Glaus Injury Freese Up Opportunity for Prospects
The general pool of power at third base took a hit recently for Fantasy Leagues when it was announced St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus could miss the first couple of months of the 2009 season due to shoulder surgery. The Cardinals’ options to replace Glaus for the first few months of the season include prospects David Freese and Brian Barden.
Freese was originally obtained by the Cardinals from the Padres in December 2007 for Jim Edmonds. At the time, Freese had just finished up a full season in High-A ball at the age of 24. He hit .302/.400/.489 with an ISO of .187. The third baseman was old for the league and was playing in a very good hitter’s park.
Once in the Cardinals organization, Freese skipped Double-A and began the year in Triple-A, which was certainly a large jump. The 25-year-old had a modest first three months in the league and held his own. The final two months tell the story, though. Freese hit .378/.419/.694 in July and .337/.389/.596 in August. His final line of the season was .306/.361/.550 with an ISO of .244 in 464 at-bats. On the downside, Freese’s rates regressed – but not too badly. His walk rate dropped from 12.2 BB% to 7.8 BB% and his strikeout rate went from 19.7 K% to 23.9 K%.
Barden would seemingly have a better shot at securing the temporary third-base gig because he actually has some big league experience. However, he has a lower ceiling overall and simply has not preformed well in limited MLB experience, with a line of .182/. 217/.205 in 44 at-bats. He does, though, have a career minor league line of .294/.351/.445 in seven seasons. The 27-year-old is better suited to a utility role and emergency call-up for short periods.
Whomever replaces Glaus for April and possibly May, will have smaller than expected shoes to fill – when looking at the incumbent’s output from last season. Glaus hit just three home runs in the first two months with 18 runs scored, 33 RBI and a batting average around .260.
Barden is certainly not a Fantasy option, and Freese probably is not either unless you’re playing in a deep singles league and he is guaranteed the starting role (which he’s not at this point). Glaus is a player you’ll want to monitor and grab once he’s healthy – unless you already have a better option at third.
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The temporary job is Freese’s to lose, but the Walrus at least deserves mention. If he wins the job this spring, which I will admit is unlikely, Glaus may be out of a job. I’m taking a late-round flier on him. He has a major league ready bat, and a pre-July struggle by the Cardinals could put Glaus and his expiring contract on the block.
What about Brett Wallace? I thought for sure he would get a shot before Freese would. I guess we will have to wait until spring training.
See: previous post.
I think Wallace will be given every chance to win the job this spring, but I do believe the Cardinals would prefer Freese start the season at third to avoid the possibility that Wallace exceeds 86 days of service and ends up as a “Super Two”.
When rosters expand on September 1st, Wallace will accumulate 34 days of service time. Glaus is out at least a month, probably more with his history. If Wallace accumulates more than 52 days at the start of the season and is sent down when Glaus returns, the Cardinals just cost themselves a considerable amount of money. That is assuming Wallace starts 2010 at third and that they don’t agree to a long-term deal before he hits arbitration in 2012.
If Wallace comes in and rakes while playing passable defense, the Cardinals can trade Glaus and all this becomes moot.
Wallace is an advanced bat, but I’d still like to see him get a little more seasoning in the minors – especially on the defensive side of things. I doubt he can handle third base in the Majors… yet. Wallace is also not on the 40-man roster and you don’t want to start buring through his options too early. Barden is on it. Freese is not, but he’s played a full year at Triple-A and will have to be added after the 2009 season anyway.
with the DFA of Adam Kennedy, barden is more likely to catch time at 2b this year, if his bat is up to the task.
Freese is a good bet. Allen Craig could be a sleeper in spring training. Wallace would really have to knock the cover off the ball to make it this year. Mather gets talked about but he had only a couple innings at 3b in the minors back in 2005. Brendan Ryan is a name that’s been tossed around but unlikely — like Barden, if his bat plays, he’ll be at 2b.
Perhaps the Cubs should scoop up Kennedy to further fortify their already stellar middle infield… Theriot, Fontenot, Miles, and Kennedy would rival the production of Rollins and Utley, according to my projections. That is, if Utley misses the entire season.