The Cardinals’ route is among the key storylines of the offseason. The franchise has made clear they’re prioritizing the long run whereas giving extra enjoying time to younger gamers in 2025. They’ve pushed again on preliminary chatter a couple of full teardown, at the very least partially as a result of a pair veterans with no-trade clauses favor to see issues by means of in St. Louis.
Even when they’re not in an entire rebuild, the Cardinals ought to gauge curiosity on gamers with restricted home windows of contractual management. That’s very true within the bullpen. Their star nearer will get essentially the most calls from different groups, however St. Louis has just a few relievers who might come up in talks. Projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Ryan Helsley (eligible for arbitration by means of 2025, $6.9MM projected wage)
The Playing cards are down to at least one 12 months of management over Helsley. In the event that they’re not all-in for 2025, he ought to transfer both this winter or at subsequent summer season’s deadline. An offseason deal would give an buying staff just a few further months of Helsley’s companies and permit them to think about a qualifying supply when he hits free company.
Katie Woo of the Athletic wrote final week that the Cardinals have been already receiving fairly a little bit of curiosity. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Publish-Dispatch advised the Playing cards might must be “overwhelmed” to deal the righty, however they need to be capable of weigh a number of compelling affords.
Helsley is among the many greatest few relievers in MLB. He’s coming off three straight implausible seasons. Helsley broke out with a 1.25 earned run common throughout 64 2/3 innings in 2022. A forearm pressure worn out just a few months of his ’23 marketing campaign, however he posted a 2.45 ERA by means of 36 2/3 frames when in a position to take the mound. Helsley’s arm held up over a totally wholesome season this 12 months. He fired a career-best 66 1/3 innings with a 2.04 mark over 65 appearances.
After starting his profession in a setup function, Helsley proved himself an elite nearer this previous season. He led the majors with 49 saves whereas surrendering solely 4 leads. He paced the Nationwide League with 62 video games completed. Helsley punched out almost 30% of opposing hitters in opposition to a tolerable 8.6% stroll fee. Going again to the beginning of the ’22 season, he carries a 1.83 ERA with an enormous 34.6% strikeout proportion by means of 167 2/3 innings.
Helsley has the form of overpowering arsenal groups need within the late innings. His four-seam fastball sits above 99 MPH. Opponents had a shocking quantity of success in opposition to that heater this 12 months, however the capacity to achieve again for triple digit heaters makes it robust for hitters to regulate to his wipeout slider. Opponents whiffed on greater than half their swings in opposition to the Helsley slider in 2024. He acquired swinging strikes at a 17.3% clip total, a prime 15 mark amongst relievers with at the very least 20 innings.
Alongside Devin Williams, Helsley is one among this winter’s prime two bullpen commerce candidates. He’d match for any contender. Groups that have already got a better might push him into the eighth inning. Golf equipment just like the Phillies, Rangers and Pink Sox have seen their closers hit free company. The Blue Jays, Yankees, Orioles, Royals and Diamondbacks are different potential suitors.
JoJo Romero (eligible for arbitration by means of 2026, $1.9MM projected wage)
Romero has had a pleasant two-plus 12 months run at Busch Stadium. Acquired from the Phillies on the 2022 deadline for utility participant Edmundo Sosa, Romero has emerged as skipper Oli Marmol’s prime lefty reliever. He has posted consecutive seasons with a sub-4.00 ERA, delivering a career-best 3.36 mark by means of 59 innings this 12 months.
There are some issues. After hanging out 28.6% of batters confronted in 2023, he posted a middling 21% strikeout fee this 12 months. Romero had a way more troublesome time lacking bats inside the zone in 2024. That’s a problem for a pitcher who has by no means excelled at getting batters to chase off the plate. Romero has intriguing stuff, pairing a 94 MPH sinker with a slider and changeup. The breaking ball is by far his greatest providing and served because the putaway pitch for 40 of his 51 strikeouts this 12 months.
As one would possibly count on on condition that profile, Romero has been significantly better in opposition to same-handed hitters. Lefties have a .172/.267/.270 slash in opposition to him in his profession, whereas right-handed hitters have teed off at a .280/.337/.472 clip. His 2024 platoon splits are simply as excessive. Romero is perhaps greatest fitted to a situational function, however maybe one other staff feels there’s a tweak they’ll make to get higher manufacturing in opposition to righty hitters. Whereas Romero has elevated the utilization on his slider in each season since 2021, he nonetheless solely used it a couple of third of the time this 12 months.
Romero completed the 12 months on the injured record resulting from forearm irritation. The Cardinals introduced that he isn’t anticipated to require surgical procedure and may have a standard offseason. Assuming that’s the case, he ought to entice curiosity.
John King (eligible for arbitration by means of 2027, $1.5MM projected wage)
The 30-year-old King isn’t as nicely generally known as Helsley or Romero, however he’s coming off a pleasant season. The southpaw turned in a 2.85 ERA by means of a career-high 60 innings spanning 56 appearances. King is a pure ground-ball specialist. He saved the ball on the bottom at an enormous 61.7% fee this 12 months and has a profession fee simply north of 62%. Among the many 160 relievers who threw at the very least 50 innings, solely three (Tim Hill, Clay Holmes and Yennier Cano) had the next grounder proportion.
King doesn’t miss bats, however he’s a situational lefty who ought to attraction to groups seeking to deepen their center aid group. (The Yankees make for a speculative match contemplating New York’s love of relievers with plus grounder charges.) King is cheaply controllable for one more three seasons and has held left-handed batters to a .250/.300/.320 slash over 308 profession plate appearances. Whereas the Cardinals aren’t below any contractual strain to deal him, this isn’t the kind of participant that St. Louis would refuse to entertain in commerce talks. If the Playing cards might pull a mid-level prospect or two, King could possibly be on the transfer.
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The Playing cards have two different bullpen arms who’d entice curiosity, although they’re much less prone to transfer. Rule 5 choose Ryan Fernandez had a robust rookie season. With 5 extra years of staff management, St. Louis in all probability prefers to carry him in a leverage function. Former prime prospect Matthew Liberatore appears to have discovered a house in aid. He’s additionally nonetheless controllable for 5 seasons. The Cardinals aren’t prone to discover a proposal that pushes them to maneuver the 25-year-old southpaw this early in his profession.
