6 free agents the St. Louis Cardinals should consider

The St. Louis Cardinals have a substantial wish list this offseason with lofty goals for a 2022 season to remember.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a number of needs on their wishlist this offseason.

The Cardinals have expressed intent to get a top-tier shortstop. This year’s stock of free agent shortstops has some huge names available. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of some of those available names.

Depending on several factors including minor leaguers, the team could need more than one starting pitcher. Here’s a look at some options for starting pitching.   Currently, the team has Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson locked into the rotation. There has been a discussion of moving Jordan Hicks and Alex Reyes into starter roles. If that concerns you, you are not alone. If the 2021 season taught Cardinal fans anything, dependable pitching depth is essential to success.

The Cardinals were able to re-sign reliever T.J. McFarland for the bullpen. This move is good because he did have success in 2021 with the Cardinals after his mid-season acquisition. McFarland was 4-1 on the season pitching 38.2 innings in 38 games. He had a walk rate of 6.3% and he induced 72 ground balls.

While it’s good to have McFarland return, more options will be needed as there was much uncertainty with the bullpen at the end of 2021. Giovanny Gallegos was excellent down the stretch, but the club needs a veteran, shut-down arm.

The club will also look into bench options for 2022 as many of 2021’s options fell through with the sharp decline of Matt Carpenter, Edmundo Sosa’s turn into a regular shortstop at points of the season, the late emergence of Lars Nootbaar, and streaky play from Jose Rondon. Equally streaky Lane Thomas was traded for Jon Lester when pitching was needed mid-season. Noted prospects Nolan Gorman and Juan Yepez are also knocking at the door. While Nootbaar will certainly mix into the Cardinals system of situational play, other options must be looked into for a successful 2022.

Let’s take a look at some other options the Cardinals should take a look at this offseason.

Joc Pederson

The legend of Joc Pederson definitely grew this season.

Once Pederson was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Atlanta Braves at the trade deadline, the baseball world saw the athlete as a tremendous asset in situational moments. In 2021, Pederson hit .238/.310/.422 with a +94 wRC. He had 19 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs, and 61 RBI in 137 games played. He walked 39 times and had two stolen bases.

He isn’t someone you want in your lineup every day as he has ground into nine double plays and struck out 117 times. For his career, he has -8 defensive runs saved. Yikes.

But when he puts on his pearl necklace and he’s in a clutch situation, Pederson does click it up a notch. He isn’t someone you would sign long-term – unless you are the Braves and are thankful for what he did for your team in 2021.

For any other team, such as the Cardinals, he would be an interesting situational option off the bench. He would be an option if the team was looking for a veteran player who can provide a clubhouse boost with his personality. He would be a good option as well if the team isn’t feeling too keen on having to depend on youth.

While he may have piqued the interest for a Mike Shildt led team, it’s unclear how a player like Pederson would fit on a team now led by Oliver Marmol. Shildt had a set lineup he used every day. Marmol, on the other hand, has indicated he would set the line up more on situations.

If a player like Pederson is brought on board, it would indicate the team will be full steam ahead on situations. It would not be a case of the manager saying it to appease upper management. If Pederson or a player like him is brought on, the manager, coaches, and team have fully bought into what upper management is wanting with situations.

Pederson was signed to a one-year deal worth $7 million in 2021. Unless the Braves want to reward the player, expect Pederson to get a similar deal where he lands in 2022.

Marcus Stroman

Fans should not expect any certainty with the talk of Alex Reyes and Jordan Hicks joining the rotation. If anything, they would be spot starters or placed in a piggyback situation.

The Cardinals will look to bolster their rotation this offseason. The team will need an actual, innings eating type of dependable starter.  If they are serious about it, the team should look at Marcus Stroman.

Stroman had a one-year deal with the New York Mets in 2021 worth $18.9 million. In 33 games, Stroman was 10-13 with 179 innings thrown. He had 158 strikeouts, 44 walks, with a 3.02 ERA. He has a 28.4% called and swinging-strike rate. For his career, he has induced 57.4% ground balls. This is pretty good especially if you have a Gold Glove defense behind you.

