Cardinals offseason wish list: Corey Seager’s potential free agent target; rotation is also a priority

The 2021-22 MLB has been going on for a few weeks and Big moves are starting to happen. Like MLB the season itself, the season is a marathon rather than a sprint – although the time is running out of competitive bargaining agreement very complicated how hot season kitchen proceeds.

That said, it’s still the holiday season, and we’ll be reviewing each potential buyer’s winter wish list over the next few days. Now it is The Cardinals of St. Louisin turn, who raised the bar for himself by firing first manager Mike Shildt after a 90-game winning season. Let’s go there.

Shortstop

Team St. Louis really needed some left-handed shots for balance, and Seager provided that and then some from the key position of the shortcut. Seager is coming to the end of a season he has beaten .306 / .394 / .521 for Dodgers with 16 home runs in 95 games. For his career, he owns a OPS + is 131 – a sparkling number for a central midfielder – with 26 runs at home and 42 doubles in 162 games played.

The Cardinals still have some possible omissions in Paul DeJong and Edmundo Sosa – defensive properties, both – but neither of them can touch Seager’s attack ceiling. One can be procured, and the other can take on a specialized role. Given Seager’s propensity to injury, depth at his position is really in demand. Alternatively, Sosa or DeJong can spell Seager for strong starts especially hard and sometimes become a late-round defensive stick for him.

Rotation

The Cardinals-Marcus Stroman pairing has been rumored to be late, and it actually makes a lot of sense – it makes a lot of sense when we prescribe it. Stroman this past season made 33 appearances, giving him the MLB lead in that category, and in those 33 starts he throws for a 3.02 ERA at a 3.59 K/BB ratio, which is the mark his strongest since rookie season. In addition, Stroman’s strong ball tendency will be well suited to the excellent defense in the St. As of the start of the 2019 season, Stroman has an ERA+ of 135. Stroman’s increased willingness to pitch inside plus honing his split shows he can continue to pitch at such a high level. .

With concerns about injury all around Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas and the fact that Adam Wainwright is 40 years old, the Cardinals can use a set number in rotation. Stroman certainly is, and he promises more lasting value than the 37-year-old. Max Scherzer, who is also associated with the Cardinals. More broadly, the addition of a platform starter pitcher could reduce the chances that the Cardinals need to spit Alex Reyes or Jordan Hicks (assuming he is healthy) from the bullpen to strengthen the rotation.

Bullpen

In addition to re-signing Luis Garcia, the Cardinals needed a little more certainty in the ninth inning. Kenley Jansen is the bigger name in the market, but here it says Raisel Iglesias is a better bet moving forward. He’s had a starting repertoire stuffed into a high-leverage relief role, and over the past two seasons he’s been one of the most effective pain relievers in baseball. The cascade effect of the Iglesias signing will be enhanced with depth through the lower rungs of the St. Louis.

Yes, all of this equates to an expensive winter for the Cardinals, but they’ve cut a lot of staff this season. In Oliver Marmol’s first year as manager, the torpedoes had to be perfected for the post-season deep run.