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Shane Bieber, starting pitcher
With the Cardinals recently swiping their new director of player development from the Cleveland Guardians, they should double-dip and lure away their former ace Shane Bieber as well.
Coming off a season lost to injury, Bieber has been one of the most consistent starting pitchers in baseball since 2019 posting a 49-27 record with a 3.07 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 820 strikeouts over 716.1 innings pitching that included a Cy Young and pitching Triple Crown in the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
Spotrac has his market value estimated at six years, $147M, but coming off of an injury it's hard to see him demanding that kind of money coming off of Tommy John surgery in April.
While it might take a back-loaded deal similar to the one Sonny Gray signed last offseason, Bieber could cash in on another deal after a couple of seasons with the Cardinals if he can prove the elbow issue is behind him. With Paul Goldscmidt's contract off the books, the Cardinals should be major players trying to secure his services in free agency.