Cyber Monday: Best bargain free agents for the St. Louis Cardinals

Catcher – Christian Vazquez

While the likes of Sean Murphy, one of the Blue Jays catchers, or Willson Contreras would carry more buzz for the Cardinals, Christian Vazquez may be the closest player to Yadier Molina they could get for 2023.

Nicknamed “Mini Yadi” by former Cardinal Joe Kelly, Vazquez would provide the Cardinals with a great defensive backstop, league average hitter, and two-time World Series champion behind the plate. In 2022, Vazquez ranked 7th among catchers with a 14.4 Def on FanGraphs, a statistic that measures a players defensive value considering their position and production, with his number ranking him in the second highest tier of defense “great”.

Vazquez posted a 99 wRC+ while posting a slash line of .274/.315/.399 with 9 HR and 52 RBI. This makes time just 1 point below a league average hitter, which the catcher position is notorious for being significantly below league average. So the Cardinals would get an above-average hitter as far as catchers go, as well as one of the best defenders at the position.

MLB Trade Rumors projects a 3 year, $27 million deal for Vazquez this off-season. That would be $1 million less than Molina made in his final year with the Cardinals, while providing significantly more value that Molina did most of 2022. Not only did Vazquez have a 1.9 higher WAR than Molina did last season, but he was also able catch 108 games last season, which would have been higher had he not been traded to the Astros who already had another quality starting option as well in Martin Maldonado.

Left-handed bat – Ben Gamel

Before you laugh or groan, Brandon Kiley of 101 ESPN noted that Ben Gamel has had a .763 OPS against right-handed pitching over the last two years, and that would have ranked 6th on the Cardinals in 2022. This is not a game changing bat, nor the biggest bat the Cardinals should add this off-season, but would be a great value should the team invest more of their resources with other needs. B

Michael Brantley would be the best option on this list, and actually someone I would love for the Cardinals to grab this off-season, but he will cost a lot more on a one year deal than Gamel will. If the Cardinals spend big at catcher or to address their pitching, Gamel would be a nice under-the-radar pick up for the club.

Gamel also had a thing for mashing against the Cardinals last season posting a .858 OPS in 12 games. Maybe some of the 30-year old’s magic at Busch Stadium last season could continue in 2023 as a Cardinal. Again, this a good value pickup for the Cardinals, not some game changing bat. If they choose to go bargain in other areas, fans should be clamoring for a name like Brantley. If not, Gamel would be a nice name to add to their mix, especially if they lost someone like Juan Yepez, Alec Burleson, or Nolan Gorman to trade this winter.

Reliever – Chris Martin

After being traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Los Angels Dodgers at the trade deadline, Chris Martin posted a 36:1 strikeout-walk ratio with a 1.46 ERA in his 26 games with the Dodgers. He has the stuff of a late inning reliever who would make a fantastic trio with Ryan Helsley and Giovanni Gallegos at the back of the Cardinals bullpen.

Martin has been a bit streaky throughout his career, as most of the non-elite relivers in the game are, but he would come into the St. Louis bullpen fighting to be the 7th inning guy, taking pressure off of him and making him a low risk signing for St. Louis.

MLB Trade Rumors has Martin projected to get two-years, $14 million on the open market, a very digestible number for a club looking to bring their bullpen up to the level of other contenders in baseball. Going after another reliever seems a bit scary considering the club’s recent history with bullpen arms in free agency, but there is a higher ceiling with Martin than guys like Aaron Brooks or Drew VerHagen, and much lower risk than the bigger contracts guys like Brett Cecil and Greg Holland received.

Starting pitcher Michael Wacha

Once a phenom pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Michael Wacha posted a career 3.91 ERA in 7 seasons with St. Louis, having career years from 2013-2015 and then a resurgence in 2018, but injuries ultimately sent him packing from the club. In 2022, Wacha experienced another resurgence as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

Pitching in the tough AL East, Wacha posted a 3.32 ERA in 127.1 innings of work while making 23 starts for Boston. The Cardinals already have five projected starters for 2023, but all five have injury concerns, so bringing in other veteran options would be a wise idea, especially on low-cost deals.

Mike Clevinger, who most would consider a better option on the market, received a one-year, $8 million deal from the Chicago White Sox. If Wacha was brought in on a one year deal at an even lower number, that would represent a very low risk, potentially high reward option for the club.