Cardinals Mentioned As Possible Landing Spot For Superstar Closer
The St. Louis Cardinals may be done adding to the roster this offseason, but if another move is coming it likely would be for a reliever.
St. Louis already has made a handful of moves this offseason and has improved the roster on paper. The starting rotation is in a much better place and the bullpen also has had some intriguing additions.
While this is the case, St. Louis still could use another arm to help bolster the bullpen after a down year in 2023. The Cardinals had one of the worst bullpens in baseball last season and have needed a boost.
Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter compiled a list of realistic options for each Major League Baseball club to sign this offseason and mentioned superstar closer Josh Hader as an option for St. Louis.
"The Cardinals moved quickly to address a porous starting rotation, adding Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson in free agency, but it still feels like a stretch to call the pitching staff a strength," Reuter said. With the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers looking less and less likely as potential landing spots for All-Star closer Josh Hader, finding a good fit for the electric left-hander is becoming a bit difficult.
"Adding him to the back of the St. Louis bullpen alongside Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos would bolster the entire pitching staff, shortening games to help take pressure off an old rotation."
While this isn't indicative of a move on the way, landing Hader would be a solid pickup for St. Louis. He arguably has been the best closer in baseball over the last few years and logged an eye-popping 1.28 ERA and 85-to-30 strikeout-to-walk ratio with 33 saves.
A move should be considered unlikely as Hader's price tag is expected to be massive, but if it comes down, St. Louis could be an intriguing fit.
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