Cardinals Given Strong Odds To Land Top-Tier Free Agent This Winter
The St. Louis Cardinals could get back to the postseason in 2024 with a few solid moves this winter.
St. Louis is in an intriguing spot. The Cardinals had one of the worst seasons in team history in 2023, but there still is reason for hope. St. Louis' offense is solid and with a few starting rotation upgrades the club could make the 2023 campaign look like a fluke.
The Cardinals have been linked to multiple top-tier hurlers and that is going to grow even more as free agency quickly approaches. One hurler who continues to be mentioned as a fit for the Cardinals is Minnesota Twins ace Sonny Gray. The Athletic's Katie Woo did a breakdown of the most sought-after free-agent hurlers and gave the Cardinals a 70 percent chance of landing the three-time All-Star.
"Of all the available free-agent pitchers, Gray feels like the most obvious fit for the Cardinals," Woo said. "He's entering free agency for the first time and is doing so after arguably his best season. However, since he is 34, he likely won't land a lucrative long-term deal.
"A three-year deal for Gray, who was an All-Star for the Minnesota Twins this year while posting an AL-best FIP (2.83) and home-run rate (0.4 per nine innings) is very doable for St. Louis. Gray is a tier under (Yoshinobu Yamamoto), (Aaron Nola), and (Blake Snell) in terms of market value, but he's a reliable, experienced arm who has logged an ERA lower than 3.75 in four of his past five seasons."
Gray certainly would fit in with the Cardinals. He had a 2.79 ERA in 2023 for the Twins in 32 starts. He was also very impressive in 2022 for the Twins with a 3.08 ERA in 24 starts. St. Louis needs a few reliable arms and Gray is one of the best available. Plus, because of his age, he likely won't land as large of a deal as someone like Nola. Landing Gray would give the Cardinals the spending flexibility to spend elsewhere, as well.
More MLB: Cardinals Reportedly Among Top-3 Landing Spots For Highly Sought-After Star Pitcher
