There is a meeting scheduled for Thursday morning with Cardinal coaches and the front office to discuss the Cardinals’ closer situation. One suggestion being floated around is making a run at signing 37 year old Pedro Martinez for that role.
That is according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Tony LaRussa has brought up the subject before. I’m not sure if Martinez’ name has been a part of those discussions, but according to the article it is something that Martinez would consider.
Other starters have made the conversion. Kerry Wood did it with the Cubs and of course we know how Dennis Eckersley made a Hall of Fame career converting to a closer.
Two major concerns. One, Martinez is 37 years old. How much more life does he have in his arm even if it is for an inning at a time and second, he’s had a history of shoulder issues which would be expected from a pitcher his age. This may just be a band-aid solution. When I spoke with GM John Mozeliak, he was confident that one of the younger pitchers could evolve into that closer’s role this year after guys like Chris Perez and Jason Motte learned by trial by fire yesterday.
If anything would happen with Martinez, it probably won’t happen until after the World Baseball Classic where he is supposed to pitch in relief for the Dominican Republic. Who by the way play the Cardinals in a practice game…maybe something will happen sooner than later?