Carpenter Passes Final Test to Return

[Giantmetfan07]

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[quote]"Righthander Chris Carpenter, the likely Opening Day starter for the Cardinals, threw what he estimated to be some 60 pitches this morning as some young Cardinals hitters stood in against him. He pronounced his strained left hamstring fit enough for him to be able to take his normal turn five days from now at Lakeland, Fla., against the Detroit Tigers.

Carpenter, who never had had a hamstring injury, was hurt on March 1 and hasn't pitched competitively since then. His session was an eventful one today.

First, Carpenter was thrownig into the wind which altered the control of his sinker. Second, pitching coach Dave Duncan, standing on a ledge behind the batting practice screen, took a Tony Cruz foul tip off his nose.

The contact knocked Duncan back a bit but the only damage was a mark on the nose. Duncan was driven to the clubhouse on a cart but he said X-rays were not needed."

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[font="Arial][url="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal-beat/article_6e064bfc-4bfc-11e0-87b3-00127992bc8b.html"]St. Louis Post-Dispatch[/url][/font]

I still believe strongly that Carpenter will be traded at some point this season. It'll help a team like the Yankees who could use a veteran in the rotation and it'll give St. Louis a little more financial flexibility moving forward, especially in trying to retain Pujols.

Him being healthy right away and getting back out there help the Cardinals out a little in trying to shop him.

 

[Elite]

Not a lot of team are gonna wanna take on his salary, hopefully the Yankees do, I honestly think getting him would put us right back with the Phils and Sox

 

[elcheato]

Chris Carpenter is not getting traded.. They're not rebuilding, they have the money.

 

[Phil The Thrill]

It would put the Yankees on par with our rotation for this season and maybe next, but with Carpenter being 35, it would go back to being the same as before, expect for the fact the Yankees would give up a noteworthy prospects.

 

[Elite]

Chris Carpenter is not getting traded.. They're not rebuilding, they have the money.

They're not winning this season and trading Carp frees up the money to lock up Pujols, it couldn't be a more perfect situation for them.

 

[elcheato]

They have enough money to keep Pujols, they just don't want to spend 30 million dollars per year on one player..

 

[Elite]

Because they can't afford to. They can't afford to have 3 players make up more than half their salary

 

[elcheato]

They're a big market team now.. If they wanted to give him 30 million, they could. They just don't want to because it's stupid to give one guy all that money.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Exactly what proves they're a big market team?

Its a little sumtin called financial flexibility. Just about every team in the MLB has a budget. A line they can't cross. The Cardinals have one.

They don't need to free up his contract to sign Pujols, that is correct. But it would make it easier for them to resign other pieces around the team, especially younger players. You dump his contract on a team that can afford it, like the Yankees for example, and you get at least 2 solid prospects in return.

 

[cruzg24]

Albert Pujols or Chris Carpenter, it comes down to that. You cant have both.

 

[STLZACH]

Albert Pujols or Chris Carpenter, it comes down to that. You cant have both.

oh yes we can.

 

[cruzg24]

oh yes we can.

lol, yea and at a cost to the rest of the team. This isnt the Yankees, Red Sox, or Mets here. They cant lock up about a third of their payroll on 2 players, thats not how the Cardinals do business. And if they did, they would be settling for mediocrity for a long time.

 

[The Guid]

But what if they keep him, sign Pujols, and then shop Carpenter when Wainwright is healthy next season

 

[Elite]

Because Carpenter expires after this year