With the World Series near its end, it's almost time for the 2023-24 offseason to begin.
One team that is going to have a lot of work to do is the St. Louis Cardinals. They lost 91 games and finished in last place in the NL Central, falling well short of the postseason.
Most of the work St. Louis does will have to be done on the pitching side, as it was their pitching staff that failed them in 2023. The rotation fell apart quickly and the bullpen became taxed.
These three players from the Rangers and Diamondbacks should be players the front office pursues this free agency season.
Jordan Montgomery
It's been well documented that St. Louis needs three starting pitchers. Perhaps one of them could be a familiar face.
Montgomery was traded from the Cardinals to the Rangers at the deadline, and he has emerged as Texas' ace this postseason. The 30-year-old is 3-1 in six appearances with a 2.90 ERA.
Montgomery is more of a ground ball pitcher, but he is able to record strikeouts when he needs to. He has quickly turned into a big-game pitcher and is somebody the Cardinals would be smart to pursue this winter.
Chris Stratton
Chris Stratton also began the 2023 season in St. Louis, having joined the team in the Jose Quintana trade at the 2022 deadline. However, he was shipped off to Texas along with Montgomery on July 30 with the Cardinals already well out of contention.
While in St. Louis, the 33-year-old was a reliable arm out of the Cardinals bullpen, and such was the case after joining the Rangers. He posted a 3.41 ERA in his 22 appearances out of the Texas bullpen.
In 64 games, Stratton had a 3.92 ERA. His postseason stats are less than stellar, but he would be yet another familiar face that the Cardinals could bring back in order to strengthen the bullpen, which is as big of an issue as the starting rotation for John Mozeliak and the Cardinals to figure out.
Stratton can be used in the middle of games or towards the back end of a bullpen when he is at his best.
Some of the Cardinals bullpen issues were thanks in large part to injuries suffered by Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos. Reuniting with Stratton would give them a reliable bullpen arm to help ease the burden that was placed on the relievers this season.
Andrew Heaney
Andrew Heaney is a veteran arm that can profile as a middle of the rotation to back-end starter.
He joined the Rangers on a two-year deal this past offseason, one that includes an opt-out clause after this year, which of course he will have to exercise in order to hit the open market again.
During the regular season, the 32-year-old won 10 games and posted a 4.15 ERA. He was used as both a starter and a reliever this year, so he could potentially fill multiple roles if the Cardinals target him.
This would also allow the Cardinals to see what they have in some of their internal options such as left-hander Zack Thompson.
Another encouraging sign for the left-hander is the fact that he averaged 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings. St. Louis has put a heavy emphasis on swing-and-miss pitching as they look to completely retool their pitching staff for 2024.
Heaney has pitched the vast majority of his career in the American League, but any pitching helps the Cardinals as they try to rebound from a season to forget.
The 32-year-old could be a candidate to take the ball for the Rangers in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night.
