Over or under 87.5 wins for Cardinals?
Earlier this week Atlantis Casino in Reno, Nevada released season win totals for all 30 MLB teams for 2016. Are the Cardinals a good bet to go over their win total?
St. Louis won 100 games last season in route to earning the National League Central crown for a third consecutive year. The Cardinals accomplished the feat despite losing ace Adam Wainwright to a torn Achilles tendon suffered in April (an injury that required surgery for Wainwright to miss the majority of the season). Injuries to Matt Holliday, Matt Adams, Carlos Martinez and Yadi Molina also impacted the Cards at various points of the season.
This winter the team lost free agent Jason Heyward after he inked a deal with the rival Cubs. John Lackey also left St. Louis for Chicago while starter Lance Lynn had to be shut down for the entire 2016 season due to Tommy John surgery. The Cardinals did add free agent Mike Leake to help eat innings and bolstered their depth with the acquisitions of Jedd Gyorko and Brayan Pena.
Will the Cardinals win over or under 87.5 games in 2016?
Over. St. Louis faces a ton of questions heading into spring training. Will Wainwright bounce back and be the steady ace that he has been for years? Will Martinez and Michael Wacha hold up after suffering injuries in 2014 and 2015, respectively? Will Adams or Brandon Moss step up and be the middle-of-the-order bat that this team so desperately needs? Will emerging youngsters Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty improve upon impressive 2015 campaigns?
Despite those questions, the smart money is on the Cards winning over 87.5 games in 2016. Under GM John Mozeliak, this has been one of the most consistent teams over the past 10 years. They haven’t lost fewer than 88 games in five straight years and despite the emergence of the Cubs, the Cardinals always seem to find a way to battle for the division title year in and year out.
If Molina and the pitching staff stays healthy, this club has overcome a lack of power in previous seasons.
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