The $5 million man: 6 budget relievers for the St. Louis Cardinals

The addition of Andrew Kittredge to the bullpen gives the St. Louis Cardinals an experienced and talented back-end reliever. He provides Oliver Marmol another option late in games, and he makes the team that much better for next year.

However, Kittredge alone likely isn't enough. Katie Woo had a mailbag the other day (subscription required); in her mailbag, she began the discussion by bringing to light the Cardinals' plan for pitching this offseason. John Mozeliak's goal of adding "at least two bullpen arms" isn't accomplished just yet unless he considers one of Wilking Rodriguez, Ryan Fernandez, or Nick Robertson sufficient, which he hopefully doesn't.

Woo stated that there is still room in the budget, despite it possibly being capped out, for one more reliever. This pitcher likely won't come from the Josh Hader bucket, and it's also unlikely he comes from the Jordan Hicks/Hector Neris bucket. Instead, Katie gave a very specific dollar amount for this final reliever.

The Cardinals are looking to add one more reliever with an AAV ranging around $5 million, per an industry source. Pitchers such as Matt Moore and Phil Maton fit that targeted range and the Cardinals have been linked to Maton throughout the winter. The club is high on its bullpen but is still hoping to add one more reliever.

$5 million isn't much in today's free agent market. Given the rise in prices for pitchers of all varieties, Bill DeWitt and Co. are really limiting what John Mozeliak can do with his final signing. Most of the high-end, younger relievers exceed that price tag.

Woo does state two specific relievers that have been reported as options in the past by Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch and others in Phil Maton and Matt Moore. I also discussed Moore in a piece back in October as a player St. Louis should target. I also brought up names like Matt Barnes, Joe Jimenez, and Keynan Middleton as options, but Matt Barnes is likely the only pitcher of that bunch who will be affordable given these financial constraints.

Here are six relievers who will cost around $5 million in free agency.

Matt Moore

Let's start with relievers who have been mentioned by name as options for the 2024 bullpen. Matt Moore moved around quite a bit last year. He finished the year with the Miami Marlins after spending parts of the season with the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels. Moore, thirty-four, throws southpaw and had great numbers against right-handed batters last year.

He allowed a .218/.277/.345 slash line against right-handed batters last year paired with a 34% K rate. These reverse splits will be beneficial in a bullpen that allowed righties to hit .278 in 2023. Most of his appearances last year were in high-leverage situations, and he was excellent at those times, allowing a meager .178 batting average for opponents.

Moore's experience late in games would be paramount to a bullpen that is in desparate need for reinforcements. For his career, he has primarily pitched in low and mid-leverage situations. The large bulk of his innings have come in mid-leverage situations, according to FanGraphs. Moore also only has five saves for his career, and those came in 2022 with the Texas Rangers.

Matt Moore would lkely cost at or below $5 million, so he fits the financial limitations. His 2023 numbers were strong (2.56 ERA, 1.158 WHIP, 27.5% K rate), and his career numbers are also decent (4.36 ERA, 1.387 WHIP, 20.6% K rate). Matt Moore likely won't see very many closing opportunities in 2024 or 2025, but he could easily slot into the 7th or 8th inning to provide assistance.

Aaron Loup

These final relievers are purely speculative on my part, so I won't spend as much time on them. The first is Aaron Loup; Loup will be thirty-six for all of 2024. He played for the Los Angeles Angels last year and posted a 6.10 ERA and a 1.747 WHIP in 48.2 innings. His career numbers are significantly better, however. He has a career 3.43 ERA and 1.258 WHIP.

Loup has only tallied eight saves for his career, but he has faced his fair share of batters in high-leverage situations. Batters have a .272/.353/.383 slash line against him in these scenarios. Loup would have to prove 2023 was a fluke year, but he has shown an ability to pitch well in relief for his career.

Adam Ottavino

Adam Ottavino, a thirty-eight-year-old righty, had a strong season last year for the New York Mets. In 61.2 innings, Ottavino had a 3.21 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.216 WHIP. He also had twelve saves, an attribute John Mozeliak has been looking for in his free-agent acquisitions this offseason.

Ottavino started his career in St. Louis in 2010, and he has played for three other teams aside from the Cardinals and Mets. His career numbers are right in line with last year's stats (3.42 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 1.284 WHIP, 29.5% K rate). Ottavino may be old for baseball, but he appears to have more left in the tank for next year. He would be a sneaky signing, and I'm afraid fans wouldn't love the move, but I think his acquisition would do a lot of good for the 2024 bullpen.

Collin McHugh

Collin McHugh was once one of the best long relievers in baseball, and he was even a starter in his first three years with Houston. The Cardinals have Matthew Liberatore and Zack Thompson as pitchers who can pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen, but McHugh would be a right-handed complement to those two.

Last year, McHugh pitched 58.2 innings for the Braves with a 4.30 ERA and a 4.09 FIP. He was hit hard (10.7 hits per nine innings), and his walk rate of 8.2% was one of the highest of his career. McHugh doesn't seem to have the same touch he once had, but perhaps the Cardinals could make him a reclamation project to provide more depth in their bullpen for next year.