4 ways John Mozeliak can finish the Cardinals' offseason strong

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn last week. The acquisitions signaled a move towards building up the bottom of the rotation. Cardinal fans knew that the team needed a pitcher who could go 5 or 6 innings each start and make at least 28 starts next year; however, the fans thought that pitcher would come in the form of Jordan Montgomery or Sonny Gray, not two pitchers who would be at the bottom of the rotation.

There is still at least one spot left in the rotation, and hopefully, a player like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, or Jordan Montgomery will be brought on to help the rotation. In addition to fixing the starting rotation, John Mozeliak can find success this offseason by making some specific moves for the ream.

Here are four other moves John Mozeliak needs to make to consider the offseason a success.

1. Sign a front-end starting pitcher

As I just stated, there are still plenty of options in the free agent market who could be front-end starters in the St. Louis rotation next year. Should St. Louis sign any one of Yamamoto, Snell, Gray, or Montgomery, their rotation would see a huge boost immediately.

A rotation of one of those four pitchers plus Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Kyle Gibson, and Lance Lynn won't be considered one of the best rotations in the league, but it will be a significant improvement from last year. Snell and Yamamoto would be the most expensive of the bunch, but they would also be the best. Gray and Montgomery would be more bargain signings, but they would still be very strong headliners for a starting rotation.

2. Clarify the team's depth

St. Louis's positional depth is unmatched across the league. Paul Goldschmidt, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Tommy Edman, Nolan Arenado, Richie Palacios, and Masyn Winn can all play the infield positions at above-average rates.

In the outfield, Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, Tyler O'Neill, Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson, Richie Palacios, and Alec Burleson are all capable players who could all start. Basically, the Cardinals have twelve players who could all theoretically be consistent starters on most teams in baseball. Only nine players can play at a time. Strong bench players are essential for any team, especially playoff contenders, but depth can become an issue.

Dylan Carlson, Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman, and Tyler O'Neill have all been rumored to be trade candidates, and each player would bring back a decent haul. John Mozeliak would be wise to use the team's strength (position player depth) to build up a weakness, pitching. That leads me to the next move Mozeliak can make to change the tides of the offseason...

3. Trade for a starting pitcher

In addition to signing a starting pitcher, John Mozeliak needs to trade for one to change the perception of the offseason. Dylan Cease, Logan Gilbert, Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber, and Tyler Glasnow have been rumored to be trade candidates this offseason. Bieber, Burnes, and Glasnow are all one-year rentals; Cease is under team control for two more years, and Gilbert isn't a free agent until 2028.

In addition to these high-end trade candidates, there are plenty of mid-tier or buy-low pitchers who could be available. Nestor Cortes Jr., Edward Cabrera, Alek Manoah, and others would be fine additions to the Cardinals' starting rotation. John Mozeliak would transform the rotation in one offseason should he sign and trade for a starter in addition to the signings of Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn.