank as he matures.

RHP Jacob Bosiokovic: Also from the Rockies system came Bosiokovic, a 25-year-old reliever who just converted to pitching from first base/outfield this year. Bosiokovic spent the year in Class A Asheville and had a 4.54 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings. He throws around 92-95 mph with his fastball, and the Cardinals were impressed with his delivery and ability to stay in the strike zone as a recently converted pitcher.

"Minor League Rule 5, you're kind of throwing darts," Vuch said. "These guys all have something that makes them interesting. We've had success with conversion guys in the past [like Jason Motte, who converted from catcher to pitcher in 2006]. And we've had success with independent league guys [like Brebbia], so if you're going to throw a dart, at least go in the direction of guys that you've had luck with in the past."

The Cardinals did lose two Minor Leaguers in this phase of the Draft: catcher Brian O'Keefe and first baseman Dariel Gomez, who both went to the Mariners. O'Keefe spent six years in the Cardinals system and spent 2019 in Springfield, where he hit .229 with 40 RBIs and 13 home runs in 88 games. Gomez was signed in 2015 and hit .262 and slugged .416 this year in Class A Short Season with 27 RBIs and six home runs.

"Both those guys are really good guys, so I was happy for them to get opportunities somewhere else and maybe have a clearer path," Vuch said.

Vuch also confirmed that the Cardinals signed left-handed pitcher Rob Kaminsky to a Minor League deal, and he was on their Minor League roster for the Rule 5 Draft. Kaminsky was the left-hander who was sent to the Indians in 2015 for Brandon Moss. In 2019, Kaminsky had a 3.54 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 56 innings between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus.

GM'S BOTTOM LINE

"When you think about our team and how we performed last year, we are probably a little more bullish on what we're seeing than maybe how other people are looking at it. We feel like there are other opportunities that we can have a better understanding of. One of the takeaways for us is the finish line is not Thursday. What we're really trying to do is understand what these markets looks like." -- president of baseball operations John Mozeliak