4 relievers the St. Louis Cardinals could target this offseason

RHP Joe Jimenez

Joe Jimenez played most of his career with the Detroit Tigers. He was traded, however, to the Braves before the 2023 season. In 2023, Jimenez 3.04 ERA, 3.59 FIP, 1.154 WHIP, and struck out nearly 12 batters per nine innings. He pitched a total of 56.1 innings this past season. He pitched one inning in the playoffs. He allowed two baserunners, but he didn't allow a run to score and he struck one batter out.

The Cardinals had the fourth-worst WHIP in all of baseball last year at nearly 1.500. Jimenez has done an admirable job at limiting walks and hits while pitching, particularly hits. Adding him to a bullpen that is desperate to keep runners off the bases would help exponentially.

Jimenez features a three-pitch mix that includes a 4-seam fastball, a slider, and a changeup. The right-handed pitcher primarily uses the changeup against right-handed batters, and it has been an effective pitch at limiting hits. His fastball is his most frequently used pitch, and his slider is typically used as his putaway pitch. The slider has a 45.7% whiff rate and a 27.9% putaway rate.

Jimenez has logged a few saves in his career, but he has primarily been used in low-leverage settings. His 0.80 leverage index is significantly below average for the league. Given his solid statistics and ability to limit hits, Jimenez's addition to the bullpen would be an upgrade.

Jimenez's 2023 contract had him being paid $2.765 million in 2023, and he was valued at $5.63 million. His age leads one to believe that his next contract will be multiple years with an AAV of around $8 million.