6 realistic starting pitchers who could be home run signings for the Cardinals

Max Scherzer

Everyone loves bringing back hometown kids. The Cardinals missed the boat on signing Max Scherzer during his prime, but perhaps they can be a landing spot for him in the twilight of his career.

2025 was a dud year for Scherzer during the regular season, making just 16 starts on the year with a 5.19 ERA and striking out fewer than nine batters per nine innings. His chase and whiff percentages took massive dips from 2024, and considering he doesn't get a lot of ground balls or miss many barrels, it leaves him prone to allowing a lot of damage.

Now, Scherzer did play a major role in the Blue Jays' run to the World Series, posting a 3.77 ERA over three starts for Toronto, so he did show that when the chips are on the line, he's still got what it takes to pitch effectively against big-time lineups. Because of that, my guess is a contender will find a spot for him in their rotation, and now that his close friend Tony Vitello is managing the San Francisco Giants, I'd be surprised if he doesn't end up there.

Cardinals fans, and rightfully so, have a hard time letting go of the DeWitt family passing on giving Scherzer a contract "in the ballpark" of what the Nationals offered him to come home. He called Adam Wainwright to let him know they just needed to be close to what Washington was offering to get him, but they didn't even call.

Now, if a market doesn't develop for Scherzer, and he still wants to pitch, St. Louis would be a nice landing spot for him. Assuming they end up trading Sonny Gray, Scherzer would give the Cardinals a veteran presence in their rotation, and someone that they could potentially ship to a contender at the deadline if he is pitching well enough.

With Michael McGreevy, Matthew Liberatore, Kyle Leahy, Andre Pallante, and soon names like Quinn Mathews, Liam Doyle, Brycen Mautz, and Ixan Henderson joining the crew, it would be great to have a personality like Scherzer guiding them in their development.