3 free agents Cardinals must sign to win the NL Central and more in 2025

The St. Louis Cardinals are the definition of the place that a franchise doesn't want to be in. They're too old and expensive to be a rebuilding team. They're not winning enough games and not talented enough to be a contending team. They're exactly in the middle and it's the worst place to be.

But the front office has sold out to try to contend. Again, this season, they opted to buy at the trade deadline rather than selling on some of the star players and entering a short term rebuild. They dealt out big contracts last offseason. If they want to contend, like all the signs indicate, they're going to need to be big spenders in free agency.

These three players would be dream free agent signings for St. Louis.

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3. SP Blake Snell, Giants

There may not have been a player in baseball that had a more roller coaster season than the San Fransisco Giants' ace, Blake Snell. Snell expected to get a long term contract last offseason, but after a complete mishandling of the situation by his agent, Scott Boras, Snell landed a short term deal with the Giants after missing spring training.

Missing spring training came back to haunt Snell early in the year, causing many to speculate that he would accept his massive player option in the 2025 offseason. But now, Snell has turned his game around and again shown that he's a Cy Young caliber arm. All signs indicate that he will decline his option and enter free agency in pursuit of a multi-year contract.

The Cardinals have already dished out a ton of money towards their starting rotation, but they need an arm like Snell to place atop the rotation. St. Louis could look to trade a guy like Miles Mikolas during the offseason in order to clear cap space and a spot in the rotation.

Snell would be a complete game changer in St. Louis. He can go toe to toe with any pitcher in the league. When Snell is on, he pitches like the best pitcher in baseball. St. Louis needs a certified ace in their staff and Snell is the perfect guy for that role.

2. OF Anthony Santander, Orioles

The Cardinals outfield struggled for a good portion of the season. Specifically, they didn't hit for much power. St. Louis had hoped that Jordan Walker would burst on the scene, but he's largely been up and down in his professional career. St. Louis needs a bat that they can slot in the outfield every single day that can produce and produce with power.

The biggest breakout outfielder of the season has been the Baltimore Orioles' star Anthony Santander. The Orioles are going to be very persistent in the pursuit of re-signing him this offseason, but Santander has played so well that he should receieve uite a large contract.

On the year, he's slashing .237/.307/.506 with 41 home runs and nearly 100 RBIs. Santander has a career-high in home runs this season after posting a career-high in doubles last year. It may have taken him a while, but he's found his stride in the big leagues.

Pulling him from Baltimore could be a tough task, given the fact that he's played their his entire big league career, but with the right contract, St. Louis could bring him in. St. Louis needs an impact bat in their outfield and Santander would be the perfect option to take on.

1. 1B Pete Alonso, Mets

The Cardinals look ready to let their veteran superstar, Paul Goldschmidt walk in free agency. If the Cardinals opt to resign Goldschmidt, the odds of them adding New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso drops quite a bit. Still, they could add Alonso while resigning Goldschmidt with the idea of moving one of them to DH.

This proposed idea is under the understanding that St. Louis is likely to see Goldschmidt head elsewhere in free agency. There aren't many available upgrades over the aforementioned Goldschmidt, but Alonso is certainly one of those that would be an upgrade.

Alonso is slashing .246/.331/.472 with 33 home runs, 31 doubles and 86 RBIs this season. He's continuously shown that he's one of the elite power hitters in the entire league. Slotting him in the St. Louis lineup would be quite the dream scenario for Cardinals fans.

Alonso has been dangled in potential trades for years now. The Mets opted to keep him, but the relationship could be a little strained because of these trade talks. Alonso is represented by the notorious baseball agent, Scott Boras, who's famous for getting his clients to take the contract that has the most money attached to it.

With the Mets looking to make a move for Juan Soto this offseason, the Cardinals have the opportunity to swipe Alonso rigt out from under their nose. Outbidding the Mets could be tough, but Alonso is the dream Paul Goldschmidt replacement in St. Louis.