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Cardinals STL

201288–74 (0.543)Made Playoffs
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GM: John Mozeliak

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 2012, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$119M
Surplus $M
-4
Win %
0.543
TAB
+8.2
WAB
+3.8
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
44.6
Dead money %
29%
Depth Players
11.0
Dead WAR
-3.1

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

2012 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RYadier Molina136
RTony Cruz47
LBryan Anderson2

1B

RAllen Craig91
LMatt Carpenter44
LMatt Adams24
BLance Berkman23
LDaniel Descalso5
RYadier Molina3
RTony Cruz2
LBryan Anderson1
RSteven Hill1

2B

LDaniel Descalso96
LSkip Schumaker61
RRyan Jackson8
LMatt Carpenter5
RPete Kozma1

3B

RDavid Freese134
LMatt Carpenter33
LDaniel Descalso22

SS

BRafael Furcal120
LDaniel Descalso26
RPete Kozma25
RRyan Jackson1

LF

RMatt Holliday152
RShane Robinson15
LAdron Chambers10
RAllen Craig8
LMatt Carpenter7
LSkip Schumaker1
RTyler Greene⇄1

CF

LJon Jay116
RShane Robinson37
LSkip Schumaker15
LAdron Chambers10
BCarlos Beltrán9

RF

BCarlos Beltrán132
RAllen Craig23
LMatt Carpenter15
RShane Robinson11
LSkip Schumaker10
LAdron Chambers8
RTyler Greene⇄2

DH

BCarlos Beltrán3
RMatt Holliday2
RAllen Craig1

Starters

RAdam Wainwright4.0 WAR
LJaime Garcia3.2 WAR
RKyle Lohse3.0 WAR
RLance Lynn2.2 WAR
RJake Westbrook2.0 WAR
RJoe Kelly0.8 WAR
RShelby Miller0.6 WAR
RChris Carpenter0.1 WAR

Bullpen

★ RJason Motte42 sv
RMitchell Boggs34 h
REdward Mujica⇄30 h
LMarc Rzepczynski18 h
RVictor Marte9 h
RFernando Salas7 h
LBarret Browning4 h
LSam Freeman2 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 2011)

PlayerfWAR
Adam Wainwright4.0
Carlos Beltrán3.4
Joe Kelly0.8
Shelby Miller0.6
Edward Mujica0.6
Trevor Rosenthal0.2

Key subtractions (gone from 2011)

Player2011 fWAR
Albert Pujols3.9
Nick Punto1.7
Colby Rasmus1.0
Edwin Jackson0.9
Ryan Theriot0.2
Raul Valdes0.1

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Cardinals. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 2012; everyone else is shown as a 2012 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Yadier Molina 2012 +7.5 +76.7 7.0 +69.7 $0.9M 1.28× –
Adam Wainwright 2012 +4.0 +69.3 9.0 +60.3 $2.3M 2.19× –
Matt Holliday 2012 +4.6 +66.2 17.0 +49.2 $3.7M 1.79× –
Jaime García 2012 +3.2 +50.0 3.2 +46.7 $1.0M 1.96× –
David Freese 2012 +3.7 +37.5 0.5 +37.0 $0.1M 1.25× –
Jon Jay 2012 +2.9 +36.8 0.5 +36.2 $0.2M 1.60× –
Kyle Lohse 2012 +3.0 +47.7 11.9 +35.8 $3.9M 1.96× –
Carlos Beltrán 2012 +3.4 +43.1 13.0 +30.1 $3.9M 1.60× –
Lance Lynn 2012 +2.2 +26.5 0.5 +26.0 $0.2M 1.49× –
Jake Westbrook 2012 +2.0 +24.2 8.5 +15.7 $4.2M 1.49× –
Allen Craig 2012 +2.3 +15.0 0.5 +14.5 $0.2M 0.81× –
Matt Carpenter 2012 +1.5 +9.9 0.5 +9.4 $0.3M 0.81× –
Jason Motte 2012 +0.9 +9.8 1.9 +7.8 $2.1M 1.34× –
Joe Kelly 2012 +0.8 +6.2 0.3 +5.9 $0.4M 1.02× –
Edward Mujica↔ 2012 +0.6 +6.3 0.7 +5.7 $1.1M 1.34× –
Pete Kozma 2012 +1.1 +5.2 0.5 +4.7 $0.5M 0.61× –
Shane Robinson 2012 +0.5 +3.6 0.5 +3.1 $0.9M 0.83× –
Shelby Miller 2012 +0.6 +3.3 0.5 +2.8 $0.8M 0.67× Free Agent · 2026–2027 · $1.2M AAV
Mitchell Boggs 2012 +0.6 +3.0 0.5 +2.5 $0.9M 0.67× –
Skip Schumaker 2012 +0.8 +3.4 1.5 +1.9 $2.0M 0.56× –
Fernando Salas 2012 +0.3 +1.7 0.5 +1.2 $1.5M 0.67× –
Trevor Rosenthal 2012 +0.2 +1.2 0.2 +1.0 $0.7M 0.67× –
Tony Cruz 2012 +0.0 +0.2 0.5 -0.3 $9.7M 0.52× –
Bryan Anderson 2012 -0.0 -0.1 0.5 -0.6 – 0.52× –
Sam Freeman 2012 -0.0 -0.1 0.5 -0.6 – 0.67× –
Steven Hill 2012 -0.1 -0.3 0.5 -0.7 – 0.56× –
Adron Chambers 2012 -0.0 -0.3 0.5 -0.8 – 0.83× –
Daniel Descalso 2012 -0.1 -0.3 0.5 -0.8 – 0.56× –
Erik Komatsu↔ 2012 -0.1 -0.6 0.2 -0.8 – 0.83× –
Barret Browning 2012 -0.1 -0.4 0.5 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Brandon Dickson 2012 -0.1 -0.4 0.5 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Tyler Greene↔ 2012 -0.1 -0.8 0.3 -1.1 – 0.83× –
Ryan Jackson 2012 -0.2 -1.0 0.5 -1.4 – 0.56× –
Maikel Cleto 2012 -0.2 -1.3 0.5 -1.7 – 0.67× –
J.C. Romero↔ 2012 -0.2 -1.3 0.5 -1.8 – 0.67× –
Victor Marte 2012 -0.2 -1.3 0.5 -1.8 – 0.67× –
Matt Adams 2012 -0.3 -1.5 0.5 -2.0 – 0.56× –
Brian Fuentes↔ 2012 -0.1 -1.3 0.9 -2.2 – 1.34× –
Eduardo Sanchez 2012 -0.3 -1.8 0.5 -2.2 – 0.67× –
Rafael Furcal 2012 +0.7 +3.5 6.0 -2.5 $8.4M 0.61× –
Kyle McClellan 2012 -0.2 -1.1 2.5 -3.6 – 0.67× –
Marc Rzepczynski 2012 -0.6 -6.5 0.5 -7.0 – 1.34× –
Chris Carpenter 2012 +0.1 +1.2 10.5 -9.3 $70.7M 1.02× –
Lance Berkman 2012 +0.1 +0.5 12.0 -11.5 $97.3M 0.56× –
C.J. Fick↔ 2012 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+44.7+531.5119.1+412.7—

