PadsFS posted this on the general thread, but it deserves its own subject as it is a legitimate rumor.

PadsFS wrote:

Goold talking about the Cardinals interest in Manny Parra:

Manny Parra, who was recently non-tendered by the Milwaukee Brewers, has been presented to teams as a reliever. The Cardinals have inquired about the lefty, according to a source with knowledge of the contact.


This is a great example of an out-of-the-box homerun in my opinion:

Elite strikeout pitcher - check

Parra is 6'3, 31 year old lefty whose been in our division for years (Brewers)

He is still averaging 92-93 MPH on his fastball and still has a K/9 rate of 9.4 despite missing all of 2011. (BB/9 rate sucks though, checking in at 5.4/9

good against lefties - check

As a reliever in 2012, Parra held left-handed batters to a .229 average while right-handed hitters crushed him a majority of the time for a .296 average.

Undervalued due to injury recovery - check

His elbow surgery in August of 2011 was designed to remove a bone spur from Parra's left elbow.

Ideally, we would add both Parra and Burnett.

So in summary you think its better to add a parra lefties just to be on the safe side.

I think the list of players who the Cards are NOT rumored to be interested in might just be the shorter of the two lists. These Winter Meetings used to be a gas with teams trading left and right with each other. Now days they are fairly boring.

Parra's walk rate is abominable.  Bleh.

pugsleyaddams wrote: I think the list of players who the Cards are NOT rumored to be interested in might just be the shorter of the two lists. These Winter Meetings used to be a gas with teams trading left and right with each other. Now days they are fairly boring.

Well Miami blew their load a little early. And Kenny Williams won't strike until the final hour.

I say avoid. The only way I like Parra is on a minor league deal with a ST invite. He should be able to do better than that.

Manny is rumored to be a bit of a flake but he is a lefty so that is understandable. He has never done anything odd on the field to my knowledge though. I think his rep may stem from one incident with Prince years ago. I actually like this idea. Parra is one of those guys that you wonder how good he could be if he ever puts it all together. He does have a problem with control for periods every season it seems. Talented guy so i really like at least a minor league contract with a ST invite if you could get him for that. I would be o.k with a ML contract for one year too as long as it is low risk.

stlcards5129 wrote: I say avoid. The only way I like Parra is on a minor league deal with a ST invite. He should be able to do better than that.

Considering last year we gave Linebrink a $0.85M deal, Romero a $0.75M deal, and Fuentes a $0.50M deal, I am confortable giving Parra a $1M or so on a ML deal considering the track record.

Also, 2011 saw Tallet get $0.5M, Batista get $0.75M, Miller get $1.5M, and Franklin gat $3.25M.

MacDougal was another one in 2010.

All these guys got released or something similar.

PadsFS wrote:

stlcards5129 wrote: I say avoid. The only way I like Parra is on a minor league deal with a ST invite. He should be able to do better than that.

Considering last year we gave Linebrink a $0.85M deal, Romero a $0.75M deal, and Fuentes a $0.50M deal, I am confortable giving Parra a $1M or so on a ML deal considering the track record.

Also, 2011 saw Tallet get $0.5M, Batista get $0.75M, Miller get $1.5M, and Franklin gat $3.25M.

MacDougal was another one in 2010.

All these guys got released or something similar.

So you're saying we have made a bunch of mistakes in the past with relief pitchers, so why not do it again?  I think Einstein said something once about insanity.......

PadsFS wrote:

stlcards5129 wrote: I say avoid. The only way I like Parra is on a minor league deal with a ST invite. He should be able to do better than that.

Considering last year we gave Linebrink a $0.85M deal, Romero a $0.75M deal, and Fuentes a $0.50M deal, I am confortable giving Parra a $1M or so on a ML deal considering the track record.

Also, 2011 saw Tallet get $0.5M, Batista get $0.75M, Miller get $1.5M, and Franklin gat $3.25M.

MacDougal was another one in 2010.

All these guys got released or something similar.

I don't really like that thinking as a reason to make a move. Don't get me wrong, I like that they've been quick to toss out the ineffective relievers regardless of salary. I just don't think it's a reason to sign a guy. The truth is the guy hasn't demonstrated that he's capable of consistently throwing strikes in the bigs. I know he was once a top prospect so there's talent there, but if he can't throw strikes I don't see how he's an upgrade over Rzcep or Freeman. If the Cards are going to spend money on a lefty I'd rather see them buy intelligently rather than cheaply. That being said I still like him on a Minor league deal.

I would much prefer Choate, Gorzelany, or Gonzales.

UncleDenny wrote: I would much prefer Choate, Gorzelany, or Gonzales.

You got one of your preferences.

Link

stlcards5129 wrote:

UncleDenny wrote: I would much prefer Choate, Gorzelany, or Gonzales.

You got one of your preferences.

Link

Choate was my #3 after Burnett and Gonzalez.

crdswmn wrote:

PadsFS wrote:

stlcards5129 wrote: I say avoid. The only way I like Parra is on a minor league deal with a ST invite. He should be able to do better than that.

Considering last year we gave Linebrink a $0.85M deal, Romero a $0.75M deal, and Fuentes a $0.50M deal, I am confortable giving Parra a $1M or so on a ML deal considering the track record.

Also, 2011 saw Tallet get $0.5M, Batista get $0.75M, Miller get $1.5M, and Franklin gat $3.25M.

MacDougal was another one in 2010.

All these guys got released or something similar.

So you're saying we have made a bunch of mistakes in the past with relief pitchers, so why not do it again?  I think Einstein said something once about insanity.......

Hey those aren't my contracts!  I'm saying that Mozeliak has a history of handing ML jobs to relievers on $1-2M AAV contracts, not minor league deals.

I don't see too many lefty relievers being signed by anyone to minor-league deals; seems to me there's enough of a demand for them that they don't *have* to sign minor-league deals.

Righty relievers, OTOH, are a lot more common and as a result, some of them *do* have to take the minor league deal.

Good old fashioned supply and demand.