6 biggest moves by the St. Louis Cardinals during the Winter Meetings

St. Louis Cardinals sign closer Jason Isringhausen at the 2001 MLB Winter Meetings.

The 2001 MLB Winter Meetings were held in Boston, Massachusetts. The Cardinals signed the largest free-agent contract in franchise history up to that point for a reliever when they agreed to a four-year deal with closer Jason Isringhausen. The deal, worth $27 million, would make one of the game's best closers a Cardinal through at least the 2005 season.

Izzy became a true shutdown closer for the Cardinals from 2002 through 2008. This major commitment to a reliever, something the Cardinals hadn't done up to that point, showed their belief in their core in the early 2000s, and the deal paid off handsomely for St. Louis.

Prior to 2002, the Cardinals relied on a slew of closers who didn't prove to be consistent or overly dominant. They tried pitchers like Dave Veres and Mike Timlin, but neither was strong enough to be a lockdown closer for a team on the rise. Izzy's cut fastball was his calling card, and the Cardinals viewed him as a perfect fit for their staff.

Early on, the Cardinals' investment in Isringhausen paid off. He racked up 32 saves in 2002 en route to a 97-win season and an NLCS berth. He got even better in 2004, accumulating 47 saves and anchoring a bullpen that would help the Cardinals get to the World Series that year. Isringhausen was injured during the 2006 World Series championship season, but he was still a leader in the bullpen, and his presence helped the eventual closer, Adam Wainwright, gain confidence to close out the final games in both the NLCS and World Series that year.

Isringhausen has the most saves in St. Louis Cardinals franchise history with 217 of them, a figure that likely won't be surpassed. His 2.98 ERA with the Cardinals is elite, and his 373 strikeouts rank fourth all-time for Cardinals' relievers. He was one of the best relievers of his era, and he was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2019 via fan vote. Without Jason Isringhausen, the Cardinals of the early 2000s would not have been nearly as successful as they were.