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MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 12, 2018

Mike Shildt

Las Vegas, Nevada

Q. What do you notice about the new left-handed hitter you got yesterday?
MIKE SHILDT: We traded Drew Robinson for Patrick Wisdom. Came up and did a nice job for us last year. Just felt like there was redundancy in right-handed hitters. We wish Patrick the best.

I saw Drew Robinson come up when I was managing, and always impressed with his skill set, the way he played the game. The versatility, a left-handed bat that we feel like is a complement to some things we're trying to accomplish. And he's been in the Dominican, coming back today, he's actually from Las Vegas, the 26-year-old left-handed batter from Las Vegas, which is big news. We're happy to have Drew in the organization.

Q. Does he have a best position defensively?
MIKE SHILDT: Talking to some of the guys that I trust in Texas and our scouts and the good news is he's got many positions he feels comfortable and confident playing. A couple of things that some of the people I talk to say center field is a position that he can take hold to. But he's played all over.

Q. (Inaudible.)
MIKE SHILDT: Very nicely. We're excited about Gordy on a lot of levels. And he'll fit into the lineup towards the top. Exactly where I can't tell you right now, still got some offseason to figure out and think about. But he's going to be in the top three.

Q. Just describe from a general standpoint the impact he makes on your offense.
MIKE SHILDT: Yeah, the impacts residual is the word that initially came to mind when we were talking and I was privy to some of the conversation with Mo and Girsch in the front office about the possibility of acquiring Goldy. Anytime I described him they talked about residual benefit.

The more I know him and do research on him and talk to people I trust in the industry and people that played with him, he's a special talent in and of his own. Offensively he's clearly a proven commodity that can hit and anchor an offense and lengthen the offense out and make people running better. You've got a game plan for him and a game plan around him for other guys that he's going to increase their opportunities.

But also to expand a little bit, his defense is probably the thing that when we talked about him would bring up the most, and we clearly know what we're getting offensively, and that's a huge bat and a huge ad. But if you look at where we were defensively last year and where we're looking to go, he helped shore up a team that now puts six Gold Glove candidates on the field, some guys that have won. Of course Yadi winning his ninth. Goldy won three, and Kolten was in my mind the winner this. But he was right there in that conversation clearly. And of course Bader, Ozuna won one, and the guy that's coming for me that's a little sneaky good is Paul DeJong in that category.

And then finally with Goldy, just the makeup, the residual value he's going to bring. And I had Jake and Nick in the Arizona Fall League, in 2013. I stay in touch with them. I talked to Jake and unsolicited they were just glowing about Goldy and how he goes about things and carries himself and just has a good presence in the clubhouse. And I texted him back and forth after we got him and they were even still complimentary.

And of course then you meet him and talk to him and realize what a standup guy he is. And the good news is he doesn't have to do anything special, just come in and be himself. He's got a good presence, great work ethic and leads by example. He has to be him. A lot of residual value and got a lot smarter when we added him.

Q. Can you walk us through your offseason.
MIKE SHILDT: We look at our offseason, we're right about the halfway point in it before actually the balls and bats get rolled out. I feel like we're having a productive offseason. Not getting into great detail, but we've had a nice plan and we've looked back after the season was over. And we as a staff wanted to capture what we did and what just happened and what we did well and what we need to work on and where our blind spots are, and how we turn those into sweet spots.

We took that inventory, we've been in concert with that with the players. And capture what is fresh. We progressed from there into looking how we're going to evolve and make sure that we're as synergized as possible with all the information out there and just understanding how we're going to do our advance work and our game planning and what that looks like in concert with the front office and the analytic group.

And now we're going to meet with our staff in early January to talk about the baseball and how we're going to have the best chance to have a tremendous Spring Training and lead into a positive 2019.

