[https://twitter.com/katiejwoo/status/1697045403105952034](https://twitter.com/katiejwoo/status/1697045403105952034)
I love Edman. He is one of my favorite Cardinals. But his role next year is pretty fuzzy in my opinion. Ideally we will start the season with Winn at SS and Gorman at 2B. That would seem to leave Edman as a super-sub, but we also have Donovan filling that role. What do you think?
In the Athletic article, Katie Woo argues that Edman may be best fit as the starting CF in 2024. He has been a below average hitter 3 out of 5 seasons, and only slightly above average in another (2022). Is Edman good enough to be a starting CF for a team that is supposedly going to contend?
Our OF is turning into a dumpster fire, with O’Neill and Carlson not showing any growth. Nootbaar is probably our best OF at this point but his injuries have been concerning this year. Walker needs to be on the field to hit and develop, but he is probably going to end up at 1B / DH after Goldie is gone.
Woo raises the possibility that Edman gets traded away, probably as part of a package for a starting pitcher. I would hate to see him go, but we desperately need SP. Thoughts?
12 comments
noodles can be a core player but only if he is playing 2nd
I’m leaning no. His arm is not good enough for 150 games in CF. His bat, sans Tuesday and Wednesday, isn’t as good as in the past. He will cost more. He can be a super sub and PH with a chance to play his way into the lineup in 24, or trade bait, but his value is as described.
He brings more to the table than batting average. If Oli the idiot had him stealing more and with his defense, his WAR would be north of 4 instead of under 2. You can’t fix stupid.
No I think Donny is more valuable at this point, Edman should be part of a trade package for a SP as much as it pains me to say it.
I don’t know how anybody expects our rotation to get better if we don’t have worthwhile trade pieces, we can’t keep everyone ya know
No. Because Gorman needs to play second.
If you liked having one of the worst defenses in the league in the 2023, you’d love a -30 OAA team that doesn’t have Tommy edman
Anybody who wants the Cardinals to trade Tommy Edman, regardless of reason, is a fool.
The modern game has significant appreciation for the super-utility. Ben Zobrist was kind of the exemplar here, and the Rays in many ways can be thought of as a team built on the concept turned up to 11 — a few years ago they literally had 130 different starting lineups in the season.
This is the evolution of the game as the DH spot moved away from pure hitters who couldn’t go anything else, a la Edgar Martinez, and started becoming half-days off for field players.
Edman is clearly this team’s Zobrist. Donovan also shaping in to that mold, as well.
I guess I truly don’t see why they can’t be more Rays-like and leverage the talent of both of them, and let everyone know that until you earn 150 starts at a position like an Arenado that everyone should expect 120-ish starts and expect to be swapped in an out both for matchups and for rest AND to keep the bench players getting regular reps so that they aren’t just cold when needed. The days of the core starting 8 all getting 150+ starts a year I think are mostly gone.
I’d say yes. Edman is such a versatile player who is great defensively. An asset to any team especially a contender
Are we 100% certain that Winn is not starting next season in AAA again?
I think people are making a huge leap assuming Winn is going to be the everyday SS. Right now he looks like a bench player or like he may be back in AAA.