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Ranking the 9 most important moves of the St. Louis Cardinals offseason thus far

The St. Louis Cardinals made nine major moves this offseason. How important was each move?

By Thomas Gauvain |
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The offseason storybook for the St. Louis Cardinals may be coming to an end; Bill DeWitt III said as much recently. The Cardinals were one of the most active teams, and they spent a fair amount of money to improve a team that most recently won only 71 games, the team's worst record since 1990.

Changes were made both on and off the field to improve the team. For the first time in a while, a frontline starting pitcher was signed, an outside voice was brought in at the executive level, and a player coming off a strong season was traded rather than kept. Oddities abounded this offseason; fans' emotions shifted at least a half dozen times when pondering the moves John Mozeliak and Michael Girsch spearheaded.

In my opinion, the Cardinals made nine important moves this offseason. There is the potential that the team will make a huge trade for a starting pitcher still or that they sign a reliever, but until those moves are made, we will assume the offseason is over.

These nine moves presented different levels of importance given the direction of the offseason. The clear need was for pitching. John Mozeliak also set out to fix the clubhouse culture, bring in more voices into the clubhouse, remove logjams at various positions, and rebuild a bullpen that didn't mirror the relief corps at the beginning of the season.

That's quite the checklist, but Mo seemed to have accomplished each and every goal, and that made for a strong offseason. Some moves, however, were greater and more important than others. Therefore, I wanted to rank them in importance for the team both now and in the future. I will start with the least important move and end with the most important move from this offseason.

9. The Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft often comes and goes without much notice. It occurs during the Winter Meetings which were held in Nashville this year. Players are eligible to be drafted by other teams if they aren't added to their current team's 40-man roster after a certain number of years (either four or five years depending on their age when they were initially signed).

This year, the Cardinals had a number of players who could be taken in the Rule 5 Draft this year, but there were two players of particular note: pitcher Ian Bedell and reliever Leonardo Taveras. Ian Bedell was the more interesting player in my mind, and the Cardinals were able to retain him. This is the first noteworthy aspect of the team's Rule 5 Draft this year to me.

The second noteworthy aspect of the draft to me was their selection of a pitcher from Boston's AAA team, Ryan Fernandez. This is significant for two reasons: first, Chaim Bloom is familiar with Fernandez, and second, Fernandez represents another pitcher who features a slider/cutter, a quality that the Cardinals appear to be interested in this offseason. Fernandez could fill the final spot in the bullpen, but the trade for Andrew Kittredge makes it more of a competition now.

Most Rule 5 players take their time getting to the majors. When they do make it, it's a bit of a crapshoot as to whether or not they'll contribute at the highest level of baseball. That is what makes these moves the least important of the offseason, my favoritism toward Ian Bedell aside.

8. Signing Lance Lynn

Lance Lynn, welcome back. Lynn's signing came as a shock to many back on November 20th. He will be thirty-seven for most of next season, he was near the top of the league in hits allowed last year, and his 5.73 ERA was also one of the worst among qualified starting pitchers.

Despite all of these weaknesses, Lynn did strikeout batters at a 23.6% rate with 9.4 K/9. That value would have been the best among all starting pitchers last year for St. Louis. Lynn also provides a fire that was clearly absent last year.

Lance Lynn doesn't move the needle much for the 2024 St. Louis Cardinals, but he does help the team with strikeouts and clubhouse culture.

7. Non-tenders of Andrew Knizner, Juan Yepez, and Dakota Hudson

This year, the Cardinals did not tender a contract to Andrew Knizner, Juan Yepez, or Dakota Hudson. Jake Woodford also was not tendered a contract, but the other three players were more significant in my eyes. In the cases of Andrew Knizner and Dakota Hudson, the team cut ties with players who had played multiple seasons with the Cardinals dating back to at least 2019.

The non-tendering of a contract to these individuals showed a change in philosophy. Dakota Hudson, a ground ball pitcher, represented the old way of doing things in baseball. Andrew Knizner had been leapfrogged by Ivan Herrera, a younger, more potent player all around. Juan Yepez didn't have enough defensive versatility, a quality that is key in today's game.

6. Signing Kyle Gibson

The Kyle Gibson signing is eerily similar to Lance Lynn's signing. They differ in a few ways for me. First, Kyle Gibson was slightly better in regard to quality starts. Brandon Kiley of BK and Ferrario explained as much in a post after Gibson's signing.

