The Cardinals need to sign this World Series legend

The 2024 MLB season is officially over. The Los Angeles Dodgers dismantled the New York Yankees in five games to reclaim the throne.

Within the first 24 hours of the offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals are already busy in their new "retooling" era. Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, and Keynan Middleton all had their team options declined for the 2025 season. With these move, the organization is preparing for a culture shift to focus on their younger core to give them the opportunities to prove themselves. With this first move of the off-season, the starting rotation is already exposed and the team is looking to fill new guys into the next rotation.

The main focus will be to promote from within. Andre Pallante exceeded his expectations in 2024 and is very deserving of winning a rotation spot next season. Michael McGreevy also looked very sharp in the last month of the 2024 season. He is one of the younger arms the organization will be hoping takes a step up going forward. Other young arms in contention will be Matthew Liberatore, Tink Hence, Quinn Matthews, Cooper Hjerpe, and Gordan Graceffo. For most seasons, this is a huge gamble. But the 2025 St. Louis Cardinals are not focusing on 2025.

The Cardinals will also be looking to move some of their larger contracts. This includes players like Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, and Steven Matz. With this being a part of the "retooling", it also creates a couple of more issues going forward. Do fans and the front office ignore the fact that the 2024 Cardinals finished the season with an 83-79 record? Is there really a dire need to blow up the roster and start over?

Running this team back in 2025 with a smart and strategic off-season could make this team compete for the playoffs. But instead, the reset begins and fans just have to accept not competing for several seasons. The young core being retained is the reason the team went 83-79. They can replicate or even improve from last season and this non-competing team could historically find their way into the postseason accidently. So with trading and not keeping the team options on the veteran arms, the 2025 team will be held together by a very unproven rotation.

This is the perfect scenario to sign a guy like Walker Buehler. He is a recovery work in progress which just raised his stock value after a gutsy 2024 World Series performance. Many believed Buehler would not even be a part of this postseason roster given his poor 2024 season where he was rebuilding himself after missing nearly two full seasons from his second Tommy John surgery.

But when the calendar switches to October, this legend rises to the occasion. Buehler started Game 3 of the World Series and pitched a gem for the Dodges. He went 5 innings allowing only 2 hits, 0 ER, and striking out 5 batters. The juggernaut Dodgers were severely needing quality starts to survive the Yankees lineup and Buehler did just that. To put a cherry on top, Buehler closed out game 5 and is now the emblematic celebration for the 2024 World Series champions. But the postseason track record was not born just in 2024. Walker Buehler is one of the best pitchers in MLB postseason history.

So how does this make Walker Buehler a perfect fit for the Cardinals? The 2025 team will need reliable arms for the entire season. Given the conditions of the team still being able to compete regardless of the front office getting in their way, fans will still expect a winning product. Buehler will be a cheap option on a very short commitment. He is looking to reestablish himself as an ace in this league and will sign a prove-it contract.

The Dodgers have two entire rotations returning from injuries in 2025 and they can financially move on from Buehler and still be fine. So the Cardinals can take on the reclamation project and potentially have a front-of-the-rotation arm for a team riding on vibes into October. If the team is a colossal failure and he still looks like an ace, trade him at the deadline for a package of prospects. This signing offers several benefits for the retooling Cardinals. This framework has worked for many teams over the years who are taking the exact same approach the 2025 Cardinals will be taking. It is time for the Cardinals to finally be strategic and smart this off-season.