St. Louis Cardinals: Replacing the lost WAR in 2016

Oct 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals owner Bill Dewitt Jr. talks with a member of the media during NLDS workout day prior to game one of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Now that we know the St. Louis Cardinals’ offseason plans, what can we expect for next season?

I realize it is only December, but the St. Louis Cardinals’ have all but told us that there is not going to be any “dynamic signings” this offseason. The fan base is scrambling, and already have the team finishing behind the Pirates and Cubs next season.

A loss of fWAR is a bit of a concern for the team, as according to Fangraphs, the team has lost 12.7 fWAR this offseason by losing Jason Heyward and John Lackey to the Cubs, and losing Lance Lynn to Tommy John surgery.

Today I want to talk about the fWAR problem the Cardinals have for next season. I plan to discuss all of the internal options the Cardinals have that will help them make up for this fWAR as well as a couple value signings that could get the team over the hump.

The Cardinals have quite a bit of questions remaining for this team, they were beat up most of last year with injuries, had rookies surprise us all, and had a starting rotation that led the league in ERA for an entire season, despite losing their ace.

As we all know, everything finally caught up to them in the postseason when the fresher and younger Cubs got to them and sent them home in four games in the NLDS. So, how can this team improve? How can they overcome the loss of 12.7 fWAR? Will the rookies continue their hot play? These are all things I want to discuss today.

Next: Injured Stars Returning