The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly interested in these 3 starting pitchers

The St. Louis Cardinals have already pronounced themselves as a team looking ahead to 2024, according to President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.

Here is what that doesn't mean. The Cardinals are not going to trade their superstar duo of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, no matter how many photoshops we see of Arenado in Yankees jerseys on Twitter. I cannot wait for that to end.

It also does not mean the Cardinals are going to "blow up" the rest of this roster. This is not a rebuild, it's a retool with the expectation that they will be ready to compete with the rest of the National League in 2024.

Honestly, it's not only a precursor to this coming offseason, it's also a reaction to misteps from this last offseason.

Sean Murphy, and to a lesser extent, Pablo Lopez, were two names that the Cardinals really should have pooled their assets together to acquire this last offseason. In the moment, I got their hesitancy. They'd already been burned by trading away guys before they really "knew" what they were. Willson Contreras was sitting there in free agency, they technically already have a five-man rotation for 2023. Might as well hold onto their assets and see what they have, right?

Well, 2023 has been about as bad as it could have been. Now the Cardinals are licking their wounds, but need to quickly turn to the "offensive" when it comes to this deadline. This includes not just "selling" on their impending free agents, but also looking to "buy" arms with control beyond this season.

Over at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Derrick Goold revealed some names of starters that are reportedly in the crosshairs of the Cardinals' front office. Each will come at a varying price, but all three could help the 2024 club out in a big way.

Here are three starting pitchers the Cardinals are looking at acquiring

Clayton Beeter, New York Yankees

If you watched the MLB Futures Game this year, you will have already been introduced to the number thirteen prospect in the Yankees system, Clayton Beeter.

Beeter, 24, was identified as a fit for St. Louis according to one of Goold's sources. In 14 starts across Double-A and Triple-A this year, Beeter has a 2.64 ERA with 83 SO in just 71.2 innings pitched. In 2022, Beeter struck out 15.1 batters per nine innings, the highest among Minor League starters who threw 77 or more innings.

There are a few concerns with Beeter. First, there are some concerns about his ability to be a starter long-term, as some scouts believe he may need to transition to the bullpen at some point. The Yankees seem pretty confident in him as a starter though, and apparently the Cardinals do too. Second, he has struggled since being promoted to Triple-A, but he's only made two starts thus far after posting a 2.08 ERA in Double-A.

Beeter does not have a Major League track record, but his stuff is legit. Goold wrote that the Yankees are looking for outfielder help and short-term pitching, so names like Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson, Tommy Edman, Jordan Montgomery, and Jack Flaherty could all be potential fits here in a Beeter trade.

Lance Lynn, Chicago White Sox

As I said earlier, all three of these options are very different from one another, but all three have the potential to help the Cardinals in 2024, including a reunion with Lance Lynn.

Lynn has an $18 million club option for 2023, which makes him a really interesting starter to look at for 2024.

Let's start by saying I do not think the Cardinals would view Lynn as their best pitching option to bring in for 2024. Remember, they need three arms minimum if not four. Lynn would likely come at a very low-cost trade asset-wise, and the $18 million figure is nothing crazy for a one-year deal.

While Lynn's performance has been rough this year, going 5-8 with a 6.03 ERA, he does have 127 SO in just 103 innings pitched. Lynn's strikeout stuff is still there, meaning there is potential for him to turn things around.

I'm not advocating for this move, but just take a moment to look at the reasoning with me. The Cardinals are going to need to take a risk on at least one starter this offseason that may not have been great in 2023 but has the stuff to be better in 2024. They can do that in free agency, but it may cost more annually and may require multiple years. Lynn may just require a name like Juan Yepez or some other lower-valued prospects/fringe big-leaguers.

If the Cardinals did acquire Lynn, I'd still expect them two to take two more swings, one in free agency and one in the trade market, with at least one of those deals being for a front-line starter. Lynn could be a higher upside middle or back end of the rotation acquisition, which depending on the cost, could be interesting for St. Louis.

Check out my weekly podcast "Redbird Rundown" on Spotify or Apple Podcasts as well as follow me on Twitter @joshjacoMLB for more Cardinals content