On Friday, CBS’ Jon Heyman reported the St. Louis Cardinals are among a group of teams interested in free agent shortstop/second baseman Ronny Cedeno.
The Venezuelan, who turns 30 years of age in two weeks, first came up with the Chicago Cubs in 2005. In 2009, Cedeno was traded to Seattle then Pittsburgh. Replacing fan favorite Jack Wilson, he remained a Pirate, starting at shortstop before moving to the New York Mets last season.
Cedeno has a history of nagging injuries with periods of strong defensive play and encouraging offense interrupted by maddening mental lapses. Streakiness, inconsistency and resulting frustration seem to dog him like a bad cold.
In 2010, Cedeno suffered through hand, lower back, wrist and shoulder injuries. The free swinger struck out 106 times in 468 at-bats with Pittsburgh.
Despite an on-base percentage of .293 in 2010, the Pirates decided to keep him for 2011. They paid Cedeno a base of $1.85 million plus incentives with a $3 million club option for 2012 or a $200,000 buyout. Even so, the Bucs were reportedly looking for an upgrade at short during that off-season, even as Cedeno played some outfield in winter ball.
As 2011 camp opened, Cedeno was the Bucs’ shortstop, however manager Clint Hurdle expressed public concern over Cedeno’s lack of concentration. Despite a finger injury during spring training, Cedeno was the starter on opening day.
After a series of defensive lapses, before April was out, Cedeno lost playing time when Brandon Wood was acquired via waivers. Cedeno did not help matters by not running out a ground ball in late April. In May, he got hot with the bat and returned to playing most days, logging an impressive 40-game errorless streak at short in the process.
In late June, Cedeno angered his manager once again by attempting a bases-loaded bunt. He followed that with a streak of hitting almost .500 over a two-week span before suffering a concussion.
After three weeks on the disabled list, Cedeno was activated. Soon he was benched again with focus problems. A frustrated Hurdle noted, “There was a time that Ronny was probably playing the best shortstop in the game.” Obviously, that time was in the past.
Rather than keep Cedeno for 2012, the Bucs bought out his option following the season. Last January, he signed a $1.1 million deal with the Mets.
For New York, Cedeno played some third base in April when David Wright was injured, but before the month was out, he went on the DL himself with an intercostal strain.
Returning to the active roster in May, Cedeno teased the Mets with an improved on-base performance and was rewarded with a move to the leadoff spot. It didn’t last long. A few days later, he was back on the DL, this time with a calf strain.
Activated again in late June, Cedeno moved into a middle infield reserve role. On August 2 against the Giants, he matched a career high with five RBI. He became a free agent again following the season after posting a line of .259/.332/.410 in 186 plate appearances.
It remains to be seen if the Cardinals are serious about wanting to ride the Cedeno rollercoaster. Perhaps they would be lucky and Cedeno and Rafael Furcal could alternate DL stints. Given Cedeno’s past, anything beyond a very modest make-good deal would seem a questionable investment.
For those depressed about the possibility, think of it this way. Ronny would have to be really bad to become the worst Cedeno to join the Cardinals from the Mets. That honor goes to outfielder Roger Cedeno, who logged a .372 OPS (yes, OPS) in his second partial season with St. Louis before being released in June 2005.
Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Ugh.
Eh. Could have done worse.
That’s the spirit, Nutlaw. Great attitude!! Wes and I are proud of you.
Ahh….Roger Cedeno also came from the Mets. And he was a shadow of his peak self. He was horrible as a Cardinal, released by June.
Nonetheless, for perspective, our team was good and we made the playoffs, despite the short dalliance with Rog.
One of the problems fans have with ballplayers is they are not all All Stars. Only 25 hall of famers can be on our team. Except, that’s not a very realistic hope.
I like the idea of Ronny Cedeno, not depressing at all. Mo said he is perusing the free agent pool for a middle infielder. Exploring Ronny Cedeno would be consistent with Mo’s story. We could use another veteran middle infielder. Cedeno can hit and add depth. Welcome aboard Ronny, let the games begin!
742 OPS by Ronny during 2012, though hampered by limited at bats, off the bench. Anything above 700 is good for a shortstop, hence Ronny surpassed a reasonable offensive expectation for a ML SS.
For perspective, we suffered through Cesar at 629 OPS during 2008, while 2012 Mariners fans had endured 571 supplied by Brendan Ryan, truly putting the ugh into ugh.
Funny, I could have sworn you said they would not be adding any infielders and in fact, traded Skip specifically to make room for Kozma…
Brian, you seem muddled. Please know, I am not unconcerned.
I recall stating Skip was washed up. You defended Skip as unchanged, the same old washed up as he had long been. However, Mo broke our tie and agreed with me, shipping Skip out to join Mark with Donnie B, tres amigos.
