Red Sox, Cards took different paths to pennant

The St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox took different approaches to team building on their way to the 2013 World Series. Matt Carpenter was originally a 13th round draft pick. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

The participants in the 2013 World Series sure took different paths to their pennant-winning rosters.

The Cardinals relied on the amateur draft to acquire two thirds of their National League Championship roster—an unusually high number reflective of their successful amateur scouting. While the Red Sox also obtained core players through the draft, they acquired more players through free agency than any other avenue.

The Cardinals have prioritized the draft in recent years and  led by general manager John Mozeliak and longtime amateur scouting director Jeff Luhnow (now general manager of the Houston Astros), they found success in the first round, selecting Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, Michael Wacha, Pete Kozma and Kolten Wong.

But more impressively, the Cardinals found impact talent after the top 10 rounds. Seth Maness (11th round), Matt Carpenter (13th round), Trevor Rosenthal (21st round), Matt Adams (23rd round), Tony Cruz (26th round), Adron Chambers (38th round) and Kevin Siegrist (41st round) were each passed over repeatedly before being becoming Cardinals.

STL

Meanwhile, the Red Sox have relied on free agency. General manager Ben Cherington spent particularly boldly during the 2012-13 off-season, re-shaping his roster by signing Ryan Dempster, Koji Uehara, David Ross, Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew, Jonny Gomes and Shane Victorino.

The Red Sox did more than open up the checkbook and start spending, though. They also worked creatively. Boston relied on non-traditional avenues for obtaining free agents, signing Junichi Tazawa out of Japan and purchasing the contract of former independent leaguer Daniel Nava for $1.

BOS

Both the Red Sox and Cardinals have supplemented a core of homegrown players with well-timed (and sometimes high-priced) additions. But the difference between the two league champions is the extent to which they went outside of the organization to round out their rosters.

How the 2013 pennant winners were built

St. Louis Cardinals (NLCS roster)

Amateur Draft (17)

Joe Kelly
Lance Lynn
Seth Maness
Shelby Miller
Trevor Rosenthal
Kevin Siegrist
Michael Wacha
Tony Cruz
Yadier Molina
Matt Adams
Matt Carpenter
Daniel Descalso
Pete Kozma
Kolten Wong
Adron Chambers
Shane Robinson
Jon Jay

International Free Agency (1)

Carlos Martinez

Trade (4)

John Axford
Edward Mujica
Adam Wainwright
David Freese

Free Agency (3)

Randy Choate
Carlos Beltran
Matt Holliday

Boston Red Sox  (ALCS roster)

Amateur Draft (6)

Clay Buchholz
Jon Lester
Brandon Workman
Will Middlebrooks
Dustin Pedroia
Jacoby Ellsbury

International Free Agency (3)

Felix Doubront
Junichi Tazawa
Xander Bogaerts

Trade (6)

Craig Breslow
Franklin Morales
Jake Peavy
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Quintin Berry
Mike Carp

Free Agency (9)

David Ortiz
Ryan Dempster
John Lackey
Koji Uehara
David Ross
Mike Napoli
Stephen Drew
Jonny Gomes
Shane Victorino

Minor League Free Agency (1)

Daniel Nava

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