Cardinals Reportedly 'Expressed Interest' In Polarizing Reliever To Bolster Bullpen
Will the St. Louis Cardinals make one more impactful move before pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a couple of weeks?
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak set out this offseason to add three new starting pitchers and two high-leverage arms.
The signings of Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson filled the voids in the rotation. From there, Mozelaik traded for right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge and, pending a physical, landed Keynan Middleton late Thursday night to presumably round out the bullpen.
However, could there be one more move on the way? St. Louis reportedly had interest in a polarizing hurler before signing Middleton.
"They also expressed interest this offseason in right-hander Ryan Brasier, a former (Boston) Red Sox reliever who had a breakout second half with the (Los Angeles) Dodgers in 2023," the St. Louis Dispatch's Derrick Goold reported Friday.
Brasier is coming off an extremely unusual season but his stock might be as high as it's ever been.
The 36-year-old started his season in Boston and posted a horrendous 7.29 ERA with an 18-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .286 batting average against and a 1.57 WHIP in 21 innings.
After being released, the Dodgers picked him up and added a cutter to his pitch mix, which led to other corrections coming into place. Safe to say, those adjustments did wonders.
Brasier posted a 0.70 ERA with a 38-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .140 batting average against and a 0.72 WHIP in 38 2/3 innings to close out his 2023 campaign in Los Angeles.
The report is phrased as if the Cardinals were seeking one final addition of note and picked Middleton out of a few options, including Brasier. The plan was always to add a pair of high-leverage arms and that mission has been completed.
With that said, Brasier caught Mozeliak's eye and he might come cheaper than expected as he's yet to find a team with spring training on the horizon.
Brasier likely will sign elsewhere for a semi-lucrative figure but until then there remains a glimmer of hope that St. Lous makes one more impactful signing.
If not, they still should have a top-10 bullpen in baseball after a successful retooling.
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