St. Louis Cardinals 2021-22 offseason tracker

Welcome to the 2021-22 offseason, St. Louis Cardinals fans.

It should be an interesting offseason for the St. Louis Cardinals. They are clearly going all-in on the 2022 season, with it being Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright’s final season, and appear willing to stretch the payroll to maximize their chances of winning the World Series.

But as we enter the 2021-22 offseason, there are plenty of question marks surrounding the Cardinals. How will they address the rotation? Will they sign a star shortstop? What are Alex Reyes’ and Jordan Hicks’ futures with the team, and is it in the rotation?

Here is what we do know: They had slightly less than $40 million come off the books when they declined the club options for Matt Carpenter and Carlos Martinez. There is money to spend, but a lot of it was used to pay Nolan Arenado’s $35 million salary, and the majority of the current roster will make up their Opening Day roster.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. There is a very talented core in place — Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Carlson, Jack Flaherty, Tommy Edman — that should get them to the postseason. They just need another piece or two to get them into World Series contention.

Shortstop, and specifically Trevor Story, is the position/name that comes to mind to upgrade the position over Paul DeJong. Such an option seems unlikely with Mozeliak recently giving DeJong a public vote of confidence. The same can be said for Max Scherzer, who grew up in St. Louis and is likely to land a multi year contract worth around $40 million per season. It’s just too pricey.

Think of options such as Alex Wood and Alex Cobb to address the rotation while they splurge a bit for a bullpen piece. But there will be money spent this winter. It’s complicated because of the looming lockout when the CBA expires. Yet come spring training, or even Opening Day, this roster will be upgraded. That much I can assure you.

This offseason won’t have an Arenado type splash, but it should still be a good time. Let’s see what happens next.

St. Louis Cardinals free agency/trade tracker

LHP T.J. McFarland signed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract (Nov. 8)

St. Louis Cardinals rumors

6 free agents that St. Louis might pursue

Cardinals targeting starting pitcher 

Cardinals in talks to re-sign Luis Garcia

St. Louis Cardinals payroll 2022

Cardinals 2022 payroll as of today: 129,150,000

Cardinals projected payroll ceiling: 152,468,388

Via: Spotrac

St. Louis Cardinals top prospects 2022

Nolan Gorman, INF
Matthew Liberatore, LHP
Jordan Walker, 3B
Masyn Winn, SS
Joshua Baez, OF
Michael McGreevy, RHP
Ivan Herrera, C
Zack Thompson, LHP
Malcom Nunez, 3B
Tink Hence, RHP

Via: MLB.com