Stroman has a deep pitching arsenal as he depends on six pitches – a sinker, a slider, split-finger, a cutter, a four-seam fastball, and a curveball. Stroman’s sinker averages 91.9 mph with 27.9 inches of vertical drop and a 59% active spin. His slider averages 85 mph with 36.2 inches of vertical drop and a 53% active spin. The splitter averages 86.1 mph with 35.2 inches of vertical drop and an 82% active spin. The cutter averages 89.9 mph with 28.7 inches of vertical drop and a 29% active spin. The fastball averages 92.4 mph with 19.1 inches of vertical drop and a 62% active spin. And the curveball averages 77.4 mph with 36.2 inches of vertical drop and a 72% active spin.

Something tells me Stroman would greatly benefit from working with pitching coach Mike Maddux and catcher Yadier Molina. While so many pitch options could definitely throw off a batter, the Cardinals staff could help narrow down his pitching options to become more effective in allowing him to pitch to contact and nail down his shutdown pitch.

Kenley Jansen

When I consider a top tier, shutdown closer, Kenley Jansen is one name I love to see.

With Alex Reyes and Jordan Hicks set to move into starter roles in 2022, this leaves Giovanny Gallegos as the possible closer. While he did excel in the role, it would be great to have a proven veteran to compete with for the role.

Jansen is one of the available free agent relievers that may fit this role perfectly.

In 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jansen has a record of 37-26 with 350 saves in 701 games. He had 38 saves in 2021. He has a career total of 1,022 strikeouts in 705 innings thrown.

He relies on three pitches – a cutter, a sinker, and a slider. Jensen’s cutter averages 92.5 mph with 14.5 inches of vertical drop and a 78% active spin. The sinker averages 93.9 mph with 11.9 inches of vertical drop and a 94% active spin. The slider averages 82 mph with 46.8 inches of vertical drop and 48% active spin. For 2021, Jensen had a 31.2% swinging-strike rate. He left 77.5% of runners on base and was able to induce 37.1% ground balls.

Even at 33, Jensen still has an effective arm. It would be great to see him bring that skill to the Cardinals to help close things up for the club.

Chris Taylor

Yes, Chris Taylor ended the Cardinals’ improbable 2021 season with one blast off his bat. Wouldn’t it be fun to have him on our side now? He just completed the final year of a two-year, $13.4 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Taylor is a super-utility player capable of playing all three outfield positions as well as second base, shortstop, and third base. While his defense is mediocre compared to the Cardinals’ Gold Glove defense, he is more an intriguing option to hit off the bench. He played in 148 games in 2021, hitting .254/.344/.438 with a +113 wRC. He hit 25 doubles, four triples, and 20 home runs. He had 13 stolen bases. In the 2021 postseason, Taylor had 13 hits in 11 games including four doubles and four home runs.

Taylor would be an excellent bench option that has real pop and dynamic postseason experience.

Max Scherzer

Now that Max Scherzer is open to “entertaining an offer” from the St. Louis Cardinals, it’s kind of fun to think about him actually joining his hometown club.

Scherzer is a free agent this offseason after completing the last of his seven-year contract worth $210 million with the Washington Nationals. He was traded in July to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He helped the Dodgers make their way into the playoffs. He ended up not being a real factor for the Dodgers in the NLCS as dealt with a dead arm.

In 2021, Scherzer was 15-4 in 30 games started. He pitched 179.1 innings with a 2.46 ERA. He threw 236 strikeouts and a swinging strikeout rate of 31.6%.

Scherzer relies on a fastball, slider, changeup, curveball and a cutter. Scherzer’s curveball averages 76.9 mph with 54.3 inches of vertical drop and a 67% active spin. The cutter averages 90.2 mph with 24.6 inches of vertical drop and a 49% active spin. The fastball averages 94.3 mph with 14.8 inches of vertical drop and a 91% active spin. The changeup averages 85 mph with 33.9 inches of drop and a filthy 98% active spin. The slider averages 85.9 mph with 32.4 inches of drop and a 25% active spin.

After 13 seasons in the major leagues, it would be nice to see Scherzer come back home and play for the Cardinals in his hometown. Maybe now is the time for it to finally happen.