3 moves Cardinals must make to keep up with Cubs in NL Central arms race
By Curt Bishop
3. Add some bullpen arms
The bullpen is another area where the Cardinals could look to improve.
Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos will be back and healthy, but St. Louis has made it clear that they hope to acquire two high-leverage relievers.
While Josh Hader and Craig Kimbrel are unlikely, there are still several strong options available such as Will Smith, David Robertson, Reynaldo Lopez, and former Cardinals Joe Kelly and Chris Stratton.
It's been a long time since the Cards were truly a complete team with few, if any flaws. All areas of the roster must be addressed if they want to keep up with the Cubs.
But adding some high-leverage relievers would give them plenty of options to work with at the back end of their bullpen. The pen was one of many reasons why they lost 91 games during the 2023 regular season, as it was yet another area that was not addressed by John Mozeliak.
Mozeliak is going to have his hands full this winter, even more so now that it appears the Cubs will be ready and willing to go big in free agency and in trades.
The NL Central could end up being a dogfight between the two historic NL rivals.
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