All this Mitchell Report talk is getting a little old, so I thought it time for a little offseason exercise involving my beloved Redbirds. The Cubs and Astros have made significant moves to improve their clubs this winter and I expect the young Brewers ball club to be even better next season. That puts my Cards as probably the 4th best team in an improving division. Heck, if the Reds trade for Erik Bedard, we might only finish ahead of the Bucs in the NL Central. With our starting pitching in disarray and an aging roster, it’s looking like 2008 will be a repeat of 2007 or worse. So I decided I’d play GM John Mozeliak for a day and see what moves I’d make to try and improve the team. Here goes:

1. Trade Jim Edmonds. It’s been fun, Jimmy, and I love you to death. But if we can find somebody to take your $8 million dollar salary, I say we pull the trigger and let the Colby Rasmus era begin in 2008. Jimmy’s been a gamer, but injuries have really taken a toll on his game. We have a glut of LH OFers, so dealing Edmonds to a team like the Padres (who are rumored to be interested) would allow us to operate from a position of strength.
2. Don’t trade Scott Rolen. So he and LaRussa won’t be exchanging Christmas cards this year. Big deal. Trading Rolen now would be a horrible move. His value has never been lower and we’d likely have to eat a hefty portion of his contract just to move him. I think we have to take the chance that he’s healthy next spring. We need his bat.
3. Don’t trade Anthony Reyes. Reyes never showed the potential last season that he flashed in the ’06 World Series. The team jerked him back and forth between AAA and the majors and the results were nasty. He just never seemed to get comfortable at the big league level last year. But kid’s got nasty stuff. I’d hate to see us trade away another Danny Haren by giving up on Reyes too soon. Plug him in the ’08 rotation and leave him alone. Please.
4. Sign Mark Prior to a 2-year, incentive-laden deal. Prior, cut loose by the Cubbies last week, is sure to have plenty of suitors in a pitching-depleted market. But he’s the only starter who has the upside of a true #1. Sure, he hasn’t been healthy in years, but we’re not going anywhere in ’08 anyway, so why not lock Prior up to a low-risk contract for the next year or two and see if we catch lightning in a bottle? Same thing happened with Carp a few years back. An ’09 rotation of Wainwright, Carpenter, Prior, Reyes and Mulder could get the job done. This one’s a long shot, but I like the move on potential alone.
5. Sign Kevin Mench as a RF platoon partner for Rick Ankiel. It looks as if the Cardinals are committing to Ankiel as their regular right fielder next season. Although he mashed in his late season call-up, I’m not convinced that Ankiel’s gonna stick. But combine him with Mench (who absolutely rakes lefties) and you’ve got the makings of a pretty good platoon.
6. Sign Josh Towers. Towers was cut loose by the Blue Jays a few days back and he makes all the sense in the world for us. He’s a veteran with a good K/BB ratio, the kind of guy that relies on his defense. Duncan’s made a living resurrecting the careers of guys like this. Sign him to a one-year deal and see what happens. Worse case scenario, he’s the ’08 version of Kip Wells.
7. Avoid Barry Bonds like the plague. For some reason, St. Louis keeps coming up as a possible destination where Bonds might play next year. This is beyond me. First, we’re already neck deep in lefty hitting outfielders with poor range. More importantly, I don’t want my team being saddled with Bonds’ baggage and legal troubles. Then again, with a lineup that’ll likely include Yadier Molina, Adam Kennedy and Cesar Izturis, we could use Barry’s on-base skill. Still, I say pass.