Cardinals News: Contract settlements, arbitration hearings, new reliever claimed

Thursday was a significant day in the baseball offseason, as it was the deadline for clubs and arbitration-eligible players to reach an agreement on a contract or exchange arbitration figures heading into potential court dates later in the year.

The St. Louis Cardinals had six players arbitration-eligible players this offseason and reached an agreement with three of those players - Ryan Helsley, John King, and JoJo Romero. The Cardinals were unable to reach an agreement with Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, and Andre Pallante, which means the sides had to exchange numbers today.

The Cardinals and Helsley have not had the best time with arbitration hearings in the past, so the fact they were able to settle is a huge win for both sides. The Cardinals need him to perform at a high level this year, whether he remains with the club for a playoff push or is shopped at the deadline.

Romero was excellent for the Cardinals coming out of the bullpen to begin the season, but things faltered down the stretch as he seemed to run out of gas. He's still an important member of the bullpen next year, but his 5.10 xERA and 4.27 FIP are not encouraging signs.

King, on the other hand, continues to outperform the expected metrics and posted a 2.85 ERA in 60 innings for the Cardinals last year. He's a huge asset for the club when they need a big ground ball out and could take on a more significant role in the bullpen this year.

Cardinals News: Arbitration hearings, new reliever claimed

The Cardinals can still settle with Nootbaar, Donovan, and Pallante between now and their arbitration hearing or finalize multi-year deals, the significance of this day had to do with officially submitting their arbitration requests.

It's not unheard of for a player to come to an agreement with the club before arbitration after exchanging numbers. Last offseason, the Cardinals had to exchange figures with Tommy Edman, but ended up agreeing to a two-year extension prior to his hearing.

There were some rumblings Thursday morning that the Cardinals and utility man Brendan Donovan were close to finalizing a multi-year contract before today's deadline, but that ended up not being the case. There is also now conflicting reports on whether or not the sides are interested in coming to a multi-year agreement at all.

There was a surprise roster move from the Cardinals today, as the club announced they had claimed left-handed pitcher Bailey Horn off of waivers from the Detroit Tigers.

Horn, who was claimed off of waivers by the Tigers from the Red Sox earlier this month, is coming off a really interesting season. After going to the Red Sox, Horn posted a 2.15 ERA and 3.50 FIP with a 29.2 K% with their Triple-A affiliate. but his 11.7 BB% is still far too high. He did not perform well for Boston at the Major League level, posting a 6.50 ERA in 18 innings of work.

Last offseason, the Cardinals found success in building out a bullpen with low-level moves and finding diamonds in the rough (Ryan Fernandez, for example). Perhaps they can find similar success with a guy like Horn.