1 impending free agent from each remaining playoff team the Cardinals should target

New York Mets -- LHP Sean Manea

Sean Manaea was once one of the top pitchers for a strong Oakland Athletics team as recently as 2021. The lefty started 32 games that year with two complete game shutouts. Heading into free agency that winter, Manaea was one of the best pitches available. Since then, however, he's fallen a bit. He's played for three different teams in as many years, and his ERA was as high as 4.96 in 2022.

The southpaw has seen a resurgence this year, and it couldn't have come at a better time for him. He finished 2024 with a 3.47 ERA, 3.83 FIP, and 9.1 K/9 in 181.2 innings for the New York Mets. Manaea was a consistent force for the Mets during their playoff push, and he's been excellent in the postseason thus far.

Manaea has thrown 12 innings this postseason and allowed only three runs. He's stuck out 10 batters and allowed just nine hits while walking only two batters. His start against the Philadelphia Phillies in game three of the NLDS gave New York a 2-1 series lead. He threw seven excellent innings in that game.

Manaea will turn 33 on February 1st, so he's definitely a veteran pitcher at this point in his career. Spotrac projects Manaea to receive a two-year, $30 million contract via free agency. He's represented by the Boras Corporation, and we all know how far Scott Boras is willing to go to get his clients what they deserve.

At $15 million a year, Manaea may be a steal this offseason for whoever signs him. The Mets have plenty of other viable free agents such as Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, J.D. Martinez, and even Jesse Winker, but Manaea seems to fit the Cardinal mold quite well.

Los Angeles Dodgers -- RHP Walker Buehler

Walker Buehler has had a fair amount of injuries throughout his brief seven-year career. His most recent injury required bone spurs to be removed from his right elbow in 2022. He also had Tommy John Surgery that same year in August, and he missed all of 2023 due to these injuries.

Prior to his injury-riddled 2022 season, however, Buehler was one of the best pitchers in baseball. The two-time All-Star had finished ninth and fourth in Cy Young voting in 2019 and 2022, respectively. He had a career 3.02 ERA in 638.1 innings from 2017-2022, and he was excellent at striking out batters with a 9.7 K/9 rate.

2024 has gone much differently for Buehler. He finished the season with a 5.38 ERA in just 16 starts and 75.1 innings. He allowed a career-high 10.6 hits per nine innings, and his strikeouts and walks both went in the wrong direction. In his lone start in the playoffs so far, he allowed six earned runs in just five innings.

The clear concern with signing Buehler revolves around his injury history. It's possible he returns to form in 2025 and beyond considering he just turned 30, but it's also possible that he will get hurt again or continue to struggle on the mound. Signing Walker Buehler would be a bit of a gamble, but it could be the one the Cardinals can swallow in a transitory 2025 season.

Spotrac has Buehler projected for a prove-it, one-year deal valued at $4 million. That's a figure the Cardinals can confidently take on regardless of the results of his 2024 season. There's too much potential to pass on a guy like Buehler.

Other viable candidates include shortstop Miguel Rojas as a backup to Masyn Winn, starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, or reliever Joe Kelly.

Cleveland Guardians -- RHP Shane Bieber

A quick primer on Shane Bieber's current status must precede anything else. Bieber went down with a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery on April 12th after just two starts. He had allowed zero earned runs in 12 innings up to that point in the season.

The two-time All-Star and Cy Young Award Winner was in line for a massive free agency this winter prior to his injury. Now, teams have to worry about his availability in 2025 following a 12-to-15-month recovery period. If all goes well, Bieber could return to the mound as early as next May. If he experiences any setbacks, however, he's looking at an August or September return likely to the bullpen.

Shane Bieber would be a great addition to the top of the rotation with Sonny Gray. The two are both #2 starters, and their combination in St. Louis would be admirable. He has a career 3.22 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 ratio across parts of seven seasons. Spotrac has Bieber's market value set at a six-year deal worth almost $150 million, but his recent injury will prevent that from happening.

Since the Cleveland Guardians still have him under contract for 2024, they have had exclusive access to his medicals all year, so they know the most about Bieber's recovery. I could see a deal between Shane Bieber and the Guardians that mirrors the one the Milwaukee Brewers made with the injured Brandon Woodruff this past offseason. Woodruff signed a two-year, $17.5 million deal where the first year would be a rehab one for him after a shoulder surgery sidelined him for all of the 2024 season.

Other viable candidates from the Cleveland Guardians include starters Alex Cobb and Matt Boyd, though both pale in comparison to Bieber.