8 offseason targets for Chaim Bloom to shore up the Cardinals rotation

The St. Louis Cardinals once again will not be major players in the offseason in terms of adding talent to help with short-term aspirations, although they are expected to be far more active than they were last offseason.

Chaim Bloom preached having a long-term view for the next few years, prioritizing decisions that will help the Cardinals return to World Series contention in the future, rather than trying to piece together a fringe playoff team on a year-to-year basis.

While the Cardinals refused to use the term "rebuild" during Bloom's introductory press conference, they clearly are in the midst of one. But when the Cardinals use the word rebuild, they aren't looking to tear the Major League roster down to the studs. In fact, I don't think they are even hoping to be bad in 2026 or 2027 in order to get a higher draft pick. They just aren't going to prioritize winning in the near-term while sacrificing long-term aspirations.

One of the areas that Bloom acknowledged they needed to add to this offseason was their pitching depth, and for good reason.

After trading Erick Fedde and Steven Matz while losing Miles Mikolas to free agency, the Cardinals' rotation options for 2026 are limited. Add the fact that Sonny Gray is a likely trade candidate, and things are even slimmer.

Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy seem like locks for the rotation. Andre Pallante is another option, but coming off a career-worst campaign, he is far from guaranteed a spot. Kyle Leahy is set to fight for a chance in the rotation come spring training as well, and Quinn Mathews should get a shot at earning a spot as well. Beyond that, though, the Cardinals' next men up are either injured or may not be ready for the Major League level.

This is why the Cardinals will likely add a starter or two this offseason, but not one of major note. Bloom will likely target low-cost veterans who could either serve as a swingman or a bullpen arm if they do not need them to start, or someone whom they wouldn't bat an eye at letting go of in order to create space for a young arm. If there's a starter who is being undervalued in free agency that Bloom believes they can get more out of, that's the kind of starter they'll want to add.

I went ahead and looked at the upcoming free agent market, and there are a lot of arms that the Cardinals could end up eyeing to help bring more depth to their starting pitching options. Doing so will prevent them from having to go to a young arm before they are ready, potentially help them have a solid team next year, and/or could become a trade chip at the 2026 deadline.

Here are 8 pitchers the Cardinals could target this offseason to shore up their rotation