Christmas came early for the Cardinals’ pitching staff. The addition of free agent Mike Leake rounded out the starting rotation for 2016 and underscored the franchise’s long-term commitment to pitching.
But what about a promising run producer for the middle of the batting order? Apparently Santa couldn’t fit one of those on the back of his sleigh.
So Mike Matheny will have to piece together a line-up with various No. 2 and No. 6 hitters while waiting for the franchise to develop more middle-of-the-order offensive heft. That challenge became more acute after the Jason Heyward defection.
The Cardinals won’t use the Astros-Cubs’ blueprint, ditching proven players for prospects, tanking multiple seasons to gain high draft picks like Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber.