3 moves John Mozeliak must make to complete Cardinals pitching staff
By Curt Bishop
2. Trade for Michael King
The Cardinals have other areas they need to upgrade besides the starting rotation.
One of the most obvious areas is the bullpen. According to Derrick Goold, that is what the Cardinals will most likely address next.
At the trade deadline, the Cardinals were looking to clear up their logjam in the outfield, and the New York Yankees were a team that had interest in Dylan Carlson. Perhaps the Cardinals could look to rekindle talks with the Yankees.
As far as bullpen upgrades go, St. Louis could benefit from trading for somebody like Michael King, who has been a reliable arm for the Yankees over the past several years.
King is still just 28 years old and had an ERA of 2.75 during the regular season with the Bronx Bombers. He also recorded 127 strikeouts over 104.2 innings of work.
The right-hander could be a solid middle-to-late inning reliever for St. Louis and bridge the gap before the time comes to bring in either Giovanny Gallegos or Ryan Helsley.
St. Louis traded away Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton, who were two of the most reliable bullpen arms the team had prior to the deadline. But a trade for King would give them a high-leverage reliever as they seek to upgrade for 2024.