Cards Address Infield Issues with Punto
If the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals have one weakness, it would probably be the non-Albert Pujols part of their infield. David Freese appears to be a talented player at third base, but he only has 87 career MLB games and his ankle injury has him questionable for the start of Spring Training. There are legitimate questions about whether or not Ryan Theriot can play average defense at shortstop, and we already know that Skip Schumacher is little short of an unmitigated disaster at second. The Cardinals addressed all three of those positions in one fell swoop over the weekend, signing former Twins super-utility infielder Nick Punto to a one year, $750,000 contract.
Nick Punto is a completely bipolar player. His bat can be nearly impossible to watch: over the last two years, in just over 700 plate appearances, Punto’s slugging percentage is under .300. But there’s no doubt that he does a few things right. At the plate, he does manage to get on base, walking in just under 10% of his career plate appearances. Most importantly, though, Nick Punto has a reputation for flashing the leather from any position on the infield. Whether that’s due to tremendous natural talent, skill, or an infinitude of grit (sorry for your loss, Ron Gardenhire) is up for debate, but Punto’s glove has rated well across the infield (particularly at 3B).
The question is if the glove is good enough to mitigate Punto’s incompetence at the plate. The consensus among the defensive metrics featured at FanGraphs is that Punto has been a +30 to +35 fielder at third base in under two full seasons (285 starts) at the position. With those numbers and the .239/.324/.302 line projected by ZiPS, Punto would be an ideal, 1-1.5 WAR super-sub or even a passable (if undesirable) starter. But there’s both less optimism and less consensus when we look at the other positions. At second base, Punto’s career marks range from +1 to +13 in in about 1.25 seasons worth of data. At shortstop, the numbers are in complete disagreement, with a range from -10 to +27 in a similarly sized sample. Given his success at the other infield positions and his good reputation, I would be tempted to say that Punto rates average to slightly above, but it’s hard to say for sure.
The Cardinals appear to believe in the defensive ability, and not even the grit-powered heart of Tony LaRussa could be convinced that Punto can hit. The numbers seem to agree that Punto’s defense makes him a solid player. For the Cardinals, with a severe need at the positions, a scarcity on the market, and a precarious place near the top of what should be a tough division race, Punto is a great fit. Just as importantly, at $750,000, the price is definitely right.
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Nick Punto is the worst player in the history of baseball. Watching him play every day took years off my life. Good riddance, Nick Punto.
I wholeheartedly agree
then again him sliding headfirst into first base on hits to the outfield will be missed
he’s not the worst player…
That would be either Pedro Feliz or Aaron Miles, both of whom Punto is replacing…
This is the freaking truth. Can’t stand him.
The Cards must also believe in his CARP (Chemistry Above Replacement Player). We all know how low Brendan Ryan was in CARP.
heh, brilliant
In other news, Australians address flooding with a tampon.
The real life ‘Stars and Scrubs’ team. One injury to a star and they’re in big trouble.
even if they don’t get injured, the cards are in big trouble. here’s how you beat the cards: walk pujols and holliday, strike everyone else out, and score a single run off of wainwright or carpenter. i would recommend scoring that run by hitting a ball to anyone not named pujols. you can hit the ball to second, short, third, left field, ok maybe not CF, or the black hole that is berkman in RF (laughed so so hard). so basically don’t ground to first or fly to center and you automatically have a hit!
Berkman and Rasmus are pretty good, Freese (if healthy) has a high obp and can hit a few doubles. will admit Theriot, Schumaker, and Molina can’t hit for a lick.
first of all, there are no questions about if THeriot is a legitimate SS. He isnt. anybody who has ever watched him can tell you that. He has no arm and no lateral range.
I think even if Bengie Molina had a knee injury, he could beat out a theriot throw from the hole (which will surely be a 3 hopper)
and Punto might score out in your equation as a passable starter at 3rd. But can you imagine a lineup that had all 3 of punto, theriot, and schumaker? Where do you bat that many guys who likely wont have a 350 obp or a 350 slg?
Schumaker hits lead-off or second in front of Pujols because he’s “fastish” and really battles with 2-strikes.
[5] Molina
[6] Theriot
[7] Punto
[8] Schumaker
[9] Pitcher
Wow.
Rasmus
Berkman
Pujols
Holliday
Better put up some huge numbers.
Freese is the starting third baseman and a fine hitter.
Reds
(6)Gomes
(7)Renteria
(8)R. Hernandez
(9)Pitcher
Brewers
(6)Carlos Gomez
(7)Yuniesky Betancourt
(8)Wil Nieves
(9)Pitcher
wow. The good players every team better put up some huge numbers.
I know. I think Freese is actually going to be good at the plate and less “deer in headlights” in the field in 2011.
I was responding to the guy that asked us to imagine a starting lineup that consisted of Punto, Theriot, and Skip.
