The St. Louis Cardinals finished the 2023 MLB season with 71 wins, marking the first time since 2007 that the team had a losing record. With the offseason in front of them, St. Louis is already gearing up for what could reportedly be an active free agency.
St. Louis was easily one of the worst teams in MLB for the majority of the season. It ranked 24th in team ERA (4.79) and finished 19th in runs scored (719). While Cardinals’ hitters did a good job getting on base (.326 OBP, 11th in MLB), it’s one of the few things the ballclub did well in 2023.
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After losing 90-plus games for the first time since 1990, St. Louis is preparing to make changes. While manager Oliver Marmol will return for the 2024 season, the Cardinals’ rotation could look quite different next spring.
According to Derek Goold of the St. Louis Dispatch, the Cardinals will be very focused on finding more starting pitching in free agency. Specifically, St. Louis is expected to make runs at several high-end starters.
Goold names Sonny Gray, Aaron Nola and Blake Snell as some of the top arms the Cardinals will have conversations with. In addition, St. Louis has heavily scouted Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but there is expected to be significant competition for his services.
There is plenty of money for St. Louis to spend this winter. According to Spotrac, the Cardinals have just $106.9 million in committed payroll for 2024. It opens the door for them to spend tens of millions of dollars on starting pitching.
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- St. Louis Cardinals pitching stats 2023: 4.79 ERA (24th in MLB), 48 quality starts (22nd in MLB), .276 batting average allowed (29th), 1.46 WHIP (27th)
It’s not as if there isn’t room for the Cardinals’ lineup to improve, too. St. Louis ranked 15th in batting average (.250) and 14th in slugging (.416) during the regular season, marks that weren’t nearly high enough to counteract one of MLB’s worst rotations.