DFA'd Former Dodgers All-Star Is Perfect Lottery Ticket For Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have a need for more starting pitching, especially with the future of Sonny Gray uncertain with the organization.

This much has been clear -- and has been for weeks. Chaim Bloom has talked about the need to add pitching himself. This offseason has the makings to be an odd one in general, though. First and foremost, the Cardinals aren't a team that is likely to go and drop a boatload of cash signing someone. The club is trying to build up the farm system as well, so don't expect some sort of blockbuster trade involving sending prospects away.

On top of all of this, the baseball industry as a whole has questions beyond the 2026 season with the collective bargaining agreement set to expire. All of this is to say, it's going to be weird offseason. For St. Louis specifically, rolling the dice on cheap veterans with upside seems like the most logical way forward as the club tries to fully build out the farm system. One guy who arguably is a perfect target became available on Thursday as well. The Los Angeles Dodgers announced a handful of moves, including designating former All-Star Tony Gonsolin for assignment.

"The Dodgers added OF Ryan Ward and LHP Robinson Ortiz to the 40-man roster," the Dodgers announced. "In order to make room, the Dodgers outrighted OF Justin Dean and RHP Michael Grove, and designated RHP Tony Gonsolin for assignment."

The Cardinals should target Tony Gonsolin

May 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin (26) throws during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images | Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

He's the exact type of lottery ticket the Cardinals should take a chance on. From 2019 through the 2022 season, he had a 2.51 ERA across 59 big league appearances, including 51 starts. His best season was in 2022. He was an All-Star and had a 2.14 ERA in 24 starts. That's insane.

In 2023, though, he had a 4.98 ERA in 20 starts and then missed all of the 2024 season and most of the 2025 season. Gonsolin made seven big league appearances in 2025 and had a 5.00 ERA. He also made four starts in Triple-A and had a 3.21 ERA. He suffered an elbow injury in June and had season-ending surgery to fix it.

Regardless, this is a guy who is just 31 years old and now could be had by simply claiming him off of waivers because he was DFA'd. Will he be able to return to All-Star form at some point? Maybe. Could he be injury-prone for the rest of his career? Also, maybe. But, the Cardinals need pitching and he has upside and is cheap. Why not claim him and bring him to Spring Training and see what he can do when he's eventually healthy?

More MLB: Cardinals Lose 25-Year-Old Pitcher To Reds On Waivers