This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat e-newsletter. To learn the total e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it repeatedly in your inbox.
Wanting to distance themselves from the frustration of final season’s 71-91 end as rapidly as potential, the Cardinals roared out of the gates when baseball’s free agent courting interval started and hurriedly locked up confirmed veteran beginning pitchers Sonny Grey, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.
After not too long ago spending a day with Grey at a health/efficiency heart in Franklin, Tenn., I can attest that the Cardinals pitching workers needs to be a lot harder, extra pushed and laser-focused in 2024 with the 34-year-old right-hander on the prime of their rotation. However will they be ok to topple the Dodgers, Phillies, Braves and/or D-backs within the rugged Nationwide League and win a World Collection? In spite of everything, that’s the one objective followers in baseball-crazed St. Louis really care about, even after bottoming out in ‘23.
What have the Playing cards gotten accomplished for the reason that early rush to signal these three starters? Effectively, the Playing cards did host Japanese left-hander Yuki Matsui for a go to at Busch Stadium final week, sources instructed me and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Nonetheless, Matsui finally selected the Padres over the Playing cards, as a result of, properly, apparently, it’s barely sunnier in Southern California than Missouri in December.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak confirmed on the Winter Conferences that his staff met with a number of brokers about free-agent pitchers who might doubtlessly log innings for the Redbirds in 2024. Mozeliak has caught to his “pitching, pitching, pitching” mantra after the Playing cards compiled a 4.79 ERA in ‘23, their worst since earned runs turned official in 1913. (Ought to they not even be involved a few hot-and-cold offense that ranked nineteenth in runs scored in ‘23?)
With the bitterness of their first last-place division end in 33 years nonetheless contemporary, the Playing cards know they want further enhancements to their roster to keep away from a repeat of 2023. Do they chase a starter who may fall via the cracks? Can they enhance the again finish of their bullpen? Anybody up for reunions with Jordan Montgomery and/or Jordan Hicks?
Listed here are some issues to search for because the offseason churns on:
Largest query to reply earlier than Spring Coaching
Positive, the Cardinals upgraded their pitching with the additions of Grey, Gibson and Lynn to pair with Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz, however have they got sufficient firepower to be legit World Collection contenders? Mozeliak thinks so, however it looks like he may nonetheless have one other play to fortify the rotation or enhance the bullpen.
The Playing cards by no means significantly entered the chase for Yoshinobu Yamamoto and missed out on a commerce for Tyler Glasnow, per Glasnow on the Foul Territory podcast. Can they swing a deal for Dylan Stop, Shane Bieber or Alek Manoah?
One participant poised for a breakout in 2024
When Jordan Walker made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster with an electrifying spring and began his Main League profession with hits in his first 12 video games, few would have imagined he would have did not get a single vote for Nationwide League Rookie of the 12 months. Nonetheless, that occurred after he was briefly demoted and struggled along with his protection.
Walker vowed he would pocket these classes and use them to springboard ahead in 2024. At 6’6” and 245 kilos, Walker is simply too bodily gifted to not make monumental strides in 12 months 2. The guess right here: 25 homers and 75 RBIs.
One prospect to look at in 2024
Victor Scott II completed with 94 steals in 2023, tied for probably the most within the Minor Leagues. Now, that pace mixed along with his stellar center-field protection, excessive on-base proportion and infectious confidence might fast-track the 23-year-old to the massive leagues.
The fifth-round choose in 2022 continued to open eyes throughout the group by carrying over his stellar Minor League play to the Arizona Fall League. In 23 Fall League video games, Scott hit .286 with a formidable .388 on-base proportion. A Minor League Gold Glove winner, Scott additionally used his blinding pace to steal 18 bases in Arizona.
With the Cubs and Reds caught in impartial; the Brewers seemingly heading in reverse with the lack of supervisor Craig Counsell and a probable commerce of Corbin Burnes; and the Pirates nonetheless coasting, the Cardinals will pull off a worst-to-first surge and cruise to the NL Central crown in 2024.
Thoughts you, that’s not fairly the accomplishment it may be in another division, however it’s going to at the least get the Playing cards again within the playoffs. Nonetheless, with out one other pitching addition, they nonetheless have a protracted technique to go to be World Collection contenders.