4 relief pitchers the St. Louis Cardinals should target after the lockout

Matt Strahm

After an injury-shortened season with knee issues, Matt Strahm was non-tendered by the San Diego Padres, making the 30-year-old lefty a free agent.

In 2021, Strahm pitched in six games with 6.2 innings thrown, going 0-1 with four strikeouts. Obviously, not great numbers. In his six-season career, Strahm has pitched in 157 games, going 13-24 with 273 strikeouts with a 3.81 ERA.

Strahm relies on a four-seam fastball, a slider, a curveball, a sinker, and a change-up. Strahm could be a potentially good project for pitching coach Mike Maddux and catcher Yadier Molina. The pair could work with the lefty to narrow down his pitch selection and get him to feel comfortable with the Gold Glove defense behind him.

It would be interesting to see if he could be a mid-innings pitcher or possibly work as a piggyback with another pitcher as an opener.

Alex Claudio

Released in September by the Boston Red Sox, Alex Claudio had a short season with the Los Angeles Angels.

Claudio pitched in 41 games with the Angels in 2021, going 1-2 with a 5.51 ERA, one save and two holds in 32.2 innings pitched. He had 30 strikeouts. He relies mostly on a sinker, a slider, a changeup and a four-seam fastball.

Claudio has been in the majors for six seasons with a career record of 16-10 in 352 games. He’s had 14 saves and 51 holds. He has a career strikeout total of 247. Claudio could be an excellent situational, later innings option that the Cardinals are familiar with after the left-hander spent two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Alex Colome

Alex Colome became a free agent after the Minnesota Twins declined their mutual option in the right-hander’s contract. The club will buy out his 2022 contraction of $1.25 million.

Colome started his career with the Tampa Bay Rays and had much success as their closer, earning 47 saves in the 2017 season. In 2021 with the Minnesota Twins, he pitched in 67 games going 4-4 with 17 saves and five holds. He threw 58 strikeouts.

Colome primarily relies on a cutter and a four-seam fastball. The cutter averages 89.5 mph with 51% active spin. The four-seam fastball averages 93.7 mph with a 97% active spin.

It would be interesting to see how Colome and Molina would work together. The pair could work really well together in later innings. With his cutter working, it would be certain that Colome could benefit from the Cardinals Gold Glove defense. The Cardinals may consider the righty in a later innings role.

Tyler Clippard

Tyler Clippard became a free agent once his option was declined in November by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In 2021, he was 1-1 with six saves and three holds in 26 games, throwing 25.1 innings with 21 strikeouts. In his 15-season career, he has pitched in 803 games, going 56-48, 74 saves, and 952 strikeouts. He relies on a change-up, a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a split-finger pitch, a curveball, and a slider.

Clippard, 36, has a large pitch arsenal and could benefit from trimming down his pitch selection. Maddux could definitely find a project in veteran righty. With an array of offspeed pitches, Clippard could see some success with the Cardinals defense behind as well as Molina behind the plate.