3 pros (and 3 cons) to the Cardinals targeting 3 starting pitchers this offseason

Con: Will they have resources left over to upgrade their bullpen or other roster needs?

The other elephant in the room is the Cardinals' bullpen issues. Going into 2024, Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos, and JoJo Romero will surely be a part of that mix. Everything else is up in the air.

Maybe one or two of Thompson, Hudson, or Liberatore factor into the bunch, or other young starters like Gordon Graceffo, Michael McGreevy, Drew Rom, Adam Kloffenstein, or Connor Thomas. Perhaps John King or Guillermo Zuniga carve out roles as well. Regardless, they'll need to add more names to the mix to feel good about their bullpen mix.

Assuming the Cardinals spend on two of their starters in free agency, it makes it very difficult to imagine significant dollars going to relievers as well. Maybe a few buy-low options or one significant reliever could be signed. My guess is they look at some of their trade pieces to grab that bullpen help either way.

I haven't even touched on the potential that the Cardinals could look to add a center fielder as well. I kind of doubt that is in the cards for them at this rate, as with so many other needs, my guess is they rely on Nootbaar and Edman to fill the gap until Victor Scott II is ready.

Resource management will be a real challenge for St. Louis this offseason, in large part due to the massive undertaking this rotation upgrade will take.