5 free agents the St. Louis Cardinals should keep in 2022

ST LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 12: Members of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate after defeating the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 at Busch Stadium on September 12, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 12: Members of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate after defeating the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 at Busch Stadium on September 12, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 25: T.J. McFarland #62 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after getting the out in the eight inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 25, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 25: T.J. McFarland #62 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after getting the out in the eight inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 25, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

T.J. McFarland

T.J. McFarland was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals on July 1 for the remainder of the season. Down the stretch, McFarland made a huge impact on the Cardinals’ bullpen.

He pitched in 38 games for the Cardinals going 4-1, pitching 38.2 innings. He had 15 holds on the season with 21 strikeouts.  He was pretty effective at getting outs when he came into the game for the Cardinals. He was known to be able to induce double plays when he entered the game. He had a 63.7 ground ball percentage and an 81.5 left on base percentage.

Recall his reaction to the wild double play in Chicago:

That’s something you need in the bullpen. You can never have enough options like McFarland.

He also appeared to be really popular with the guys in the ‘pen as well as the clubhouse.

Nice!

It hardly seems fair to only have only a few months of McFarland. He is not signed for 2022 and it would be pretty great to McFarland and Lars Nootbaar buddy up again!

Here’s hoping they do work toward signing him to a deal of some sort for 2022 and possibly longer. It’s important to have a reliever with the ability to induce some wild outs.