3 free-agent targets for St. Louis Cardinals after the lockout

Trevor Story #27 of the Colorado Rockies throws the ball to first base against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Trevor Story #27 of the Colorado Rockies throws the ball to first base against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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St. Louis Cardinals
Archie Bradley takes on the St. Louis Cardinals. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

Archie Bradley

The Cardinals have a ton of pitching depth when it comes to their ability to find bullpen help, but what they need is someone who can be a buy low, high-upside player. Which, lucky for the Cardinals, there’s one out there.

After putting on a show in 2020 for both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cincinnati Reds, Bradley signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. After signing a one year contract for $6,000,000, he is now a unrestricted free agent. Now, although he definitely did not perform quite to the standard that the Phillies were hoping for, it does work in the Cardinals favor.

The Cardinals let one of their most reliable relievers, Luis Garcia, walk in free agency which means they have to replace him. However, knowing the Cardinals, they probably won’t go after one of the bigger names out there. So that leaves it to one of the buy low, high upside guys like: Archie Bradley.

Bradley in his career has pitched in 308 games in which he has posted a 3.89 ERA, collected 30 saves, a 1.36 WHIP, and 465 strikeouts to only 191 walks. No to mention that in his career he has a WAR of 6.3.

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Now, it’s unlikely that he’ll make a huge impact for the Cardinals bullpen, but he would help to add MLB depth which was a struggle last season. With Jordan Hicks hopefully coming back, get fresh arms back in the bullpen the stress to be put on his shoulders wouldn’t be anything too stressful either which hopefully would allow the Cardinals to maximize his talents next season.