Cardinals: 3 bigger names to sign after Steven Matz move

Marcus Stroman

The Mets believe the Cardinals stole Matz away from them, but the Cardinals could take it to another level by signing Marcus Stroman away from New York.

A Nov. 22 report indicated that the Cardinals were in active talks with several free-agent pitchers, including Marcus Stroman, Steven Matz, Alex Wood and Alex Cobb. Matz hoped to sign before Thanksgiving and got his holiday wish on Wednesday, but Stroman has not indicated when or where he’d like to sign.

What could be seen as a positive sign by Stroman is the fact that he gave a shout-out to St. Louis fans who attempted to recruit him over Twitter.

“Cardinals fans flooding my mentions,” Stroman tweeted. “I see y’all. Appreciate all the love!”

Only some much can be made of the social media love, as the buoyant Stroman went on to compliment several other teams and fanbases.

If Stroman does decide to land in St. Louis, the Cardinals would be expected to shell out at least $25 million per year for the 30-year-old pitcher. Stroman would be expected to slide in at No. 2 in the lineup between Jack Flaherty and Adam Wainwright.

If the offseason proves anything, a team can never have too many good pitchers for depth. Signing Stroman could be what takes the Cardinals beyond the Wild Card round through a deep October run in 2022.