6 low-risk, high-reward starting pitching targets for the Cardinals this offseason

Jeffrey Springs

In February 2021, Chaim Bloom made a deal with his former organization, the Tampa Bay Rays, sending the then designated for assignment lefty Jeffrey Springs from Boston to Tampa in a deal where Bloom targeted two prospects he was familiar with. It's safe to say that was one of the moves Bloom would have liked to have had back during his tenure with the Red Sox.

While Springs was hit hard in his brief stint with Boston in 2020, his strikeout stuff was impressive (28.3%) and his FIP was 4.81 despite the 7.08 ERA he sported that season. Still, Boston did not have room for Springs on their 40-man roster and moved him to Tampa instead.

At age 28, Springs had an awesome season out of the Rays' bullpen, posting a 3.30 ERA and 35.2 K% in 43 games. The next season, Springs appeared in 33 games, but 25 of those were starts and he managed a 2.46 ERA over 135.1 innings of work, seeing his strikeout stuff drop off a bit but becoming a highly impactful starter. His 2023 season was cut short due to injury, but in the three starts he did make, Springs regained his elite strikeout stuff while starting, posting a 0.56 in 16 innings of work.

Upon Springs' return at the end of this season, he made seven starts while posting a 3.27 ERA and striking out batters 26.1% of the time. while it was not a large sample size by any means, his Chase%, Whiff%, and K% were all excellent and his xERA and xBA were really solid as well. Springs' average fastball velocity had dipped from just under 92 MPH in 2023 to 89.8 MPH in 2024 though, something worth monitoring.

While I do expect the Rays to compete in 2025, Springs is owed $10.5 million in both 2025 and 2026 with a $15 million club option in 2027. We all know how the Rays tend to operate in trading away players as they get expensive in order to replenish their system, and Springs is projected to be their highest-paid player in 2025 at this moment.

Coming off a year where he missed most of it due to injury, they certainly would not be selling him at peak value, although, they do risk his value declining further and paying him $10 million+ each of the next two years. Not a bad number to bet on though, so I'm not sure they'll be as intent on moving him as they were with Glasnow last offseason.

I wonder how much the damage to Tropicana Field during Hurricane Milton may shift some of their plans financially. All of that is still to be determined, but there's a growing chance they won't play any games there in 2025, meaning they may see even less revenue from home games as they are also figuring out other potential investments they may need to make. They have a new stadium planned for 2028, so they are in a really tough spot.

Still, the main reason I bring up Springs is due to how the Rays operate in general and Bloom's familiarity with both Tampa Bay and Springs from his time with the Rays and the Red Sox. The Cardinals are also frequent trade partners with the Rays already, so perhaps Tampa Bay could target some young position players or pitching in exchange for Springs.