Once the lockout ends, the Cardinals front office needs to be all in for the 2022 season. Check out our article on why they need to spend money to improve this team.
All In for 2022
Currently, the MLB is in a lockout, the first since 1995, so there is little communication between players and organization members. The MLB has wiped out a lot of their website about players. Every player has lost their picture located next to their name on team websites. We have reached a very odd time in the history of the MLB and by the looks of it, we are far away from a deal.
Once a deal is agreed upon, the Cardinals front office has a lot of work to do. They made one signing before the lockout, Steven Matz, a left-handed pitcher from the Toronto Blue Jays. After signing Matz, the plan was to try and sign bullpen arms, but they struck out when failing to sign Luis Garcia, one of their better bullpen arms last year.
In my opinion, there were many better options available than Steven Matz. If I were the general manager of the Cardinals, I would have signed Marcus Stroman or Carlos Rodon. We have talked in previous articles about signing Stroman, due to his ground ball rate and his ability to eat innings.
Carlos Rodon is coming off a great year with the Chicago White Sox, the best of his career. Last season Rodon had a record of 13-5 with a 2.37 era. That is the first time Rodon has had a sub-three era and double-digit wins. Some may say that last year may be an outlier for Rodon, but there is also some promise looking at his performance last year.
Bullpen Help
There are a lot of available arms left in the free agency pool once the MLB ends the lockout. Kenley Jansen is a player the Cardinals could look at. They could look at another Dodger and return former Cardinal Joe Kelly. Kelly is coming off a very good year with the Dodgers. Dellin Betances, Brad Hand, and Alex Colome are reliever names available.
A bullpen arm that the Cardinals are looking for in the offseason is within their own organization already, and that is a healthy Jordan Hicks. Hicks is a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher that has shown his capability of being a good reliever. Hicks has been held back the last few seasons by not being healthy.
One more bullpen arm that would be a large help for St. Louis is Alex Reyes if he is able to get through his struggles. Reyes was very overused last year and led to much of his struggles down the stretch of the season. After the All-Star Break, you could see the lack of confidence and the struggles in Reyes. I called the walk-off grand slam in Milwaukee and knew what was coming in Los Angeles. We all knew it was coming and possibly led to Mike Shildt being fired.
Retirement Tour
One thing that we have failed to mention is the retirement tour that will be happening in St. Louis this next season. This next season is the last season the Cardinals organization will have with two of the most influential players in the history of the team. Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright will be retiring together at the end of this next season. They will both be headed to the Cardinals Hall of Fame and should both be in Cooperstown.
There is a ticket package available to get the best home games to see the Wainwright and Molina starts. If there is a ticket package available then the club obviously cares about the final season. They also know that fans will spend money on those packages. If the front office does not put a product on the field that has the best chance to win their division and win a World Series, then it is a failure. I beg the question, is the Cardinals front office really trying to win if they do not go all-in for Molina and Wainwright in 2022?
Polls
Looking at the polls ran on our Twitter page, here are the results from the questions we asked you.
- Should the DH become universal? 74% Yes
- Are you happy with the Cardinals offseason so far? 59.5% No
- What position do the Cardinals need to fill the most? 51.2% SS
- What Free Agent would you like to see the Cardinals sign? 44.1% Trevor Story
- Are you glad the Cardinals did not break the bank on Max Scherzer? 88.9% Yes
To me, the 44.1% for Trevor Story is a little concerning. Story in my eyes will struggle once he leaves Coors Field. He is a short stop we will over pay for and may not get the greatest production. I agree with the 88.9% of the Max Scherzer signing. The Mets way over paid for Scherzer and I am glad the Cardinals did not spend that ridiculous amount of money.
