St. Louis Cardinals offseason preview: free agents, payroll, and targets this winter

The St. Louis Cardinals' season if officially over, meaning all eyes are now on their offseason plans in free agency and the trade market.

Chicago Cubs v St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs v St. Louis Cardinals | Dilip Vishwanat/GettyImages
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Free agent targets

Starting pitching: Aaron Nola, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, Shota Imanaga, Lucus Giolito, Frankie Montas, Eduardo Rodriguez (player-option), Marcus Stroman (player-option), Lance Lynn (club-option), Michael Lorenzen, Rich Hill, Luis Severino, James Paxton, Tyler Mahle, Michael Wacha (mutual-option), Jack Flaherty

Relief pitchers: Josh Hader, Jordan Hicks, Joe Jimenez, Pierce Johnson, Reynaldo Lopez, Robert Stephenson, Brad Boxberger, Shintaro Fujinami, David Robertson, John Brebbia, Michael Fulmer, Luis Garcia, Keynan Middleton, Shelby Miller, Dominic Leone, Emilio Pagan, Ryne Stanek, Chris Stratton, Drew VerHagen

There are a ton of names available this offseason, and each player the Cardinals sign or trade for will impact who else they decide to target.

On the starting pitching side of things, it feels likely that the Cardinals will finally dive into the top end of the market, going after at least one of Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, Blake Snell, and/or Yoshinobu Yamamoto. After that, there are a variety of names who could be a fit for their third rotation spot as well.

As far as the bullpen goes, I'd bet against them adding any big names, unless they are on one-year deals. They'll likely add small contracts to the bullpen or trade for those impact arms.

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