3 free agent contracts St. Louis Cardinals should’ve matched this offseason

Contract that should have been matched by the St. Louis Cardinals: Johnny Cueto

Remember when the Cardinals were reportedly in the hunt for starting pitcher Carlos Rodón but shied away from paying him the money and giving him the number of years that were eventually handed to him by the New York Yankees (six years, $162 million)? It’s clear the Cardinals didn’t want to invest that much in the southpaw, but it’s also clear that the Cardinals would have liked to have had another starting pitcher option entering the season.

That’s where bringing in a veteran like Johnny Cueto may have made sense. The 36-year-old right-hander signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Miami Marlins this offseason after a solid 2022 season with the Chicago White Sox (3.35 ERA/3.79 FIP/1.225 WHIP), and will likely not only bring flair when he is on the mound but also results (Cueto logged 3.5 bWAR last season while St. Louis starters combined for minus-1.1 bWAR).

Cueto has struggled somewhat in his 12 career starts in St. Louis (4.86 ERA), but his ERA inside Miami’s home park stands at 6.33 in four starts, and that didn’t scare off a Marlins team that is already deep with pitching.

Much like Miami, St. Louis finds itself with options in the rotation. However, a proven veteran starter who could help fill the middle or the back end of the rotation is never a bad thing.