3 free agents in the World Series the Cardinals should target during the offseason

LHP Alex Vesia

After the trade deadline, the Cardinals had only one reliable left-handed reliever in the bullpen: JoJo Romero. They had John King and Jorge Alcala, both players who are up for arbitration this winter, as options, but they were unproven and/or unreliable in relief. Oliver Marmol's options were quite limited when it came to combating left-handed hitters.

One of the club's goals this offseason should be to add another left-handed reliever for Marmol in 2025, and there isn't a better option from the World Series teams than Alex Vesia.

Vesia, 29, had an incredible 2025 season for the Dodgers. He finished the year with a 3.02 ERA across 59.2 innings. He struck out 80 batters for a K/9 ratio of 12.1, a mark right in line with his career average. Vesia also recorded five saves, so he's no stranger to high-leverage situations.

Over the last two years, Alex Vesia has posted a 2.36 ERA with 167 strikeouts across 126 innings. His 0.992 WHIP shows that he doesn't put himself in trouble either.

Since his debut, Vesia has been exceptional at shutting down left-handed batters. Lefties have a career slash line of just .177/.259/.285 against him for an OPS of .544. He also strikes out lefties at a much higher clip than right-handed batters.

Vesia's 4-seam fastball is his best pitch, and batters hit only .169 against it in 2025. His slider generated whiffs at an absurd 37% clip, and the two pitches pair well together. His calling card is clearly his 97th-percentile strikeout rate, but he also generates soft contact. Walks are a bit of a concern for him (9.3% BB rate, 28th percentile), but his insane strikeout rate balances any free pass concerns.

The main concern in the Cardinals' signing Alex Vesia is his meager $3.6 million club option for next year; the option has a $50,000 buyout. The Dodgers will assuredly accept the club option on Vesia given his production for them these last two years. If they decline the option and swallow the infinitesimal buyout, the Cardinals should pounce on the opportunity to sign Vesia to a two or three-year deal.