Cards' focus on the 'pen ahead of Winter Meetings

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

When the Cardinals hit the Winter Meetings in San Diego a year ago, they had just passed on potential trades with the Athletics and the Blue Jays for a catcher to replace franchise icon Yadier Molina, putting them in a tight spot. Ultimately, they came out of baseball’s biggest offseason summit with Willson Contreras, but they had to cough up $87.5 million to do so.

Clearly, St. Louis learned from that moment and wanted to avoid entering next week’s Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., in desperation mode.

So this time around, a Cardinals club seeking “pitching, pitching, pitching,” as president of baseball operations John Mozeliak put it over the final months of a system-shocking 71-91 season, went on the offensive prior to the wheeling and dealing environment of the Winter Meetings.

Over a 10-day period of the last two weeks, the Cards signed 36-year-old right-handers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson and 2023 American League Cy Young runner-up Sonny Gray. By acting boldly and swiftly, the Cardinals added a combined 36 pitching wins, 97 starts, 559 2/3 innings pitched and 531 strikeouts. They also likely propelled themselves back into contention for the 2024 NL Central crown a year after finishing in last place for the first time in 33 seasons.

With the heavy lifting already out of the way, St. Louis can focus on fortifying its bullpen, exploring the trade market and possibly unclogging its overcrowded outfield. Here are some things to watch for next week when Nashville becomes the epicenter of the baseball world:

Key events

• Sunday: HOF Contemporary Era ballot results released (Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland, Ed Montague, Hank Peters, Lou Piniella, Joe West and Bill White)
• Tuesday: Draft Lottery
• Wednesday: Rule 5 Draft

Club needs

Lost in the Cardinals' starting pitching woes last season was the struggles from the bullpen. Badly overexposed when starters regularly struggled to go deep into games, St. Louis’ relievers had MLB’s 23rd-ranked ERA (4.47) and blew 28 saves. Three of the five pitchers dealt before the Trade Deadline -- Jordan Hicks, Chris Stratton and Génesis Cabrera -- came from the bullpen, so those arms need to be restocked.

A reunion with Hicks could still come about, considering the two sides discussed a contract extension before talks broke down in late July. He would also serve as closer insurance in case Ryan Helsley encounters another injury. Southpaws JoJo Romero and John King were major revelations last season, but the club could still use another lefty to pair with them. Passing on Matt Moore and Andrew Chafin cost the Cards dearly in 2023.

Potential trade candidates

Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson both possess big-time talent, but they have struggled through injuries and inconsistencies over the past two seasons. Both could benefit from a change of scenery and likely blossom into standouts elsewhere. In his first full big league season, Alec Burleson opened lots of eyes with his bat-to-ball skills, and his league-wide value could help the Redbirds nab a big arm for the bullpen.

What the Cardinals are likely still pondering is what to do with lefty starter Steven Matz, who saw his second straight season in St. Louis marred by injuries. Following a rocky start and a bullpen demotion, Matz pitched well over a seven-start stretch before injuries hit again. Could the Cards flip his relatively modest $11 million annual salary to the cost-cutting Rays (for Tyler Glasnow), to the White Sox (for Dylan Cease) or to the Twins (for long-time St. Louis target Pablo López)?

Prospect to know

Cardinals No. 4 prospect Victor Scott II not only tied for the Minor League lead in stolen bases with 94, but he backed up that play with more success in the highly competitive Arizona Fall League. The 2022 fifth-round Draft pick and son of two former college track stars hit .286, had a .388 on-base percentage and compiled an .805 OPS while becoming a Fall Ball All-Star. The speedster, who has worked with Cards Hall of Famer Vince Coleman, stole 18 of 21 bases and struck out just eight times compared to 12 walks and three home runs.

Scott, 22, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar -- fixtures with the Cards who made the jump to the big leagues just a season after starring in Arizona. If the Cardinals are forced to deal defensive ace Tommy Edman this offseason, it’s not out of the question to think that Scott -- who won a Minor League Gold Glove Award last season -- could be the Opening Day center fielder.

Rule 5 Draft

The Cardinals were proactive in protecting some of their most appealing Rule 5 candidates when they added three Top 30 prospects (as ranked by MLB Pipeline) -- catcher Pedro Pagés (No. 28) and pitchers Adam Kloffenstein (No. 17) and Sem Robberse (No. 8) to the 40-man roster on Nov. 14. The Cards got both pitchers in trades from the Blue Jays, and they want to continue to try and develop their promising arms. Robberse pitched in the All-Star Futures Game last July.

When the St. Louis protected Pagés, it dramatically altered the fates of veteran catcher Andrew Knizner and rookie Iván Herrera. Knizner, a favorite of the Cards' pitching staff because of his level of preparation, was non-tendered earlier in the month because of his offensive struggles. That meant the 23-year-old Herrera -- the Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the Year -- would be elevated to the backup role behind Contreras.

Burning questions

Are the additions of Gray, Lynn and Gibson enough to make the Cardinals legitimate World Series contenders in a rugged National League with the Phillies, Braves, Dodgers, Padres and Marlins? Or do they still need to aggressively target another potential ace in the trade market? Would Glasnow, Cease, López or Seattle’s Logan Gilbert make a 12th World Series crown a legitimate possibility for the Redbirds?