5 free agent pitchers the Cardinals should be contacting

With several notable free-agent starting pitchers still available, seeing who signs just before Spring Training kicks off will be fun. John Mozeliak, president of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball operations, has said he is still trying to improve the team. And his motto for the offseason was to get "pitching, pitching, pitching."

The additions of Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson are great. Add this trio to Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Zack Thompson, and Matthew Liberatore; you still have some concerns about the rotation. Lynn, Mikolas, Liberatore, and Matz have all had their injury concerns.

Pitching disasters involving injuries have plagued the Cardinals for multiple seasons. Mozeliak should address the potential problem head-on. Don't settle for three free-agent arms when free-agency options are still available. Mozeliak could make a deal for a starting pitcher by trading from the club's prospect pool.

Mozeliak promised to improve this team, and it will need all the help it can get with Oli Marmol still managing. The new bullpen additions are excellent, but you don't want the problems of past seasons where the bullpen gets overused because the rotation is struggling.

More pitching options with guys that can throw strikes will be essential for Marmol and the Cardinals, and while getting more starters would be great, other high-leverage capable relievers would also be great.

Blake Snell is still available to the Cardinals in free agency

While he is a client of Scott Boras, it's surprising that Snell is still available on the free-agent market. Last season's NL Cy Young Award winner is arguably the best remaining free agent pitcher market and should garner a nice payday. He should lead a team's starting rotation for several seasons. But what team will that be, and why not the Cardinals?

He's 31 and technically a bit young for a Cardinals pitcher. But he is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, so you should give him a shot. Last season, Snell was 14-9 for the San Diego Padres. He pitched 180 innings over 32 starts. He threw a career beset 234 strikeouts. That's amazing and just more than what you want in a pitcher.

He is the top remaining starting pitcher to get. He's likely outside of the Cardinals' price range, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't at least kick the tires on him. He is exactly what the Cardinals need.