September Stud Kozma has certainly been a strong candidate to backfill the Skipster. But now Mo has moved boldly to alter the balance of power within the Central Division by recruiting THE Ronny Cedeno, Pete may be looking forward to the prospect of more finishing at AAA.
Go Ronny Go!
December 25: “The Cards moved Skp, to clear roster space for Pete…” – JumboShrimp
The Cards moved Skip, a second baseman, to allow a different use of this roster slot. Mark McGwire headed home to S. California, to team up with Donnie Baseball. Skip is also from S. California and Mark’s friend. It was great to be able to help both men move closer to home. They have each been wonderful contributors to the Cards, hence Mo was pleased to help them along the journey of life.
With Skip out of the way, there is a roster slot for a right swinging player who can serve at both SS and at 2B. On December 25, the leading contender to fill this new slot was September hero Pete Kozma. Nothing surprising about my post to this effect.
Yet Mo also loves depth and competition. Maybe he reads posts here about how awful our September hero really is. Maybe this scares Mo and he thinks, hmm, maybe I should add a veteran right swinging SS/2B-man? Rumor has it the Cards bid on the 37 year old 2Bman of the Giants from Venezuela, who hit so well against us in the NLCS, but the Giants spent their brains out to retain him. Mo has cleverly come up with a younger Venezuelan in Ronny! He telegraphed his interest in a veteran SS/2Bman, I guessed Freddy Sanchez or Ryan Theriot, but it turned out to be Ronny.
Mo’s work to craft the 2013 edition of the Cards is done, unless a surprise bargain comes our way. With Mr. September, Wiggy, Ronny, Johnson, and old Choate, our team is complete. Lets strap on the helmets and get after it for 2013. Hooray! Bring on the Reds.
–Ugh—
Mo landed a nice deal by inking Ronny. He can play SS, which we need, given doubts about Furcal. He is only 29. Ronny is a good bet offensively to have an OPS between 640 and 680. Having been in the majors for a while, Cedeno knows the game and given his age which is a peak time for many players, he could potentially lift performance; there is some upside potential.
With Roger Cedeno, he was a speed guy who suffered hamstring tears. After he returned from injury, the speed was gone and he did not have anything else. With Ronny, he should be in his prime and if needed, he could step up and do a good job.
Ronny nailed 5 RBIs in one game versus the Giants. We could have used those 5 during Game 5 against Zito.
Mo has had a great winter. We landed J R Towles, so he cannot collect 7 RBIs in one game against us, at least during 2013. And we added Ronny the Giant killer. Terrif.
Ronny was SS for the Cubs during 2006. For 2007, the Cubs spent big and brought in big time, intense manager Lou Piniella, TLR’s pal. Ronny was displaced at SS by Ryan Theriot. Thus Ronny was replaced by the intense Theriot. Small world. Now Ronny is backstopping Theriot’s injury riddled replacement, Raffy.
Now Theriot is post-peak, whereas Cedeno is still in his age prime. And the Cards still have Jose Quendo and September Stud Kozma, to help motivate Cedeno to maintain intensity. This looks like a good tactical signing.
Ronny Cedeno has started 531 games in the majors at SS. At 2B, he has started 75 games. He has also started 5 times at 3B.
Cedeno could also help out in the OF. He started 4 games in LF for Seattle. Now that Skip and Hector Luna are gone, Cedeno could provide the Cards some flexibility between OF and IF.
“Venezuelan reports: Cedeno to join Cardinals”.
wigginton, cedeno, filler vet of the month. looks like trade positioning for Mo, with adams, Koz, jackson, etc as the chips.
Clearly I am elated about the signing of Ronny Cedeno. Ronny is much more uplifting to the spirits than Wiggy or Old Choate.
Ronny’s wife Aura is a model.
http://photos.lucywho.com/aura-avila-photos-t7759103.html
Talk about uplifting ……. best thing you’ve posted this week Jumbo
No wonder he can’t keep his mind on baseball.
I can hardly imagine a player who is a worse fit for the type of player the Cards usually would be interested in.
.
Bling, you assume Ronny can’t keep his mind on baseball, for good reasons.
Actually there is another possibility. Ronny has incentive to excel at baseball, so as to keep earning those $1MM paychecks, in order to keep Aura enjoying the good life. If Ronny plays like the chump Roger Cedeno, he will be booted out of baseball. Then it would be much harder to maintain the good times. Its time for Ronny to think about his family’s future and concentrate on lifting his game.
While re-signing Jake Westbrook; recruiting weak hitting Johnson and Towles; and recruiting Wiggy and Old Choate may make some sense, they are not fun decisions. But signing Ronny and Aura, that’s a crowd-pleaser. Great work by Mo.
