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.

Brad Boxberger

Veteran righty Brad Boxberger, 33, was 5-4 with four saves for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021. He pitched 64.2 innings in 71 games. He had 83 strikeouts.

Boxberger uses a four-seam fastball, a slider and a changeup. Boxberger’s use of off-speed pitches is surely intriguing for the Cardinals, who do appreciate a pitcher who feels comfortable using the defense behind him. And why not. The Cardinals have a Rawlings Gold Glove-winning defense in Nolan Arenado, Tommy Edman, Paul Goldschmidt, Harrison Bader and Tyler O’Neill. Not to mention Yadier Molina behind the plate.

Boxberger’s fastball averages 93.5 mph with a 14.1-inch vertical drop and an active spin of 90%. His slider averages 88 mph with a 28.5-inch vertical drop and an active spin of 48%. The change-up averages 82.5 mph with a 35.3-inch vertical drop and an active spin of 90%.

Boxberger’s pitches have a lot of movement and he would be an interesting option in certain situations. While he isn’t necessarily an innings eater, he can be an asset for a critical inning or two, if needed.

Collin McHugh

Righty pitcher Collin McHugh, 34, threw in 37 games in 2021 going 6-1 with one save in 64 innings pitched. He tossed 74 strikeouts.

McHugh would be an intriguing option for the Cardinals staff as he could be stretched out to become a long-innings reliever or a spot starter.

McHugh uses a slider averaging 79.5 mph with 44.4-inches of vertical drop and an active spin of 59%. McHugh’s cutter averages 87.5 mph with 27.9-inches of vertical drop and an active spin of 36%. He uses a four-seam fastball averaging 90.6 mph with 16.1-inches of vertical drop and an active spin of 88%. He has a curveball that averages 74.3 mph with 63.7-inches of vertical drop and an active spin of 81%.

The veteran pitcher has some interesting off-speed pitches that would be a great addition to the Cardinals pitching staff. He would be a good mix with our defense and future Hall of Fame catcher, Yadier Molina.

It would be fun to add him on staff to a low-cost two or three-year deal with incentives.