Counting the pitcher, StL basically has 4 players that “can’t hit good” (i.e., possible wOBA <.300). Replacing Freese with Punto and now half of the lineup fits that description.
They brought up a great utility infielder, Daniel Descalso, at the end of last year. He produced well enough and his minor league track record places him at least in the company of the other players mentioned above. Is he a viable may callup?
I would stop well short of calling Descalso “great,” but he is an upgrade on Schumaker defensively and may not be a downgrade on offense. Schumaker is not a lock for the 2B job out of spring training. Given TLR’s preference for gritty veterans, he has the inside track, but if he doesn’t hit and Descalso does, things could change.
As for Theriot at SS, remember that TLR and the Cardinals won a World Series with David Eckstein at short.
Gads. Sorry to follow myself up; I wish this board allowed people to edit their own posts.
Another point about Descalso is that he is a natural second baseman. They force-fit him into the utility role last year because they were having flat tires all over the place in that role (Lopez, Feliz, Miles) and needed to paper over the situation at third, where their top three(!) players on the original depth chart either got hurt or cratered. But utilityman isn’t really the role he’s best suited for.
David Eckstein was a much better player than Ryan Theriot. While Mr. Gritty McGritterson himself has always been overrated, he actually did have value back when he got on base, still had speed and made up for a below average arm with good range.
According to Fangraphs, Theriot defensively has been worth five runs *above* average for his career–though he was four runs below average last year.
At B-Ref, Theriot’s glove grades out as basically dead average at short; it seems to me he was moved off the position by Chicago because of an exciting rookie talent’s emergence, rather than his own inability to handle the job.
As for Punto, of course his bat has been a wet noodle over the past two years. However, in 2008 he posted a .726 OPS, and in 2006 it was .725.
So there certainly is some plausible upside, even with the lumber. So, with the versatile plus glovework alone, Punto looks like a very good “glue” guy off the bench. And if he should revert to his ’08 or ’06 hitting level, he could start at 2nd, 3rd, or short and provide 2.5 to 3 wins. A tidy bargain indeed.
Cards are “in big trouble”? That’s an odd observation.
The rotation had the best ERA in the N.L., I believe, and the offense finished 6th in runs in a 16-team league–in spite of awful production from shortstop (.600 OPS), third base (.655) and the keystone (.671).
I’d expect at least two of those three spots will improve by 50+ Points, which should tack another 25-30 runs onto the team total.
Will Berkman be bad in RF? Almost certainly–and if he equals his second *worst* season at the plate, he’ll also raise the team’s OPS in RF by over 100 points (to .896, from .789).
“One injury to a star and they’re in big trouble.” If that star is Pujols, one of the most durable players of the past decade, then yeah, I couldn’t agree more. (Reminds me of back in the 1990’s that Bears fans, year after frustrating year, used to say “If Favre gets hurt, the Packers are in trouble!)
Or maybe Wainwright will get hurt–but you’re talking about a guy who’s been injured once in his professional career, and didn’t have a single start of 120+ pitches last season, if I’m not mistaken. So, just like the first baseman, Wainwright seems like one of MLB’s better bets to stay healthy. At least among star players.
I dunno. Vegas has St. Louis a modest division favorite. That feels about right.
Agree with you Bob.
Schumaker is lousy at second base. Otherwise the team is solid. Berkman will be god awful at defense but his bat should make up for it and he could be a 3 WAR player as long as he is on the field. Allen Craig and John Jay may not be good players but they are good as fourth and fifth outfielders. Punto can’t hit but plays good defense making him useful for $700,000.
Cards are the favorites according to the statistical projections I’ve seen. Brewers are a close second. Reds a bit further back.
skip is lousy at 2B (not his fault he is a credible CF – blame LaRussa for that)
Theriot is not average at SS and even if he were, he is still light years less talented than brendan ryan, so there is a steep defensive drop off there
Berkman was never a talented defensive OF and he is just older and less healthy now so that will be a big loss too. If he doesn’t bounce back significantly at the plate, that is an overall loss. As a cards fan I am hopeful he will bounce back but I still fear the defense is going to be really bad overall this year.
Perhaps if lance were to hit second and use his OB ability he would be quite useful but LaRussa plans on him 5th atm.
Matt is actually above average in LF BTW.
Oh and with TLR shipping people without grit away along with anyone he just doesn’t like, can Rasmus be long for St. Louis?
TLR is HoF but it is time he went somewhere else in my view
Skip sucks at CF
Skip is not a credible CF. He’s a mediocre corner outfielder but in CF he’s a disaster.
thought signing Punto was a pretty good move, since by acquiring Theriot and relegating Brendan Ryan to utility man, and then trading him for nothing, they needed to get a more gritty utility man, the new and improved Aaron Miles.
Title: “Cards Address Infield Issues with Punto”
Translation: “Cards Compound Infield Issues with Punto”
Descalso played 3b in college and has been playing 2b since joining the organization.