The Cardinals' reset can include signing free agents to be flipped later

There are a few different ways a baseball team can rebuild. One of the most known ways is for a team to become essentially uncompetitive for a time and hoard high draft picks. This route is typically known as "tanking" in the sports world.

Tanking results in years of underperformance and embarrassment for a chance at seeing young players, prospects, and draft picks pan out. The Baltimore Orioles are the most recent example of tanking being effective, but other teams like the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, and Pittsburgh Pirates haven't had as much success with tanking.

Another way to rebuild a team would be to do what the St. Louis Cardinals are doing this offseason. While they are looking to offload some salary via trades of pricey veterans, they still intend on remaining competitive thanks to a talented core of young players. Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Brendan Donovan, and Lars Nootbaar look to lead the team to success while prospects such as Tink Hence, JJ Wetherholt, and Quinn Mathews continue to develop.

Part of a rebuild regardless of the route chosen includes acquiring prospects. Organizations can be savvy in this endeavor by signing free agents and then trading them at the deadline. Front offices are essentially "buying" prospects with this path.

The New York Mets did something similar a couple of years ago when they signed Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in the 2022-2023 offseason to lucrative contracts. Because their season went off the rails, Steve Cohen and his team decided to trade away these veterans while including some money to in turn get high-end prospects. While this is an extreme case, it still shows that one team can get talented prospects in exchange for veteran players.

The Cardinals are looking to employ young pitchers this year and give them some seasoning. Michael McGreevy and Andre Pallante are most deserving of regular innings, but Gordon Graceffo, Zack Thompson, Sem Robberse, Drew Rom, and Adam Kloffenstein could all see time in the majors.

With the rotation already including Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, and Steven Matz, innings will be few and far between. John Mozeliak will likely trade at least one of those four players this offseason, thus opening a spot for a young pitcher. However, if he wants to raise the ceiling of the team this year while maintaining a relatively low payroll, he can look to free agency for some mid-tier starting pitchers.

Guys like Nick Pivetta, Walker Buehler, Michael Soroka, and Sean Manaea could all be had this offseason for prices that are reasonable. They would provide assurance for a rotation that could be shaky next year, and if the Cardinals aren't competitive by the trade deadline, they can be flipped to a contender for prospects.

If the Cardinals want to jumpstart their reset, signing free-agent starting pitchers this offseason would go a long way in helping. These veteran pitchers can fill innings until big-name prospects like Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews are ready, and they can be traded in the middle of the season for other prospects to bolster the farm system.