MLB Free Agency 2017: 5 potential landing spots for Wade Davis

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 18: Wade Davis #71 of the Chicago Cubs throws a pitch in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on October 18, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 23: Seung-Hwan Oh #26 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch in the eighth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 23, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

3. St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals missed the playoffs in 2017 for the second year in a row, due largely to the struggles of their bullpen and anemic offense. Both will need to be addressed this offseason if the Cardinals want to keep up with Chicago and Milwaukee in the NL Central. Closer is a particularly big hole waiting to be filled.

Seung-hwan Oh came over from Korea at the age of 33 and gave the Cardinals one good year and one mediocre year in the ninth inning. After pitching to a 1.92 ERA and closing 19 games in 2016, Oh faltered in 2017 and had a 4.10 ERA, took six losses and saved only 20 games before losing his job to Trevor Rosenthal. The right-hander has been granted free agency, and the Cardinals will have to look for a new closer because Rosenthal was also released.

Losing Oh and Rosenthal has left the Cardinals with no experienced closer on their roster. The team signed left-hander Brett Cecil to a four-year deal last winter, but he has never closed in his nine-year career. Right-hander Juan Nicasio saved four games at the end of the year for the Cards and had a 2.61 ERA in his first full season as a reliever. Nicasio is also a free agent. The Cardinals should bring him back, but not to close.

Davis has already pitched in Missouri, having spent four years in Kansas City with the Royals before his year in Chicago. The Cardinals could also further entice Davis by making a run at former teammate Eric Hosmer to take over at first base. It’s easy to draw the connection between Davis and the Cardinals given their need for a closer and fully set rotation and mostly solid lineup.

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