In a continued effort to beef up their pitching staff, the St. Louis Cardinals have signed right-handed reliever Keynan Middleton to a contract.
Per Robert Murray of Fansided:
Free-agent reliever Keynan Middleton and the St. Louis Cardinals are in agreement on a contract, pending physical, according to sources familiar with the deal.
At the time of this posting, the contract terms and details are not known.
In addition to Middleton, the Cardinals have signed starters Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson this offseason. They are trying to turn around a roster that finished last in the National League Central in 2023. The Cardinals last made the playoffs in 2022.
The 30-year-old Middleton spent the 2023 season with the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees, going 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 51 games. He's appeared in 205 career games over seven years with the Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, White Sox and Yankees.
Lifetime, he's 10-8 with a 3.84 ERA over those seven seasons.
With a revamped pitching staff, the Cardinals should be a contender in an intriguing division this year. The Milwaukee Brewers won the division a season ago but appear to be in transition after getting rid of pitchers Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes and Adrian Houser. The Cincinnati Reds will be a trendy pick because of their youth and athleticism. They have immense upside but also will be prone to youthful mistakes. The Cubs currently have not brought back Cody Bellinger from last year's roster and appear worse on paper after losing him and Marcus Stroman.
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