Signing Ex-Cy Young Winner Would Make Perfect Sense For Cardinals To Add Depth

The St. Louis Cardinals haven't gotten off to the start they had hoped for.

St. Louis started off the 2023 campaign 3-6 through nine games and the club's pitching is one of the biggest reasons for the surprising start. The Cardinals entered action Monday with a team ERA of 4.78 -- good for 19th in baseball.

The Cardinals' bullpen has been solid to open the season and is 11th in the league with a 3.78 ERA. St. Louis' starting rotation hasn't been as fortunate and has compiled a 5.52 ERA across the team's first nine games. The Cardinals should have reinforcements coming soon with Adam Wainwright on his way back from injury, but if the club were considering an external option, one player the team should monitor is left-handed hurler Dallas Keuchel.

Keuchel currently is a free agent and reportedly has been drawing interest from teams in free agency. The 35-year-old struggled in 2022 and bounced around between the Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Texas Rangers and compiled a 9.20 ERA across 14 starts and 60 2/3 innings pitched.

Although he struggled last season, Keuchel is a two-time All-Star and took home the 2015 American League Cy Young Award. At one point he was one of the most dominant lefties in all of baseball, but the last two seasons haven't been kind to him. Keuchel compiled a 3.59 ERA and made 213 starts from 2012 through the 2020 season to go along with a 90-73 record.

Keuchel may not be a top-of-the-rotation guy anymore, but he may be better than he looked across the last two seasons. If the Cardinals were one of the teams interested in Keuchel, he likely could be signed to a minor league contract that wouldn't cost much at all and there would only be upside. If Keuchel were able to regain his form at the Triple-A level, he could join the big league club. But if he struggled in the minors, the Cardinals could release him without much impact on the club.

St. Louis should compete for a World Series title this season. The Cardinals won 93 games last year and should be even better this season. Pitching has been the biggest issue so an addition of someone of Keuchel's caliber could only help. Wainwright's return should help the Cardinals, but they should add even more depth and Keuchel would be a perfect fit.

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