Trades

Every graded 2012 deal involving the Cardinals — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 2 total.

2012 · STL / LAD
STL · John Mozeliak +$7.2M
Jake Lemmerman
LAD · Ned Colletti −$7.2M
Skip Schumaker
STL came out ahead by $7.2M
2012 · MIA / STL
MIA · Larry Beinfest +$3.2M
Zack Cox#88
STL · John Mozeliak −$3.2M
Edward Mujica
MIA came out ahead by $3.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

2012 payroll
$118.9M

What the front office was committed to as of 2012, 2012–2018. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (11)

PlayerAgeSvc2012201320142015201620172018
Matt Holliday328.000$17.0M$17.0M$17.0M$17.0M$17.0MFREE AGENT
Carlos Beltrán3513.014$13.0M$13.0MFREE AGENT
Lance Berkman3612.052$12.0MFREE AGENT
Kyle Lohse3310.092$11.9MFREE AGENT
Chris Carpenter3715.000$10.5MFREE AGENT
Adam Wainwright306.027$9.0M$12.0M$19.5M$19.5M$19.5M$19.5M$19.5M
Jake Westbrook3412.144$8.5M$8.8MFREE AGENT
Yadier Molina297.123$7.0M$14.0M$15.0M$15.0M$14.0M$14.0M$20.0M
Rafael Furcal3412.000$6.0MFREE AGENT
Brian Fuentes369.125$938kFREE AGENT
J.C. Romero3611.014$516kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (5)

PlayerAgeSvc2012201320142015201620172018
Jaime García253.047$3.2MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kyle McClellan284.000$2.5MARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Motte303.027$1.9MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Skip Schumaker325.051$1.5MFREE AGENT
Edward Mujica284.115$673kARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (29)

PlayerAgeSvc2012201320142015201620172018
David Freese292.028$508kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mitchell Boggs282.125$506kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Marc Rzepczynski262.036$504kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jon Jay271.134$504kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Fernando Salas271.087$498kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Daniel Descalso251.016$495kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Allen Craig271.077$495kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Lance Lynn250.119$482kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tony Cruz250.105$481kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bryan Anderson250.171$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Barret Browning270.055$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Shane Robinson270.014$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Matt Carpenter260.012$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eduardo Sanchez231.047$480kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Victor Marte310.092$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ryan Jackson240.118$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Adron Chambers250.023$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Sam Freeman250.000$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steven Hill27–$480k
Brandon Dickson270.036$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Shelby Miller210.000$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Pete Kozma240.026$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Maikel Cleto230.169$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Matt Adams230.000$480kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tyler Greene281.097$321kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Kelly240.000$304kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Erik Komatsu240.000$240kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Trevor Rosenthal220.000$152kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
C.J. Fick26–—

Graphs

How each 2012 acquisition stacked onto Cardinals's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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