Q. You mentioned the number of Gold Gloves won and Gold Gloves candidate, the defense last year was something that bothered everybody among the staff. What are some other ways that you can improve? What are intangible ways you can improve that? Is that something in Spring Training? Is it more aggressive with shifting? Are you telling guys to spend more time in defense in the offseason?
MIKE SHILDT: A combination of other things. We did a review and looked at all of our defensive metrics, and we can go into a sidebar and talk about it further, but errors are not always the best representation of defense. They are important, they're extra outs and they create an opportunity for the other team, which we never like to give anything away, so they're real.

A lot of defensive metrics say we really were in the top half of defense in baseball, we were carried a little bit by some guys that played extraordinary defense, and we also get credit for that, too. We have taken a look at all the defensive miscues and where they come from, and bucket into why they took place. And in the process, our bench coach who was in the infield, and Stubby, who will work with our infielders this year, and Pop Warner. Of course we're going to include Jose Oquendo, who was outstanding and we're going to miss. We kind of bucket them into what that looks like and how it looks, if it was a mental lapse, physical lapse, technique, and we've come on the other side of that and feel good about it. We acquired Goldschmidt and that immediately upped what we're doing and how we're doing it.

There are opportunities for us to improve defensively. I'm fully confident we're going to be at the top of where we should be defensively.

Q. Do you think any is related to guys moving around a lot?
MIKE SHILDT: I think it's definitely part of it. When guys are moving and bouncing around, that's the good news about our club that we have versatility. Within that guys unfamiliar with the position, haven't played a position, and so we'll be more intentional at Spring Training defining roles and getting specific with guys what they can expect and work to the best of our ability. Knowing that we prepare for the black and white and gray happens. Be as prepared as we can.

Q. There was a lot of conversation with Mo especially about Dexter, and how he can rebound. Part of the issue there was kind of a disconnect between him and the manager's office. Have you had to take special care to sort of rebuild that and bring him back into being a part of this team?
MIKE SHILDT: Not special care. I've got a good relationship with Dexter and respect Dexter a lot. And like to think and work daily to communicate, not as much in the offseason, we want to make sure the guys are breathing a little bit. It's communication and it's open dialogue with everybody in the club. And of course Dexter's a part of that.

I've got a great relationship with Dexter. He's having a productive offseason. He's healed and he's back to baseball activity. And he understands and has personal pride in wanting to rebound and become the player that he's shown and more than capable of and historically has proven to be.

Yeah, it's not necessarily a clean slate, because me and Dexter have always worked well together and respect each other, and we both get the fact that we have a responsibility to the greater good of the team. And he gets that.

And I texted with him this morning. And so he was actually having the front office and the group over tonight over to his house. Everything is positive moving forward and excited for Spring Training for everybody.

Q. You mentioned, it's a Winter Meetings tradition to ask where Carpenter is going to be. Is he your leadoff hitter or is that up for debate?
MIKE SHILDT: Everything is always for debate. Some less debate than others. And if it's not broke, don't fix it, I'm that kind of guy. So I would say in heavy pencil that you could expect to see Matt Carpenter in the leadoff spot. Also recognize it's December, I think the 12th, and things change, dynamics change. Never say never, but I'm not looking -- that's not at the top of my thought process of what we're working on. I feel that's a piece that's pretty well cemented.

Q. There's a report that Brandon Hyde is going to be the Orioles manager. Do you know Brandon from playing against the Cubs? What are your impressions of him? And also, as another thought, he never played in the Major Leagues. What challenges are there for a manager who hasn't played in the Major Leagues?
MIKE SHILDT: First of all, congratulations to Brandon and the Orioles. I have a lot of respect for those guys and wish them the best to a point. I've got to know Brandon. And always carries himself well. Don't know him tremendously well personally, but clearly has respect for the game and the players. And carries himself as a professional, and I'm sure he'll do great in the opportunity.

I love what Mr. DeWitt said in the press conference as far as not playing the game at the professional level and he said, you know, we're not asking membership or asking Brandon to play. So I think we're at a point in the game of baseball and it's -- look, whether you played or not, you have to earn respect every day, and you have to bring it every day and you have to prove to the clubhouse and prove to the fan base and prove to everybody that you're doing the job and you're bringing it. And that's really what matters the most.

