The Cardinals Should Look at Extra Pitching Depth

One thing no MLB team will ever have is enough pitching depth; while the Cardinals have good depth, they could use another proven starter, which I’ve been saying for a while now. So far this spring, Miles Mikolas has a “creaky” shoulder, Kwang Hyun Kim has started slow, and Carlos Martinez is struggling to find the strike zone (although he was better today – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K).

The team has plenty of options – Daniel Ponce de Leon, Jake Woodford, John Gant, Johan Oviedo, Alex Reyes – none of them are really proven options. Here are a few of the better options the Cardinals could check on.

Cole Hamels is the top option. Hamels, 37, made 1 appearance in 2020, going only 3.1 and allowing 3 earned runs; he battled shoulder issues during the season and voluntarily shut it down when he didn’t feel that his shoulder was strong enough to pitch at the MLB level. Prior to 2020, the lefty was an effective starter for the Phillies, Rangers, and Cubs. There is no word on how his shoulder is doing now; there were reports that he was going to hold a showcase back in January, but nothing ever came of it. He’d be worth checking in on and a minor league deal.

Rick Porcello is right there with Hamels atop the pitching list. Porcello is 5 years removed from his Cy Young Award with Boston, but the 32 year old righty has steadily declined since then. He’s coming off a 1-7 season in 12 starts, posting a 5.64 ERA; the good news is his FIP of 3.33 didn’t support the ERA. Porcello is a riskier signing because of his performance, but his health and age are more appealing then Hamels.

The next tier of pitchers drops off quickly. Homer Bailey and Jeff Samardzija have shown flashes of good pitching in the past, but neither are better then the potential of the current Cardinals. A reunion with Mike Leake won’t happen. Zack Godley doesn’t have much of a track record. Trevor Cahill and Anibal Sanchez could provide some depth, but neither are difference makers.

The Cardinals could investigate the trade market.

The Rockies have some bounce back options like Kyle Freeman and Jon Gray, but I doubt they would make another trade with the Cardinals after the public beating they took for giving away Nolan Arenado.

The Cardinals have the depth to see if they could pry Eduardo Rodriguez away from Boston, who is willing to shed salary; granted, $8.5M for a pitcher of his caliber is not much to pay. Nathan Eovaldi is also with them, but he’s owed $17M each of the next 2 seasons and the Cardinals wouldn’t take on that much money and I don’t see the Red Sox being willing to eat much of it.

My top 3 options would be Hamels, Rodriguez, and Eovaldi; Hamels would be good insurance for Mikolas’s shoulder, while Rodriguez and Eovaldi could be upgrades if KK and Martinez don’t get straightened out or the team feels one of them would be better out of the bullpen.

2021 Cardinal Projections: Nolan Arenado, Harrison Bader, Paul Goldschmidt, Yadier Molina

Don’t forget to check the Cardinal Salary Matrix and the Cardinal Prospect Tracker for updates.