2019 MLB Season: Rating the NL Central general managers

2019 MLB Season: The NL Central’s best GM

Mike Girsch (and John Mozeliak), St. Louis Cardinals

Because it involved a perennial All-Star, the December trade that brought Paul Goldschmidt to the middle of the Cardinal order is widely viewed as the centerpiece move in the Girsch-Mozeliak effort to restore the Cardinals at a place of prominence in the NL Central.

Following a disappointing first couple of months, Goldschmidt did piece together a representative, if not an exceptional season. He batted .260 – that’s 30 points off his career average – but delivered 34 home runs and 97 RBIs.

Statistically, however, the more substantive contributions involved a couple of farm system products. Following a spasmodic baptism in the bullpen last season, Dakota Hudson earned a full-time rotation spot this spring and turned in a 16-7 record in 32 starts. That translated to a +0.8 WAA.

Then in June, the Cardinals summoned Tommy Edman from Triple-A to take over third base for a slumping Matt Carpenter. Edman batted .304 and lit a fuse under the sometimes balky Cardinal offense, his performance translating to 2.7 WAA.  Were it not for Pete Alonso, a plausible case could be made for Edman as National League Rookie of The Year.

Most of the rest of what Girsch/Mozeliak did qualified as ordinary. Setting aside Goldschmidt, Hudson, and Edman, the Cardinals used a modest 13 players they had obtained in one fashion or another since the end of the 2018 season. None of those 13 produced a WAA better than +0.5 or worse than -0.7.

Short-term acquisitions: +0.5

Short-term trade losses: -0.9

Short-term free agent signings: -0.3

Short-term free agent losses: +1.5

Short-term rookie production: +3.7

Short-term total: +4.5