And if you're doing that I think people are understanding of whatever, and they don't particularly care about the background, as long as you're caring about them and doing the job that needs to be done.

Q. What's your general philosophy in the importance of having a set and sturdy closer?
MIKE SHILDT: Well, it's always nice to know that that guy at the end of the game is going to kind of nail that down. I think we also look at the evolution of bullpens, because it's doing just that. Bullpens are evolving and the mentality of how to use bullpens is evolving. And my job is to do the best I can with the pieces that we have. And be aware and understand how different situations work.

It is nice to have that ninth inning guy, like you feel is nailed down. That being said, there's also times -- I think it's important for not necessarily for all, but for some guys to understand that that's their role, so to speak. But there is possibly some flexibility in that. If you're in the middle of the lineup, high-pressure situation, and you've got a guy in the bullpen that can match up well with the guys beyond that maybe you slide that guy in the eighth inning spot.

Out of my pay grade, but is real, and I'm not sure how it's become valued, maybe I should know more. But there's also compensation potential with guys getting saves in high-leverage situations, you're mindful of that, too. But it comes down to competition that day and how we're going to have the best chance to shake hands.

Q. Do you feel the bullpen you have right now to produce a single closer or a closer by committee, do you have a feel?
MIKE SHILDT: I think we've got some weapons that we're all familiar with that we feel that could do some things. And clearly we'd like to improve our bullpen, I think Mo and Girsch have communicated what that looks like, and I'm confident that they're looking to do just that and in what capacity, we'll figure out and we'll work with.

That being said, I'm optimistic of where we're going with our bullpen and the pieces we have. And we alluded earlier about the offseason a little bit, and we've had good dialogue. And we feel like we've got a good plan in our guys that we currently have, because that's who we have, and that's our responsibility to get the best and most out of them. So we're looking to be more efficient in how we can manage things and do things and prepare guys and that includes my responsibility, as well.

So I like the pieces we have, and clearly with -- it would be great to add some help, especially with the lefties in our division, because every club has got some real thump and guys you have to plan for on the left side.

Q. What kind of impact do you expect Alex Reyes to have on the pitching staff this year?
MIKE SHILDT: I spoke to Alex yesterday, actually, and he's in good shape, his rehab is going well, he's in Jupiter. All the strength and everything is positive and favorable. He's going in the right direction on schedule. I don't want to get too far ahead of the role, because the first thing is getting back to health and making sure he's in a position where he can perform. We get Alex Reyes get back to that, I'm confident there's not a role he couldn't work within.

We'll evaluate every players' -- most every player's relatable to other players and how they perform, and what looks like best for the team in the role. The good news about Alex, he could start, he's got the arsenal, he's got the stuff. You could use him in the middle as a weapon to go multiple innings, or used at the end of the game to knock it down. Good news is he's doing well, he's healthy to this point. And he's having a positive offseason, and we'll look forward to getting him back on the field and being a weapon for us.

Q. Do you see a number of guys, Alex being one, Wainwright, potentially, Halsey, there are a bunch of guys that could fill that role, is that fair?
MIKE SHILDT: It's fair. I think Waino is coming to camp as a starter. And it's great to have those pieces in place. And ultimately it gets to be about getting those outs and who is going to get the outs in the leverage situation we talked about, and putting them in the right spot. The good news is we've got flexibility, guys with still sets to execute. And that's what it gets down to.

Q. Talk about Carpenter.
MIKE SHILDT: I thought he did a great job at third. More than held his own, the metrics support it. It's interesting that some guys, if he makes a play that is more memorable than others, it kind of is like, see, there we go, he made a throw. Of course he made a throw, he's human. He gets a lot of action over there and he's moved around a little bit and was willing to do that. And it's good to have him be anchor at third a little bit more. I'm excited about Carp. And I think he's going to do great stuff for us across the board.

