St. Louis Blues remove interim tag, name Drew Bannister head coach

The St. Louis Blues have removed the interim tag of Drew Bannister and have signed him to a two-year contract extension as head coach. Overall, in franchise history, Bannister will be the 27th head coach. Bannister, 50, took over as head coach after Craig Berube was fired on December 12, 2023. At the time the Blues were struggling and were 13-14-1 with 27 points. The Blues ended up 30-19-5 with 65 points. The Blues saw the power play and penalty kill both improve under Bannister. The Blues also improved by 11 points from 2022-2023.

It should be interesting to see what Bannister can do as a full-time head coach. 

Bannister has had a lot of success as an AHL head coach. With the Springfield Thunderbirds, Bannister led them to a record of 93-58-19 in 3 seasons. In 2021-2022, the Thunderbirds reached the Calder Cup Finals under Bannister. 

Now it's up to Blues general manager Doug Armstrong to work on improving the roster. 

St. Louis Cardinals 2024 Season Preview

 

Offseason additions: SP Sonny Gray, SP Lance Lynn, SP Kyle Gibson, SP Victor Santos, RHP Keynan Middleton, RHP Andrew Kittredge, RHP Riley O'Brien, RHP Ryan Fernandez, RHP Nick Robertson, RHP Josh James, SS Brandon Crawford, and 1B/DH Mastt Carpenter. 

Offseason subtractions: SP Adam Wainwright (retired), RHP Drew VerHagen, RHP Jake Woodford, RHP Guillermo Zuniga, RHP Casey Lawrence, RHP Jacob Barnes, LHP Andrew Suarez, C Andrew Knizner, OF Tyler O'Neill, OF Richie Palacios, OF Juan Yepez, and SS/2B Taylor Motter. 

Point team prediction: 85-88 wins (NL Central or one of the Wild Cards). Cardinals probably won't go far in the playoffs though, unless they upgrade the pitching staff at some point. I could see the Cardinals upgrading the pitching staff if they do well. The Cardinals will start the season with 6 players on the injured list SP Sonny Gray, SP Drew Rom, RHP Keynan Middleton, OF Lars Nootbaar, OF/2B/SS Tommy Edman, and OF Dylan Carlson. 

The Cardinals are coming off one of their worst seasons since 1990, when they were 70-92. 

A lot of that was because of starting pitchers not going deep enough and other teams scoring lots of runs right away. So, Oliver Marmol had to use his bullpen early a lot. That doesn't help a team. The Cardinals also didn't get many quality starts. The Cardinals only had 48 quality starts last season. If you count the Cardinals starting rotation once Gray is healthy, last season that would have been a total of 65 quality starts (66 if you count Thompson). What did the Cardinals do last season when they got a quality start? They actually had a winning record (33-15, with a .687 winning percentage). The Cardinals decided to re-tool their pitching and get guys who can get quality starts. 

Will it work? There's a chance it could and a chance it couldn't. But on paper they shouldn't lose 91 games like they did last season. The Cardinals also didn't have high leverage options in their bullpen last season, this season they do. O'Brien should be interesting to watch. Last season, O'Brien, 29, pitched the whole season in Triple-A Tacoma and was a PCL All-Star. O'Brien was 2-5 with a 2.29 ERA, 51 games, 3 starts, 15 saves, 55 innings, 86 strikeouts, and 31 walks. If O'Brien has figured something out, he could be a late bloomer, which the Cardinals have success at finding those types of players. 

On a side note, O'Brien's grandfather Johnny played for the Cardinals for 1 season (1958). 

Thompson also looks like he's improved too, if he has that could be a great thing. 

Lineup: 

LF Brendan Donovan, 1B Paul Goldschmidt, 2B Nolan Gorman, 3B Nolan Arenado, C Willson Contreras, RF Jordan Walker, DH Alec Burleson, SS Maysn Winn, and CF Victor Scott (could see Scott leading off at some point).

Bench:

Ivan Herrera, Matt Carpenter, Brandon Crawford, and Michael Siani.

Starting rotation:

Miles Mikolas, Zack Thompson, Lance Lynn, Steven Matz, and Kyle Gibson.

Bullpen: 

Ryan Helsey, Giovanny Gallegos, JoJo Romero, Matthew Liberatore, Andrew Kittredge, Andre Pallante, Riley O'Brien, and Ryan Fernandez. 

Fantasy Stud:

Nolan Arenado if he bounces back (which he should). 

Prospects to watch:

Victor Scott and Ryan Fernandez 

St. Louis Cardinals Extend Oliver Marmol

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed manager Oliver Marmol to a two-year contract extension, through 2026. Marmol, 37, was in his final contract year. Marmol had one of the worst seasons as a Cardinals manager since 1990 in 2023. The Cardinals were 71-91. In 1990, the Cardinals were 70-92. Not all of 2023 is because of Marmol. It's more on John Mozeliak. People knew the Cardinals needed to upgrade their pitching going into the 2023 season. 

Instead of upgrading the pitching, all Mozeliak does is sign Willson Contreras. Mozeliak thought that the pitching would be fine, and everyone would be able to repeat their seasons from 2022. The problem is that doesn't happen much in sports. Players will have seasons where they aren't as good for whatever reason. Injuries happened and the Cardinals didn't have the depth to cover innings. 

Overall, Marmol has managed 2 seasons in the MLB. Marmol has managed 324 games and has a record of 164-160 with a .506 winning percentage. In the playoffs, Marmol is 0-2. 

Marmol had his best season in 2022. That season, the Cardinals were 93-69 with a .574 winning percentage. The wins and winning percentage were both career highs for Marmol in his managerial career. 

