5 non-tendered players the St. Louis Cardinals should consider signing

The arbitration deadline came and went Friday night. 63 players were non-tendered by their respective teams. Some of those players would be interesting additions to the Cardinals' roster.
Milwaukee Brewers v Miami Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers v Miami Marlins / Carmen Mandato/GettyImages
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Adam Cimber

Adam Cimber is most known for his funky delivery. He practically scrapes the ground as he throws off the mound. His delivery can occasionally be deceptive and throw off batters, and the right-handed reliever has plenty of experience to add to the bullpen.

Cimber will be 33 for most of 2024, and he will more than likely be a reasonably-priced reliever. He was projected to receive an offer of $3.2 million through arbitration this year, and the Blue Jays didn't see enough value in him to tender him a contract. In 2023, Cimber had a 7.40 ERA, 7.46 FIP, and a 1.548 WHIP. He pitched just 20 innings due to injuries and struck out only 15 batters. Cimber's injuries appear to be the main cause of his underperformance.

Prior to 2023, Cimber was a fantastic reliever. He sported a 3.20 ERA in 278.2 innings. He has never been a good strikeout pitcher (6.9 K's per nine innings), but he has limited walks and home runs well in addition to getting a high amount of groundballs. Cimber would be a good addition to the Cardinals' bullpen assuming he is healthy for 2024. Baseball-Reference projects him to pitch 42 innings in 2024 with a 4.07 ERA and 1.286 WHIP.

Matt Bush

Cardinal fans should be familiar with Matt Bush due to his time in Milwaukee these past two seasons. Bush has a career 3.75 ERA, 1.204 WHIP, and 227 strikeouts in 211 innings. The Rangers had Bush start in 5 games in 2022, but that was strictly as an opener, not a starting pitcher. Bush was pegged to receive $2.1 million through arbitration this year.

Matt Bush ended the season with the Texas Rangers, as he was released by the Brewers in early July. The righty was not included on the Rangers' roster throughout the playoffs, and he only pitched 10.1 major league innings last year. His 9.58 ERA is very worrisome. In 35.2 minor league innings last year, Bush had a 2.27 ERA, 0.953 WHIP, and he struck out 44 batters. His 25.2 K% and 8.0 BB% are both above league average.

Bush likely won't command a long or expensive contract, and he could provide some decent coverage out of the bullpen for the Cardinals. He will be 38 for the entirety of 2024, so a one-year contract of around $2 million seems likely.