St. Louis Cardinals: Trevor Rosenthal planning showcase
Former St. Louis Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal is planning a showcase this fall. What could he show before teams hit official free agency?
Former All-Star closer Trevor Rosenthal did not get a contract last season after being a free agent following Tommy John surgery in the middle of the St. Louis Cardinals 2017 season. As he’s built strength through the regular season, he’ll now be ready for a showcase in October, according to Rosenthal’s own Twitter.
The crazy part is that Rosenthal was arguably having the best season of his career in 2017 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He had scrapped his curve in favor of his improved cutter/slider hybrid and saw his average velocity hit a career high of 98.4 MPH. He sported a career-high 37.6% strikeout rate in 2017 as well.
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Rosenthal hosting a showcase in October is wise, as he is eligible to sign at any time due to being a free agent after the 2017 season. That allows Rosenthal to speak with teams at a time when other players are waiting out the postseason, and if the showcase goes very well, Rosenthal could end up getting a very good contract, considering the fact that he’s still 28 and won’t be 29 until late May, making him the youngest reliever on the market.
With a fastball that eclipses triple digits and a tremendous pairing of an excellent offspeed pitch and a breaker, Rosenthal should be a guy that draws plenty of interest, likely signing a deal similar to the one that Greg Holland signed when he was coming off missing a year, though Rosenthal’s advanced stuff and age could give him a leg up in negotiating.
Wherever he ends up, Rosenthal will be an interesting piece that could set the reliever market early for the 2018-2019 free agent season, and with fairly big free agent names like Craig Kimbrel, Cody Allen, Kelvin Herrera, Jeurys Familia, Brad Brach, Adam Ottavino, Zach Britton, Andrew Miller, and more.
Interestingly, Rosenthal’s old team, the St. Louis Cardinals could end up being one of his primary bidders!