The Cardinals knew they couldn't go into the season with Marmol as a lame duck. Especially when Marmol shouldn't be blamed for everything from 2023. It's more on Mozeliak than Marmol. To me, Marmol still could be fired if the team were to do badly. Mozeliak would probably be with him, if that happened. To me, Mozeliak should go first. I also think the Cardinals could have waited a few months before giving Marmol his contract extension. Like why not have them start the season out well and then give Marmol the contract extension? Wouldn't that make a little more sense?
 

Still Sunny in St. Louis; Blues sign Oskar Sundqvist to contract extension

 

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed center Oskar Sundqvist to a two-year contract extension, worth $3 million. Sundqvist, 29, currently has played 62 games with 6 goals, 15 assists, 21 points, and -5 in 2023-2024. 

Sundqvist has won the Stanley Cup 2 times: (2015-2016, and 2018-2019). 

Sundqvist had his best season in 2018-2019. That season, Sundqvist played 74 games with 14 goals, 17 assists, 31 points, and a -1. The games, goals, and points were all career highs for Sundqvist. 

In 2022-2023, combined between the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild, Sundqvist had a career high 18 assists. 

Overall, Sundqvist is currently in his 9th NHL season. Sundqvist has played 417 games with 56 goals, 88 assists, 144 points, and a -15. In the playoffs, Sundqvist has played 37 games with 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points, and a plus 3. 

It's nice to see Sundqvist earn himself a contract extension. Sundqvist loves St. Louis a lot. 

St. Louis Cardinals Sign Brandon Crawford

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed shortstop Brandon Crawford to a one-year contract, worth $2 million. Crawford, 37, hit .194 with 31 runs, 55 hits, 11 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs, 38 RBI's, 3 stolen bases, and 28 walks with the San Francisco Giants in 2023. 

Crawford helped the Giants in the World Series 2 times: (2012, and 2014). Crawford has been an All-Star 3 times: (2015, 2018, and 2021). Crawford won a Silver Slugger Award in 2015. Crawford has also won the Gold Glove Award 4 times: (2015, 2016, 2017, and 2021). 

Crawford has his best season in 2021. That season, Crawford hit .298 with 79 runs, 144 hits, 30 doubles, 3 triples, 24 home runs, 90 RBI's, 11 stolen bases, and 56 walks. The batting average, runs, hits, home runs, RBI's, and stolen bases were all career highs for Crawford. 

In 2015, Crawford had a career high 33 doubles. Crawford had career highs in both triples (11) and walks (57) in 2016. 

To make room for Crawford on the 40-man roster, the Cardinals have designated second baseman/third baseman Buddy Kennedy for assignment.

Overall, Crawford has played 13 seasons in the MLB. Crawford has played 1,654 games with 669 runs, 1,392 hits, 290 doubles, 44 triples, 146 home runs, 744 RBI's, 47 stolen bases, 536 walks, and a .250 batting average. 

It will be interesting to see if Crawford has anything left in him. I think if healthy, Crawford could be a good backup for the Cardinals. Crawford should also be able to help Masyn Winn, too. 

 

St. Louis Cardinals Sign Keynan Middleton

 

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed RHP Keynan Middleton to a one-year contract, worth $6 million. The contract also includes a team option for 2025, worth $5 million or a $1 million buyout. Middleton, 30, was 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA, 51 games, 5 holds, 2 saves, 50.2 innings, 64 strikeouts, and 23 walks combined between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees in 2023. The strikeouts were a career high for Middleton. The ERA was also a career best for Middleton. 

Middleton had his best season in 2017, with the Los Angeles Angels. That season, Middleton was 6-1 with a 3.86 ERA, 64 games, 10 holds, 3 saves, 58.1 innings, 63 strikeouts, and 18 walks. The wins, games, holds, and innings were all career highs for Middleton. In 2018, Middleton had a career high 6 saves. 

To make room for Middleton on the roster, the Cardinals have designated RHP Guillermo Zuniga for assignment.

Overall, Middleton has played 7 seasons in the MLB. Middleton is 10-8 with a 3.84 ERA, 205 games, 1 start, 23 holds, 15 saves, 194.1 innings, 199 strikeouts, 85 walks, and a whip of 1.34. 

Middleton should be a good addition for the Cardinals bullpen. It's also good that the contract is for one-year, because the Cardinals haven't had much success lately when they give a long-term contract to a free agent reliever. Middleton is reunited with former White Sox teammate starting pitcher Lance Lynn. 

My guess is the Cardinals are probably done with signings after Middleton, but it would be nice if they added one more bullpen arm or another good starting pitcher. If I had to rate the Cardinals offseason moves, I'd give them a B- overall. On paper, the pitching looks improved. 

St. Louis Cardinals re-sign Tommy Edman

The St. Louis Cardinals have re-signed infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman to a two-year contract extension, worth $16.5 million. The contract buys out the rest of Edman's arbitration years. Edman can become a free agent after the 2026 season. Edman, 28, hit .248 with 69 runs, 119 hits, 25 doubles, 4 triples, 13 home runs, 47 RBI's, 27 stolen bases, and 35 walks in 2023. 

In 2021, Edman won a Gold Glove Award. 

Edman had his best season in 2022. That season, Edman hit .265 with 95 runs, 153 hits, 31 doubles, 4 triples, 13 home runs, 57 RBI's, 32 stolen bases, and 46 walks. The runs, home runs, RBI's, stolen bases, and walks were all career highs for Edman. In 2021, Edman had career highs in both hits (168) and doubles (41). Edman had a career high 7 triples in 2019.

Overall, Edman has played 5 seasons in the MLB. Edman has played 596 games with 343 runs, 590 hits, 121 doubles, 19 triples, 53 home runs, 222 RBI's, 106 stolen bases, 151 walks, and a .265 batting average. 

The contract should be good for both sides. It's nice to see the Cardinals and Edman avoid arbitration while rewarding Edman.