Here are the 7 starters the Cardinals need to target to save their rotation for 2024

4. Blake Snell

At this point, the Cardinals need to swing high, and Blake Snell would certainly be an example of that.

Coming off his second career Cy Young, Snell is at the top of his game right now. In 2023, Snell posted a 2.25 ERA in 32 starts, striking out 234 batters in 180 innings of work. He's got some of the best strikeout stuff in today's game, and the Cardinals could use that badly.

Now that St. Louis had three innings eaters in Mikolas, Lynn, and Gibson, they can afford to take a swing on a guy like Snell. He may just give them five or six innings each time out, but it'll likely be paired with giving up two or fewer runs almost every time out.

Snell is the kind of guy the Cardinals could lean on in October. He can match up with any pitcher in baseball on any given day, and would truly strike fear in the opponents' hearts.

Outside of the innings issue, the other concern with Snell is whether or not he can maintain his success into his 30s. Snell has had two elite seasons in his career (2018 and 2023), three good years (2016, 2020, and 2022), and three average or not good seasons (2017, 2019, and 2021). He is very open about not being afraid to walk batters and relies on his swing-and-miss stuff to get himself out of jams. If that stuff begins to fade, he could fall off quickly.

Does that scare me? Yes. But the Cardinals have to swing big, so I would have a hard time getting upset with them if they decided to go after someone as talented as Snell. Still, I think there are better options available to them.