Q. (Inaudible.)
MIKE SHILDT: I am respectful of our competition in our division. It's clearly a strong division. And candidly I don't put a lot of mental energy in thinking about other clubs. We know they're there. We game plan for them. We keep an eye to them. So I can't be naive to say that.

Ultimately it's about us and our energy, and being the best version we can be. And we take the competition and enjoy the competition with our division rivals. Obviously with Goldschmidt coming on board it was a big add and increased our chances to get back to the top.

Q. Talk about the two hole spot. Was that a fit that you see for him?
MIKE SHILDT: It was a product of what we had at the moment. And then of course he did pretty well in that exhibition series in Japan in the two hole. The good news about Yadi is the fact that he's so valuable in a lot of facets. He could hit anywhere in the lineup and he has the mentality to hit because he's one of the better situational hitters in baseball. And he understands what it takes based on the score. And so with the philosophy you want your better hitters hitting towards the top of the lineup.

I felt Yadi was in that position last year, and trying to get that consistency we spoke about, that's critical in this game. And he provided that for us. That being said, the roster has changed. And we've made some upgrades. So what's that look like for him and what that makes sense for him will still be determined. I would never rule it out but I wouldn't say that's a likely spot. But he thrived there. But Yadi thrives pretty much everywhere.

Q. You had several young starters come in to fill in where you needed them. But some of those guys could fit in the bullpen, how do you view those guys, what their roles might look like going forward.
MIKE SHILDT: Yeah, it's a great question. So it's one that we talk about and it's a balance that we're going to look to strike. Clearly those guys are capable and have been capable to start. We relied on them to start. And for the most part they did a great job for us. The good news is we have some other organizational depth, Michael Walker coming back, of course Jack and Miles and Waino and Carlos, we'll see how the competition looks.

But also the good news for all of those guys that you mentioned is that they also have experience coming out of the bullpen. And the great thing about that is they have the weapons to be able to get through multiple innings and being able to handle righties and lefties as well. So it's an asset. Good news is they're good teammates and open to anything that they're willing to do to help our club.

Q. How much do you think DeJong would benefit hitting between Goldschmidt and Ozuna?
MIKE SHILDT: I think anybody is going to benefit hitting between Goldschmidt and Ozuna.

No, I think he would benefit, for sure. He's a mature hitter, he's historically, I won't rule it out, he historically has done well in that spot. Second half of '17 and put him there last year, and he's one of the best run producers in the last six weeks or so of the season. So he's already proven he can perform there and I think it would be great, even for those guys to help his production even more.

Q. Could you see the benefit of a Carpenter-Goldschmidt, just stacking those guys at the top of the order?
MIKE SHILDT: I could see the benefit.

Q. Is Ozuna your cleanup hitter, you guys were dedicated to him last year?
MIKE SHILDT: Yeah, it's a spot he hit in and was comfortable in. One thing about him I hope they appreciate that I don't think they do as much, this guy answered the bell last year. And there were some peripheral, and I get it, people have the right to do it and that makes our game great to have opinions, but the one opinion I didn't hear much about that I'd like to make sure I voice mine is this is a guy who was not feeling great all year. And we value, especially in our St. Louis market, guys that answer the bell. This guy answered the bell. And he was not at his best from the beginning of the year. And not at one point did he bag out. If anything, you had to -- I didn't wrestle with him -- but you had to wrestle with him a little bit to say, let's take a blow from this thing. He wouldn't accept it.

I have a lot of respect for him and the way he went about it. And he played the game with not his full potential. And still if you look at what he did, we finally were able to convince him to take a break with the cortisone shot. You look at his body of work the last two months of the year, that was closer to historically to what Marcell has got. He did a great job for us. He's hitting the four-hole. It's a starting point that I think we can be comfortable with moving forward. But, again, I don't want to work in absolutes.

Q. What do you know about Jeff, not just a hitting coach but the person, and what do you think makes him the right fit for your staff that's had some changes?
MIKE SHILDT: I love our staff in just general terms. I absolutely love our staff and their dedication to first of all our organization, our mission of winning a world championship and our clubhouse, they have a real heart for our players and wanting to improve. It's a selfless group.

