Right.

That's still a thing.

Like, he's no threat to gun anybody and slow down anybody's base running against your, your team.

But, um, at the same time, you know, they said, "Hey, we're gonna give you a chance." And I-- You gotta remember, too, we are, uh, you know, just two months into this season.

Now, if this was, like, July and, and everything is still the same and you're still in contention for the wild card and pushing for the division, maybe you would see more drastic changes.

But, uh, uh, there's one thing that the Cardinals have been able to do, uh, h- it's been patience.

And, uh, I hate using Mo's word, dude.

Mm-hmm

That's true

...

Ari- Arizona's still hanging around there too.

So, uh, it's, um, it's g- it's gonna be tough.

I mean, honestly, what is going to help you guys is where the Cardinals might be by the time we all get to play each other finally.

We're playing the Pirates here, starting, uh, uh, you know, the, the, the beginning of this week.

And, uh, if you're able to take advantage of what we're offering right now on the field, that should do wonders for you guys.

I do, actually.

JJ Weather-holt.

Apr- April's been, been fun and entertaining.

Uh, we're, we're at the beginning of 17 games in 17 days, and we started at 0 and 3, getting swept by the Seattle Mariners, who all of a sudden their bats got real, real hot, and, uh, they, they look legit, uh, again.

I know that, uh, they had a tough start to the season.

But, um, you know, Cardinals, we know where we are, and we're, we're having fun, enjoying the new direction, which has given us, uh, a little bit of life so far this year.

Being above 500, it's been fun.

I don't know how much longer it's going to last.

That's true

And when we look at the rest of the divisions, at least within the National League, Is the door open for a repeat of three playoff teams from this division, or could they even get four? And, J.D., I'll start with

you.

Man, it's tough because you look at what's going on in the NL West with the Dodgers and the Padres.

That's true.

Arizona's still hanging around there, too.

So it's going to be tough.

I mean, honestly, what is going to help you guys is where the Cardinals might be By the time we all get to play each other, finally, we're playing the Pirates here, starting at the beginning of this week.

Do you guys remember 2011? No.

Tell us a little bit about his biggest strengths and why he was such a good Cardinal all these years.

The first thing that you'll notice about Donovan, which Colby kind of alluded to, is the versatility that he brings you.

He is a guy that no matter where you put him on the field, he doesn't hurt you.

Has won a gold glove as a utility guy before.

Can play second.

He can even play short if you really need him to.

Hopefully you don't need him to because the range isn't quite what... want there but he can play second he's played some first base if you need him to he can do the corner outfields haven't seen him in center field or catcher before but it doesn't mean he can't do it if you need him to he's just one of those guys it's like sure I'll put him on that's fine I'll put on the equipment but he's that guy that was never expected to be here You know, it wasn't like he was a top prospect when he got drafted.

yeah i think so by pipeline uh yeah i think so yeah

J.D., what are your thoughts on this?

Absolutely agree.

That was one of the most frustrating things about the front office for the Cardinals the last few years is that they wouldn't pick a lane, Sully.

They wouldn't go one way or the other.

They wouldn't spend enough to compete with the guys to be a playoff contender.

You go get Sonny Gray, and you follow it up with Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, and that's just not going to cut it.

You're, again, sitting right around that 500 mark, and it's not enough.

Sorry.

All right.

So start off.

You're going to get your hands on a future Hall of Famer.

All right.

There's something to be said about that.

It wasn't that long ago that he was still pulling in votes for the MVP.

So there's still some juice there.

So before we get to the players in our next segment that might be involved in this conversation, J.D., what do you think the Cardinals are going to be willing to do in order to make this happen? Would it be similar? to Sonny Gray? Would it be something else? Are you all stocked up on arms now? And how does the money work in this situation? What do you think?

So of the players who are gonna stay on the squad, um, who do you think are the best building blocks, and who do you think the best prospects are to, to look forward to?

Uh, well, Mason Wynn kind of took over.

I feel like the role that was supposed to be, like, the new face of the franchise coming up was supposed to be Jordan Walker.

He was supposed to be Batman, and Mason Wynn was gonna be Robin.

They're best friends off the field, and they were coming up together.

And then Jordan Walker has had his issues, which he's working on, once again this offseason, and is hopefully unlocking, uh, all of that ability that made him a first-round pick and one of the, the top hitting prospects in baseball just a couple of years ago.

But Mason Wynn has, his game has continued to rise.

Try to tell me that's not, that's a private eye show from the '80s.

What are you looking at here, J.D.? Again, we talked about how it's quiet to start this offseason, but moving forward here.

Yeah, the Cardinals are going to move some pieces.

And it's tough because a couple of the guys they want to move got no trade clauses, so they have the last say in this whole thing.

But the idea is that Nolan Arenado has played his last game with the Cardinals, even had the little send-off at the end of the season at Busch Stadium where they pulled him off the field and he said goodbye.

So it'd be really awkward if he was back again this year.

Sonny Gray is a name that I think a lot of teams are going to be interested in.

He's very expensive, but they're going to be shopping him.

Who do you see?