Cardinals: 5 big free agent targets for St. Louis entering offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals fell short of their goals for 2022, but these free agent additions in the offseason could make them true contenders in 2023.

After a disappointing exit at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series, the St. Louis Cardinals now enter the offseason with many questions surrounding their roster.

The team is good, and good in most areas. The lineup is good, the pitching is good, the defense is good. But in order to win in October, you need to be great, and have a little bit of luck on their side. The Cardinals tend to air on the luck side, but it’s time for St. Louis to make the upgrades necessary to compete with the best the National League has to offer.

I’ll examine five free agent targets that could provide major upgrades for St. Louis in light of their playoff struggles.

Carlos Rodon

Jose Quintana was excellent in Game 1, and Miles Mikolas put on a good performance. But the Phillies showed the Cardinals just how important it is to have ace level pitching when you get to October. The Cardinals duo went 5.1 IP and 4.1 IP respectively, while Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola were able to shut down the Cardinals in 6.1 IP and 6.2 IP respectively.

Having a guy like Carlos Rodon at the top of your rotation allows you to matchup with arms like these, and go deep into games and put less stress on the bullpen. In Game 1, Jordan Hicks and Giovanni Gallegos had to be used early on, causing Oli Marmol to ask Ryan Helsley to get five outs to end the game. Rodon changes that.

Rodon was 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA in 178 innings of work in 2022. Injuries have always been the main concern with Rodon, but this year he remained healthy, and is coming off a 2021 season where he had an ERA of 2.37.

What Rodon really brings to this rotation that it currently lacks is strikeout stuff, punching out 237 batters this last season. Rodon, Jack Flaherty, and some combination of Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Jose Quintana, or Adam Wainwright would make for a formidable rotation in the regular season, and especially October.

Willson Contreras

Stealing a foundational player from a division rival like the Chicago Cubs is always appetizing, but the clear need at catcher enter 2023 makes this potential marriage with Willson Contreras all the more necessary.

Yadier Molina is now retired, and has easily one of his worst seasons of his career in 2022. Bringing in Contreras allows St. Louis to start the post-Molina era off with a bang, and marks a major upgrade at their weakest position. Contreras has even made his interest in playing for the Cardinals public recently.

Contreras posted a .815 OPS in 2022, which would have been the Cardinals 4th highest OPS in 2022, just behind Goldschmidt, Arenado, and Pujols. That is an over 200 point increase from Andrew Knizner and 280 increase from Yadier Molina. Talk about an upgrade.

Contreras is great behind the plate as well, carrying on the legacy that has been set by Molina for almost two decades. The Cubs catcher has been in the biggest spots this game has to offer and delivered, which should give the Cardinals confidence that he could step into the shoes of a legend like Molina.

Contreras is easily the best catching upgrade available on the open market. The club could look to trade for a catcher, but one of Contreras’ level would likely require top prospects. Contreras won’t get a monster contract like many in free agency, but $20 million+ a year over 4-6 years seems realistic.

Clayton Kershaw

It is a little hard to imagine Clayton Kershaw pitching for any team other than the Los Angeles Dodgers, but if Kershaw still wants to be paid and play for a contender, St. Louis becomes a very real option for the left hander.

Just this year alone, the Dodgers have Kershaw, Trea Turner, Joey Gallo, Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney, and Craig Kimbrel hitting free agency, alongside some of their young core coming up on new contracts here soon. The Dodgers have willing to pay top dollar to resign Kershaw to short-term deals recently, but another team could swoop in this time around.

Kershaw was excellent in his age 34-season for the Dodgers, posting a 12-3 record with a 2.28 ERA and 137 SO in 126.1 innings of work. The injury concerns are real, but it’s hard to find this level of performance, especially one from a battle tested veteran like Kershaw. The recent success of older pitchers like Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Adam Wainwright could open up his market even more.

Kershaw would be the ideal ace for St. Louis if he is truly wiling to leave Los Angeles.

Xander Bogaerts

The Cardinals have a great shortstop option in Tommy Edman and second base with Nolan Gorman and Brendan Donovan. This should not stop the club from considering adding a bat like Xander Bogaerts to their lineup.

In 150 games for the Boston Red Sox in 2022, Bogaerts slashed .307/.377/.456 with 15 HR and 73 RBI. Bogaerts has won two World Series in Boston, and would add to the Cardinals great defensive lineup. Bogaerts will also not be the most expensive shortstop on the market thanks to Trea Turner and other shortstops like Dansby Swanson and Carlos Correa.

Bogaerts would immediately slide in to the number two or five spots in the St. Louis order, giving them three legitimate MVP type hitters in their lineup. Edman would slide over to second base for St. Louis then, Gorman can be the primary DH, and Donovan can bounce around the field on a everyday basis.

It would not be surprising for St. Louis to stick with their middle infield options, but Jon Heyman did list them as a suitor for the big shortstops this offseason.