Free Agent Ex-Cy Young Winner May Make Sense For Cardinals To Bolster Depth
The St. Louis Cardinals are going to win plenty of games in 2023.
St. Louis won the National League Central title for the second time in four years in 2022 with an impressive 93-69 record. The Cardinals finished 2022 with the fourth-best record in the National League and should be even better in 2023.
The Cardinals returned much of the same roster that won 93 games a year ago but also made some intriguing additions like All-Star catcher Willson Contreras and top prospect Jordan Walker. St. Louis has looked impressive to open the 2023 season, but there are always ways to add even more depth.
If St. Louis were to make any additions, pitching would make the most sense. At this point in the season, there hasn't been much mention of potential trade candidates, but one free agent who still is available and could be of some help is five-time All-Star David Price.
The 37-year-old isn't what he once was, but he still could provide depth for a contending club. Price spent the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and transitioned to a bullpen role and impressed. Price compiled a 2.45 ERA in 40 appearances for Los Angeles in 2022.
At one point Price was one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in all of baseball. He racked up his five All-Star appearances with the Tampa Bay Rays and even took home the 2012 American League Cy Young Award after compiling a league-leading 20-5 record and 2.56 ERA.
Although he may not be the dominant force he once was, he is a 14-year MLB veteran with plenty of postseason experience and a World Series ring to top it off. It's certainly early in 2023 season, but St. Louis should be in contention this year and Price could be yet another piece to add more depth. He likely wouldn't cost much as he's still a free agent and there hasn't been much speculation about his future.
All in all the Cardinals should thrive this season and it wouldn't hurt to start thinking about adding more depth pieces sooner rather than later.
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