Tomorrows Baseball

After signing three starting pitchers to begin the off-season, the St. Louis Cardinals are now pivoting to adding pitchers to their bullpen. These are the relief pitchers for the St. Louis Cardinals to target in free agency.

The Cardinals’ bullpen finished 2023 in the bottom ten of most pitching categories, including batting average (.257), strikeouts (562), blown saves (28) and wild pitches (33).

No matter how good a starting rotation is, if the bullpen comes in late and blows the lead, the team will lose most of the time.

As of now, the only relievers on the team who are trustworthy are Giovanny Gallegos and Ryan Helsley. Behind them are John King, JoJo Romero, and Zack Thompson.

St. Louis Cardinals Relief Pitcher Targets

Tier 1

• Josh Hader, 29 years old, LHP

That’s it. That’s the list of the best available. Josh Hader is in a group by himself this offseason. The 29-year-old is a five-time all-star and three-time Trevor Hoffman Award winner for the National League’s best relief pitcher.

Hader is not just the best available relief pitcher this off season, but one of the best of his generation. He owns a career 2.50 ERA, 2.73 FIP, and a 42.2% strikeout rate across 388.2 innings pitched.

Tier 2

• Liam Hendriks, 34 years old, RHP
• Will Smith, 34 years old, LHP
• David Robertson, 38 years old, RHP
• Craig Kimbrel, 35 years old, RHP (Signed with the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday)
• Hector Neris, 34 years old, RHP
• Aroldis Chapman, 35 years old, LHP
• Wandy Peralta, 32 years old, LHP

These seven relief pitchers are the best available for the Cardinals and other teams. They range from closers to setup men to middle relievers.

Aroldis Chapman and Will Smith led the Texas Rangers bullpen to help the team win the 2023 World Series. Chapman had the second-highest strikeout rate among qualified relief pitchers in 2023. However, he also had the sixth-highest base-on-balls rate.

Craig Kimbrel heads into 2024 with the second most saves among active pitchers with 417. He is just three shy of Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen. Kimbrel made his ninth all-star game in 2023.

Tier 3

• Robert Stephenson, 30, RHP
• Jordan Hicks, 27, RHP
• Kenyan Middleton, 30 RHP
• Phil Maton, 30, RHP
• Ryne Stanek, 32, RHP
• Chris Stratton, 33, RHP
• Dylan Floro, 32, RHP

Tier three includes two former Cardinals relievers (Chris Stratton and Jordan Hicks), both of which started the 2023 season with the team before being dealt at the deadline.

Robert Stephenson had a career year in 2023 after finishing with the third-best strikeout rate among qualified relievers. Stephenson also recorded the third-fewest walks+hits per inning pitched.

Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek were part of the 2022 World Series Winning Houston Astros team, although Maton did not appear in the 2022 playoffs.

Tier 4

• Josh Staumont, 29, RHP
• Lou Trivino, 32, RHP
• Shelby Miller, 33, RHP
• Colin McHugh, 36 RHP
• Luis Garcia, 36, RHP (Signed with the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday)
• Jakob Junis, 31, RHP

Two more former Cardinals make the tier 4 list. Luis Garcia spent the 2021 season with the St. Louis Cardinals. He posted a 3.24 ERA in 33.1 innings that season. Garcia has also appeared in five MLB playoff games and allowed just one run in 6.1 innings.

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Shelby Miller in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft. He was with the team from 2012 to 2014 as a starter and finished third in the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year race. As a member of the Dodgers’ bullpen, Miller recorded a 1.71 ERA across 42 innings in 2023.

Long Shot Bets

• Alex Reyes, 29, RHP
• Ken Giles, 33, RHP

Alex Reyes hasn’t pitched since 2021, while Ken Giles hasn’t since 2022. Both of these guys offer tons of upside if they can stay healthy. Reyes has a career 2.86 ERA in 145 innings with the Cardinals.

Bounce Back Candidates

• Aaron Loup, 36, LHP
• Lucas Luetge, 36, LHP
• Mark Melancon, 38, RHP
• Brad Hand, 33, LHP
• Shintaro Fujinami, 29, RHP

These relievers have all had success in the past but struggled mightily in 2023 or didn’t pitch at all.

Mark Melancon is the most successful of the group, as he’s a four-time All-Star and won the Trevor Hoffman Award in 2015. Melancon did not pitch in 2023 due to a shoulder injury but will be ready for spring training. At this point in his career, he is a low-leverage reliever.

Brad Hand is my favorite option of this bunch. The veteran lefty is a three-time All-Star. Hand recorded a career-worst 5.53 ERA in 2023, but his 4.02 FIP shows he was unlucky.

What do the Cardinals Need?

The best-case scenario is the signing of Hader, one Tier 2 pitcher, and one more pitcher from any tier. It is doubtful the Cardinals can bring in Hader. They are known to shy away from bidding wars and have burned themselves on relief pitchers in the past (see Brett Cecil).

The Cardinals need the best available relievers to strengthen their bullpen. If the Cardinals can sign at least one pitcher from Tier 2 and one from Tier 3, that will be a significant upgrade from what they already have. If they fail to acquire a Tier 2 reliever, they must target at least two Tier 3 pitchers.

There is a high probability that the Cardinals look to add a reliever via trade as well, but the pitchers listed here are all free agents.

Let me know in the comments who you think the Cardinals should sign.