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

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.