The St. Louis Cardinals will need to get creative this offseason.
After winning just 71 games in 2023, they certainly need to. St. Louis had one of the worst seasons in team history and now needs to go back to the drawing board. The Cardinals already have stated that the club will be looking to improve the starting rotation and will be looking to fill three spots. St. Louis traded away Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty ahead of the 2023 Major League Baseball Trade Deadline and longtime hurler Adam Wainwright is retiring.
Luckily for the Cardinals, this is a good offseason to need starting pitching. The free agent market is expected to be very deep and then the trade market is expected to be very active as well. St. Louis should be able to improve this offseason, even with high competition.
The Cardinals have been linked to some of the top names available like Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, San Diego Padres star Blake Snell, or Minnesota Twins hurler Sonny Gray and every well could land at least one or two of them. On top of this group, there will be other players available.
One player who could be a solid buy-low candidate with high upside is former New York Yankees All-Star Luis Severino. It's widely expected that Severino will be leaving New York in free agency this offseason. Severino has spent his entire big league career with the Yankees and at one point looked like one of the best pitchers in the American League but injuries have derailed his career.
Severino struggled in 2023 with a 6.65 ERA in 19 appearances before injuries ended his season but he could be a bounce-back candidate in 2024. The big righty is just 29 years old and had a 3.18 ERA in 2022. It wouldn't be too surprising to see Severino sign a one-year deal as he looks to get his value back up. Severino could be a very interesting back-of-the-rotation candidate with high upside if he's able to stay healthy.
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