3 Cardinals backup plans once Jordan Montgomery signs elsewhere
The St. Louis Cardinals opened free agency with a bang, signing Sonny Gray to a three-year contract worth $75 million. John Mozeliak has since focused almost entirely on improving the rotation around Gray. The Cards signed both Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson to one-year deals. On the positional front, little has changed aside from trading Tyler O'Neill to the Boston Red Sox.
Despite several impact additions, there is still room for St. Louis to add another high-leverage starter. Jordan Montgomery has been floated as a potential option for St. Louis, for rather obvious reasons. He spent the second half of the 2022 season and the first half of the 2023 season with St. Louis before being dealt to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline.
St. Louis would benefit immensely from Montgomery's return, but he appears to prefer Texas, where he aided the Rangers' first-ever World Series run. The Cardinals engaged in a fire sale at the last trade deadline, moving both Jack Flaherty and Jordan Hicks, in addition to the Montgomery trade. This offseason has been all about rebuilding the rotation. While St. Louis still has a chance at top reliever Josh Hader, we can probably cross Montgomery off the list.
That being said, here are a few starters St. Louis should consider in lieu of the reigning World Series champ.
3. Cardinals can trade for Marlins' Jesus Luzardo
Steven Matz is currently the only projected Cardinals starter that is left-handed. The Miami Marlins are potentially open to trading 26-year-old Jesus Luzardo, who is under team control via arbitration through the 2026 season. He qualifies as a bit of a pipe dream for St. Louis, a team without much to offer in terms of young talent. But, if the Cardinals offer the right package to boost Miami's offense, maybe the Marlins consider it. Luzardo is worth quite a lot.
The Peruvian southpaw made 32 starts last season, posting a 3.58 ERA and 1.215 WHIP. He registered 208 strikeouts in 178.2 innings pitched. He's probably not No. 1 ace material for a contender — not yet — but he would slot comfortably between St. Louis' myriad veterans on the mound. Luzardo could learn a lot from the likes of Gray and Lynn.
This is arguably the ideal offseason move for the Cardinals. Rather than trading for an expiring veteran or potentially overpaying for Montgomery, the Cardinals can pay Luzardo below market value for three years before he hits free agent waters. As last season proved, St. Louis is willing to spend competitively when the right pieces come along. Luzardo is on a star trajectory. The Cardinals could shepherd him to the next level before offering a major extension.
Luzardo is already quite good. He received his first taste of postseason action in the Marlins' Game 1 Wild Card loss to Philadelphia. It wasn't his best outing, but Luzardo is just getting started. The Cardinals want to return to respectability next season. Luzardo can help while also boosting their long-term outlook.