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

The League Championship series is underway. The New York Mets are facing off against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League Pennant, and the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees are going head-to-head in the American League Championship Series.

There are plenty of talented players on each roster, and it just so happens that some of the best players on each team are free agents this winter. Even though the St. Louis Cardinals intend on cutting payroll this offseason, there is still room in the budget for additions, especially if the Cardinals decline options on players like Keynan Middleton, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson. Not re-signing Paul Goldschmidt will open up additional money.

The St. Louis Cardinals should target this one player from each team in the Championship Series.

New York Yankees -- RHP Tommy Kahnle

Sorry, but Juan Soto is not a realistic free-agent candidate for the Cardinals. Let's bring it down a notch.

If Andrew Kittredge isn't brought back next year, the Cardinals will need a pitcher with high-leverage experience who can neutralize right-handed batters. Tommy Kahnle of the Yankees could be just that guy.

Kahnle threw 42.2 innings for the Yankees this year with a 2.11 ERA, 1.148 WHIP, and a 4.01 FIP. He struck out a total of 46 batters. For his career, right-handed batters have a slash line of .206/.307/.343 got an OPS of .653. What's even better is that left-handed batters have an average just .009 points higher and an OPS just .003 points higher, so he isn't prone to splits as a pitcher. He had just one save this year compared to 16 holds.

In high-leverage situations, opponents have a .215/.310/.400 slash line against Kahnle. The bulk of his innings in his career have come in innings seven through nine rather than innings four through six, so he's familiar with pitching late in games.

Kahnle is an unrestricted free agent, and he received $5.75 million this year thanks to a two-year, $11.5 million contract in the 2022 offseason. Spotrac has his market value based on recent performance at just over $10 million. They project a two-year deal worth around $11 million. It's possible he signs a deal around that price, but he'll push for a contract that's comparable to his in New York over these past two years.

The 35-year-old reliever would be a reliable back-end reliever who won't break the bank for the Cardinals in 2025.

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.