Specifically to Jeff, I got to know him 2008. My first year running Spring Training. Not knowing what I'm doing, he's showing up in his first professional opportunity. He can speak about how he felt that looked like. The one thing I appreciated about Jeff that I tried to do, as well, is when he first got to the organization, he realized, listen, this organization has had a hundred years of sustained success with people like Mr. Kissell and Mark DeJong and the list can go on and on, that he was able to come in, put his head down, keep his ears open, do his job, and was mindful of just trying to get better.

The other thing I respect about Jeff, he was clear that he had a passion for what he was doing and he had a real understanding of what he was doing. And he also had a vision for what he was doing. And candidly, his vision for where the game was going, and I try to be visionary, I think it's part of our job to evolve and create value, but he was really ahead of the curve about where this industry was going.

So I always respected and appreciated that. And on a personal level he's just a solid, good guy. He's a guy you can trust and you can count on. And he's going to work hard. But he also has a real heart for competition, has a heart for our players. And he did a tremendous job of helping to create a culture offensively in Houston that kind of trickled up a little bit. And more than proved his worth there. And he's got a good plan.

And also what I appreciate about him as much as he's going to use the modernization and the tools that are there in our game, specific to offense, he's also going to be able to carry it down and make sure that it's still simple and still applicable and it's still baseball related in terms of execution and training. So he's a smart guy, a lot of skill sets and it was a great ad for us.

Q. Joe Maddon yesterday talked about dealing with the modern players, Millennials. Do you notice a difference in players from the Millennial group and how they need to be treated or responded to or explained to differently than ball players that you saw from the past?
MIKE SHILDT: Yeah, Tony helped me with this, talking about people with vision ahead of their curve. I asked Tony in probably 2010, I ran that camp for him for four years. And first year I was a little nervous asking him any question, although it was my own nervousness, he didn't create it. Finally I'd be open enough to ask him a question. And since then he just pours information and wisdom to me all the time.

Specific to the question, I said how did you stay, I have such respect for people that stay in this game and maintain excellence. At that time he's going on his 15th year as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, but the longest head coach manager of any sport. And he said, you know, I looked up and it was no longer the day of turning the spread over. And he said, he had to use the word "personalization." So we change. We evolve. I love that about our society. We've got different generations.

So specific to the Millennial generation, if you're aware what we probably evolved more in our society from a technological standpoint and a lot of different other areas in the history of this country, at least. I embrace it. And I'm the relational guy, myself. So it ultimately gets back to communicating with people and hearing them and being available to them and once you -- and the players know you care about them then it gets to be about just how you work with them.

And has it changed a little bit? Does your tone change a little bit? How you communicate with them change a little bit? It does. My job is always to change the player because they're the ones that we're there to serve.

I enjoy the Millennial group, I think they're very thoughtful. I appreciate their -- they like transparency, which I do, as well, they like inclusiveness, which I enjoy. And they just want to be treated well. I appreciate them and I embrace them.

Q. You also saw what Harrison and Kolten did defensively last year. What do they need to provide offensively to kind of nail down everyday roles? Are either of them good enough defensively or play a position defensively where offense is a bonus?
MIKE SHILDT: No, I think -- look, they've shown, especially Kolten, he's got a history and body of work that shows he's capable of being an everyday guy. If you look at his splits the last half, second half of last year, his numbers against lefties was pretty good. He's proven he can be an everyday player. Harrison, too, showed increased strike zone distance. And the thing about both of those guys is they have the ability to do it. And they're starting to really hone in on what kind of player they are.

With Kolten I think he went through that period -- he got some juice, as does Harrison. And our game has evolved, let's hit the ball out of the ballpark. And they can do it. Is that their game? Not necessarily. They can still do it, they can pick their spots, they evolve into it a little bit more as a by-product. But they're figuring out what kind of player they are, how to go about things. That takes a little bit of time and to both of their credits they've been able to evolve and think and understand what that looks like. So I think we're seeing that.

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