Cardinals: 5 free agent targets to improve the club before Spring Training

The St. Louis Cardinals seem to be pretty content with the roster they have entering Spring Training, but that will not stop them from exploring both the trade market and free agency to find ways to round out their big league club before pitchers and catchers report next month.

I do not think President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak would say the roster is perfect by any means. He knows that still have room to improve if they want to have a better shot of coming out of the National League, but he also understands that the club does not need to go out and make any panic moves. Yes, they lack reliable front-line pitching, and sure, we do not know exactly who will rise to the surface out of the Cardinals' young bats. The stance that St. Louis is taking, and one that I agree with, is to wait and see how their rotation pans out, and which bats end up making an impact. Then, the club can look to make a major move if they see a fit.

During Day 1 of the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up, Mozeliak gave his thoughts on the frustration behind the lack of spending this off-season and seemed to agree that there will be more changes to the roster as the months go on.

“We could have spent more, but we are not just going to spend to spend. My guess is, by the season’s end, it will probably be spent."

In future weeks, we'll look to speculate how the roster could be improved significantly between now and season's end, but I expect those types of moves to not be in the near future. Even so, I do think there are five moves the Cardinals could make between now and Spring Training to tighten up the roster even more, ensuring a great start to the season and being in a position of strength come the trade deadline.

Andrew Chafin

The fact that Andrew Chafin is still available on the free agent market seems to be related to his asking price - something Ken Rosenthal noted in a recent column. He did link the Cardinals to the lefty, and I think he would be an excellent addition to their bullpen.

Chafin posted a 2.83 ERA with a 10.5 K/9 over 57.1 innings with the Tigers in 2022 and opted out of a $6.5 million player option to enter free agency. He is primiarly uses a sinker and slider combination to get outs, and is coming off two excellent seasons.

FanGraphs has Chafin projected to hit the 63 inning mark with a 3.65 ERA in 2023, which seems to be on the lower end of his projected outcomes. There is always a bit of hesitancy to hand out a multi-year deal to veteran relievers, but if the Cardinals want to take their bullpen to the next level, taking a chance on Chafin may be the best way to do that.

Considering Matt Strahm signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Phillies a month ago, it'll likely take a bit more than that to lock up Chafin unless the Cardinals are willing to wait out Chafin's asking price some more.

Matt Moore

Once a top prospect in all of baseball and one of the phenom Tampa Bay Rays pitchers, Matt Moore has reinvented himself as a reliever over the last few years, with 2022 being his breakout season from the bullpen.

In 74 innings with the Texas Rangers, Moore had a 1.94 ERA and 10.1 K/9. Moore uses a fastball/curveball combination and sprinkles in a change-up as well and has made himself into a desirable option around baseball. Like Chafin, he remains unsigned due to a gap in his asking price and what teams are willing to pay.

The lack of track record is worrisome for Moore, as in 2021, his ERA was 5.40 in his 16 innings out of the bullpen. It really seems like the Rangers unlocked something in Moore. If you look at his Baseball Savant page, he saw jumps in pretty much every category in 2022, including being in the 90 percentile or higher in xBA, xSLG, HardHit%, and Barrel%.

Moore seems like the kind of guy who Dusty Blake would work well with, taking the success he found in Texas and helping him build upon that, and grow his status as an impact reliever in today's game.

Michael Wacha

I'll be honest, I am not a huge advocate for the Cardinals bringing in another starter before the beginning of the season, especially if they are not a front-line guy. The Cardinals already have five guys lined up for 2023, depth options like Dakota Hudson, Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore, and Connor Thomas, as well as Gordon Graceffo and Michael McGreevy, who should factor in at some point as well. But, if Michael Wacha is willing to come in on a one-year deal, he could be worth a flyer for the club.

It's been some time since Wacha broke out as a 21-year-old in the St. Louis rotation. He had a career resurgence with the Boston Red Sox last season, posting a 3.32 ERA in 127.1 innings for them. His change-up remains one of the better pitches in all of baseball, and his groundball-style approach fits right in with what the Cardinals have in their rotation.

I do think it clogs up the rotation quite a bit, but if he is willing to take on a swingman-type role, it may make someone like Hudson expendable in a trade. While Hudson received a lot of flack last season, he was coming off Tommy John surgery, and he is another player that the club sees potential in after revamping his approach this off-season.

There's always something fun about bringing back former impact players. It wouldn't be the same as the Albert Pujols reunion last year, but it does kind of resemble the situation a bit. The Cardinals had DH options, and adding another bat to the equation did not make a ton of sense. Yet, without clarity on the position, they took a flyer on Pujols, and it worked out beautifully.

Again, Wacha is not going to come in and have a magical year like Pujols did, but he could prove to be a valuable piece. Jim Bowden connected him to the Cardinals recently, so it's worth keeping an eye on.

Zack Britton

Stop me if I sound like a broken record at this point, but there's another free-agent southpaw that the Cardinals should pursue to upgrade their bullpen. When it comes to Zack Britton, he may actually be the best fit out of the five free agents I listed here.

The Brett Cecil signing still leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the front office and fans alike, and whether you like it or not, a similar kind of contract is what will get the job done with Chafin or Moore at this rate. Both guys seem like good bets, but again, baseball has this weird thing with relievers. St. Louis would be wise to go down the path of a one-year deal, and if it doesn't work out, acquire a lefty via trade at the deadline.

Britton has been an excellent reliever over the course of his career but struggled with injuries during 2021 and 2022 that knocked him off his elite track. Between 2015 and 2020, Britton had a 1.89 ERA over 291 innings of work for the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees. It was not until his injuries came into play that things fell off for him.

He recently had a throwing session for teams, and multiple contenders are interested in seeing if he can bounce back as a high-leverage reliever. Without other clear places to spend, taking a flyer on Britton would be a low-risk, high-reward investment that St. Louis should take.