There may be a lesson to be learned from the baseball career of infielder Marco Scutaro. Scutaro is Venezuelan and turned pro age 18 in 1994. He spent years at AAA, circa 1999-2003. He did not get much ML opportunity until 2004, with the As, circa age 28. Scutaro has had steady ML employment since and did much to get the Giants into the playoffs and into the World Series. He just signed a 3 year deal that will carry him through age 40. A long ML career for an unglitzy player let go by the Brewers and Mets.
Scutaro’s example may be relevant for Ronny Cedeno. Cedeno is still a young player, age 30. If he applies himself and enjoys good health, Cedeno could perform at the ML level for another 5 to 10 years, like Scutaro has. This could translate into wonderful earnings. If Ronny is smart, he will strive to have a big year with the Cards so as to cash in by landing a multiyear contract next winter.
Jumbo, that was your 13th post about Cedeno this weekend. I wish that something more exciting than a backup middle infielder signing was going on to get you pumped.
Ronny has an exciting Aura.
Wiggy and Old Choate do not.
According to Wikipedia, “Venezuela is well known for its successes in beauty pageants….Venezuela has received 6 Miss World, 6 Miss Universe, 6 Miss International and 1 Miss Earth titles.”
Venezuela is just north of the equator, so it has warm weather. Weather to make you thirsty for a cool one. The country’s biggest beer supplier is Polar.
To help educate Venezuelans about Polar pilsens, the company employs “Chicas Polar.” According to Wikipedia, Aura Avila served Polar during 2006 to 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicas_Polar
When the Cards started fielding a team in Venezuela, it might have been 2006 or so. And the first location for our Venezuelan squad was near a Polar factory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RB1bfN7boA
There are a lot of jobs, on this Earth. A lot of these jobs are difficult or tedious, some are even occupationally dangerous.
Happily, some other jobs are fun. Not all work has to be pure drudgery. For instance, consider the occupation of serving as a bikini model. You get to wear lots of nice bikinis, some stylish. You get to smile a lot and be likeable. You get to perform your work at pretty locations, like sunny beaches. One of the occupational hazards would be too much sun, so you probably are given sun-screen lotions for free.
Then, because you do your bikini job really well, your photos appear on billboards and magazine covers. This gives you the benefit of lots of publicity, and opens up other jobs, like acting in television commercials during which you wear more clothing.
Jumbo, stats oriented guys such as yourself tend to look at info from years past and draw unwarrented conclusions about the pesent. Aura was a chicas up until 2009. So you think we’re getting a hottie, but she might well be a hag by now. I Know nothing about Mrs Kozma or Mrs Jackson, but a bikini hag would not be an upgrade. I just hope Mo did his homework.
More homework. Aura was born in 1984. In 2003, she competed for Miss Venezuela, representing Aragua.
Ronny Cedeno has played for the Tigres de Aragua baseball team, based in Maracay, during winter ball.
Aura has posed in Tigres de Aragua skimpy outfits. http://www.elsiglo.com.ve/article/13350/La–Chica-del-Beisbol–de-Tigres-de-Aragua-Aura-Avila-
No one could argue with data like that Jumbo, but you still have a sample size issue which I hope you are able to address. Keep up the good work.
Cedeno’s expectations may need adjustment. Or maybe he asked to see Furcal’s medicals before agreeing to sign…
“Cedeño was displeased with his agents last year because he wanted to be a starter, not a backup, so he had no intention of re-signing with the Mets,” says Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.
Veteran backup……..what`s not to like? Could be Manager Matheny wanted another option for the infield.Makes me think the Matt Carpenter to 2B isn`t going as well as hoped.
The three lefty NRIs makes me think there is little confidence in Garcia.
I don’t see any connection. It isn’t like any of the NRIs have a chance of making the rotation. In other words, if Garcia can’t go, there will simply be five RHPs starting.
” It isn’t like any of the NRIs have a chance of making the rotation”
I’ll bet you would have said the same about Joe Kelly last year. He showed up 60 games into the season.
Well, then it is a good thing I did not say, “It isn’t like any of the 2012 NRIs had a chance of making the rotation 60 games into last season,” isn’t it?
By the way, only two of the NRIs are left-handed – Gast and Lyons.
Finally got a chance to listen to he Vuch interview. Excellent. Appreciate the info on Teran and Jones. Also appreciated the summary of Mo’s WWU comments.
You are welcome. Glad you enjoyed them. I still have more exclusive WWU-sourced material coming for subscribers.
I think what Mo was looking at was what if there is no Furcal. Going all or a major part of the season with Kozma and Jackson would be kinda scary.
Or he would have to pay market price at the time of need.
Three pitchers invited last year but not now: Jordan Swagerty, Nick Greenwood, Tyrell Jenkins.
Swagerty was out all last year, the other two were not exciting, although Jenkins remains a hot prospect for now. Greenwood is the throw in we got in the Lugwick for Westbrook trade.
I had forgot that Jenkins was hurt late. He’s in Jupiter already so maybe he’ll be an early invitee for minor league camp.