3 relief pitching targets for St. Louis Cardinals post lockout

The St. Louis Cardinals will be busy once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached are certain to hit the plentiful pitching market.

The St. Louis Cardinals will seek to bolster their pitching going into the 2022 season.

Cardinals general manager Michael Girsch recently told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold the team will look to add pitching with relief being of most interest to the club. Girsch said the role of the reliever isn’t as important as whether that pitcher is effective and could fit many roles.

With Giovanny Gallegos set to return to his role as closer, the Cardinals will also have Genesis Cabrera, T.J. McFarland, Ryan Helsley, as well as Alex Reyes, and Jordan Hicks. Roles for Reyes and Hicks are in flux after their shakey 2021 seasons.

It’s believed the club will go hard after free agent Ryan Tepera.

The Cardinals were able to add Steven Matz to the club as a starter early in the offseason. Matz is added to a rotation that includes Jack Flaherty, Adam Wainwright, Dakota Hudson, and Miles Mikolas. It will be curious to see what if any role Johan Oviedo or Jake Woodford would have with the 2022 club after significant contributions in 2021. Health and durability are also a concern with this rotation. The Cardinals might want to consider a pitcher they would feel comfortable starting. The club has prospect Matthew Liberatore waiting in the wings as well.

The Cardinals should be heading to Florida with the date pitchers and catchers approaching. The owners and players union have stalled that with the lockout and need to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement. Talks have stalled but the two sides are expected to meet over the weekend.

While commissioner Rob Manfred expressed optimism in a press conference this week to get a deal done, members of the Players’ Union seem not as optimistic. Hopefully, the two sides come to a resolution good for all parties involved and we can get back to baseball. And soon!

Let’s discuss some names the Cardinals good consider bringing in once that new deal happens.