Cardinals Rumors: MLB Insider says St. Louis will target these 2 top starters

Reports have begun leaking regarding the St. Louis Cardinals' plans for this year's deadline. After last year's aberration of a season and resulting fire sale, fans were cautiously optimistic for 2024. The team went into the All-Star Break this year with a 50-46 record and sole possession of the second Wild Card spot.

This has led the team to be buyers at this year's deadline. Primary needs would be a starting pitcher, preferably one that can slot in as the team's #2 man in a playoff series behind Sonny Gray, and a right-handed bench option, especially one who can capably play the outfield. Names have been thrown around for weeks for either of these needs, but we are beginning to see real reporting surrounding the Cardinals.

John Denton of MLB.com recently gave two specific names whom the Cardinals are eyeing: right-handed pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Zach Eflin.

Eflin has been on my radar for quite some time now as a dream target for the organization, but Eovaldi is a more recent idyllic acquisition. Eflin is under team control for one more year, and he's owed a total of around $22 million over the next year and a half; he's on the books for $18 million next year. Eovaldi holds a vesting option for 2025 worth $20 million, and in order for it to kick in, he'll have to throw 156 innings. He's at 99 after 17 starts.

Zach Eflin has a 4.14 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 1.169 WHIP, and he's striking out batters at an 18.9% clip. Eovaldi boasts a 3.36 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.071 WHIP, and his 23.6% K rate is much stronger. Both of these pitchers would slot in as the team's #2 pitcher in the rotation, and the ceiling of the rotation would be raised significantly. Eovaldi would be a better pitcher, but fans shouldn't complain about acquiring Zach Eflin either.

Eovaldi also comes with a postseason resume that is one of the best in the league right now. He has a 9-3 record with an ERA of 3.05 in 17 appearances. He's struck out 82 batters in 79.2 innings. He was stellar for the Red Sox in 2018 as they chased down a World Series title; he had a 1.61 ERA that year in 2 starts and 6 total appearances. He has also already been linked to the Cardinals by another St. Louis reporter, Derrick Goold.

While rumors and speculation are fun, seeing true reporting from a team's beat reporter is energizing. More names will begin to break as the next 10 days unfold, and the Cardinals will start to be linked to specific players in the interim.