Ranking the likeliest free agent starting pitching fits for the St. Louis Cardinals

11. Julio Urias

For multiple reasons, I think Julio Urias is extremely unlikely for the Cardinals this offseason.

The Cardinals tend to stay away from acquiring pitchers with controversy off the field, and Urias was suspended 20 games by MLB under the league's domestic violence policy in 2019. Regardless of how you feel about how the legal process worked out, it just does not feel like something the Cardinals would consider based on their history with free agents.

On top of that, Urias will be looking for a big payday, possibly the biggest deal handed out to a pitcher not named Shohei Ohtani, and he is currently having his worst season as a Major Leaguer. In 19 starts this year, Urias has a 4.15 ERA, and he's also been down with an injury as well.

Urias just turned 27 though, so giving him a long-term deal feels less risky than all of these early to mid-30s pitchers that will be hitting the market. He's also finished top-10 in Cy Young voting each of the last two years, so his talent is likely to bounce back.

Still, I'd put this as extremely unlikely for St. Louis. I won't say it's impossible, but I'd be shocked if they came to a deal.