3 pitchers Cardinals should sign to replace Adam Wainwright

Here’s where we have some fun. We know that the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs are heated rivals. In fact, there were occasions where a player joined both sides of the rivalry. In fact, outfielders Dexter Fowler and Jason Heyward both played for the Cubs and Cardinals in succession. So you can’t rule out veteran left-hander Jon Lester joining the Cardinals.

Lester was coming off a lackluster season in the Cubbies’ 60-game season. Through 12 starts, the 36-year-old recorded a 5.16 ERA and 1.328 WHIP, while owning a 3-3 record. This certainly wasn’t the Lester fans saw dominate upon his arrival in the Windy City in 2015 and help win the franchise’s first World Series since 2016.

Once the World Series concluded, the Cubs opted to decline his $25 million club option for the 2021 season, while also paying a buyout fee of $10 million. Lester isn’t going to command a deal worth his club option, and but could go for around the $10 million the Cubs willingly ate to part ways with his contract, which is pretty affordable by pitching standards.

If the Cardinals were to lose Wainwright, it’d only be fitting that they replace him with fellow veteran in Lester, in hopes that he can regain his 2016-18 form. At this stage, it wouldn’t hurt to take a chance on him, especially if they’re truly committed to shopping for bargains this winter.