Cardinals Reportedly Shifting Focus Away From Starting Pitching After Sonny Gray Deal
The St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation was completely revamped in just a few weeks after multiple aggressive plays for a trio of free-agent starting pitchers.
There is no doubt that the team is substantially stronger both from the top-end of the rotation down to their depth after adding three proven veterans to the mix.
With that in mind, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak appears fairly content with the starters in place.
“We feel like we have a strong five right now," Mozeliak told Spectrum News' Gregg Palermo prior to the Winter Meetings. "We feel like we have three or four guys that could give us depth throughout the season as well, so it’s not like a front-line priority but you never say never because something may pop up and make sense."
Mozeliak also revealed that he's started to turn his focus toward the bullpen just days before free agency starts to heat up.
As I stated earlier, the rotation is much improved from the final game of the 2023 season. However, the Opening Day pitching staff is who drove St. Louis toward their first last-place finish since 1990.
That rotation compared to the current one appears to be very similar. Sonny Gray (8-8, 2.79 ERA in 2023) will slot into Jordan Montgomery's (10-11, 3.20 ERA) place. Those two are widely regarded as in the same tier of free agency.
Kyle Gibson (15-9, 4.73 ERA) will fill the void left by Jack Flaherty (8-9, 4.99 ERA) as the mid-to-back-end starter that will at least give them a chance to win. Lastly, Lance Lynn (13-11, 5.73 ERA) will assume the role left by his old friend Adam Wainwright (5-11, 7.40 ERA).
The new trio performed better than the group they left behind but the upgrade is marginal. Given that the Cardinals back-loaded Gray's contract and only are committed to both Lynn and Gibson for one year, it would be wise for St. Louis to make another addition in the Eduardo Rodriguez, Marcus Stroman, Shota Imanga tier.
Mozeliak did put together a formidable rotation given the team's offensive prowess but another impact arm could be useful in turning around a last-place team.
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