5 free agents the St. Louis Cardinals should pursue

Robbie Ray

With eight seasons under his belt, lefty Robbie Ray had a tremendous 2021 season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 32 games, Ray was 13-7 with 139.1 innings pitched and 248 strikeouts. A lefty who can eat innings and throw strikes? Sign him up!

Ray relies on a four-seam fastball and a slider, mixing in a curveball, change-up and sinker to throw hitters off balance. The 4 seam fastball averages 94.8 mph, with a 93% active spin and a 13.5-inch vertical drop. The max velocity on his curve is 82.5 mph with 13% active spin and a vertical drop of 40.3 inches. The slider maxes out at 88.6 mph with a 27.6-inch vertical drop. The sinker pitch allowed him to put away batters at a rate of 33.3%, averaging 95.5 mph with a 42% active spin and a 15.1-inch vertical drop.

Ray had an outstanding month of August and just like the Cardinals very own Adam Wainwright, he earned August Pitcher of the Month honors for the American League. Those two on the same team could be outstanding.

Ray is a workhorse and would be an awesome addition to the pitching staff in that he would provide a left-handed option for eating up innings and throwing strikes. It would be great to get a two-year deal with him.