Gibson's breaking balls last year ranked in the 94th percentile in all of baseball in effectiveness. He doesn't walk batters (6.8% BB rate), and he is excellent at generating groundballs, a skill that the team lost when they didn't retain Dakota Hudson. I have more faith in Kyle Gibson to not perform poorly than I do in Lance Lynn. Therefore, I find his signing more impactful.

5. Tyler O'Neill Trade

It was somewhat bittersweet to see Tyler O'Neill be traded. It was inevitable, but it was still bittersweet. O'Neill gave us plenty to cheer about in 2021; he had finally lived up to his potential that year, and it seemed like the Cardinals had a new big three of Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Tyler O'Neill. Things didn't stay the same for the muscular righty, however, and injuries continued to hamper his on-field performance.

O'Neill's clubhouse presence also came into question on a few occasions. John Mozeliak found it fitting to trade the outfielder for whatever value he may have had left. In exchange, the Cardinals got Nick Robertson and Victor Santos. Robertson, a reliever who will turn twenty-six in July, features a powerful slider and a decent fastball. Santos is more of a depth-starting pitcher who will likely start the season in AAA Memphis.

Trading O'Neill cleared up an outfield logjam, freshened up the clubhouse, and it brought back two pitchers with potential and plenty of team control. I wish O'Neill plenty of success in Boston, and it was disappointing to see him go, but it was time.

4. Trading for Andrew Kittredge

When all hope seemed lost for the offseason, the Cardinals swung a deal for a former All-Star reliever in Andrew Kittredge. St. Louis sent Richie Palacios to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange. Kittredge provides a legitimate back-end threat out of the 'pen, and John Mozeliak finally sold high on a player.

Palacios had a very strong second half last year, but he was buried in the depth chart. In trading him to the Rays, Mo was able to trade a player at his probable peak for a reliever who would help the team immediately. Signing a reliever may have been preferable, but this is a close second.

3. Bringing on Yadier Molina and Daniel Descalso

Local reporters made it abundantly clear that St. Louis needed to expand its coaching staff. After cuts in 2020, the Cardinals never returned those positions. By hiring Yadier Molina and Daniel Descalso as coaches for 2024, the staff is improved in two ways. First, two veteran voices enter the organization. Yadi and Descalso were both a part of winning teams. They can bring that experience back to the clubhouse.

Second, these are truly talented coaches. Yadier Molina continues to win as a coach in Puerto Rico, and Daniel Descalso was a baseball operations assistant in Arizona the same year they made it to the World Series in 2023.

The addition of these two former players in their respective capacities should benefit the team immensely both next year and down the road, as either person could eventually become the team's field manager.

2. Hiring Chaim Bloom

The penultimate choice here could easily be #1 on the list. The reason I placed Chaim Bloom's hiring at the second spot rather than the first is uncertainty around his contract. The length and duties of Bloom's contract haven't been released just yet, so it isn't fully clear what Chaim Bloom will be doing in St. Louis or how long he will stay.

However, bringing in Chaim Bloom as a special advisor to the President of Baseball Operations is no small move. This is a former Director of Baseball Operations in Tampa Bay and President of Baseball Operations in Boston, and he is still only forty! Bloom helped institute a farm system that consistently churns out talented pitchers in Tampa Bay, and he helped take the Boston Red Sox to the American League Championship Series in 2021.

Chaim Bloom's hiring is a big deal. Bloom brings with him a long resume and a fresh outside perspective of the organization. He could eventually take the helm of the franchise, and that would be a good thing.

1. Signing Sonny Gray

The top spot on the list is reserved for the team's ace, Sonny Gray. A true top-of-the-rotation starter was a necessity this offseason, and John Mozeliak brought in none other than the runner-up in the American League Cy Young race from 2023. Gray, thirty-four, will change this rotation for the next three years, and he is on a very reasonable contract.

With Sonny Gray at the top of the rotation, the Cardinals have a pitcher who will keep them in the game every five days. He can compete against the game's best pitchers in any playoff game, and he has already made it a point that he wants to change the way pitchers approach each at bat.

The Cardinals have their ace for the next three years. The entire league took notice when Gray signed with St. Louis and for good reason.

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