Cardinals rumors: 3 realistic free agent pitchers with St. Louis ties to sign this offseason
The St. Louis Cardinals have a wish list to acquire four of the best pitchers in baseball, but when they come back down to earth, these targets will be waiting.
By Mark Powell
The St. Louis Cardinals have a so-called wish list of pitchers to sign this offseason, starting with the likes of Julio Urias, Aaron Nola and Blake Snell. Logan Gilbert of the Seattle Mariners was also a trade target of theirs at the deadline.
As nice as any of those players would look in Cards colors, they aren't realistic targets. John Mozeliak and Co. have never been ones to flaunt that sort of cash on a long-term deal for a pitcher. Sadly, any of those starters would be looking for a 5-to-7 year commitment, at the very least.
With that in mind, let's theorize on some other pitchers St. Louis could acquire -- perhaps players they're familiar with, as well.
St. Louis Cardinals Rumors: Is a Jack Flaherty return on the table?
Jack Flaherty dared to compare Camden Yards to Busch Stadium early in his Baltimore Orioles tenure, but for the most part he's still on good terms with the Cardinals. When he was traded at the deadline, Flaherty even made a point to suggest he'd be open to a return this offseason.
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“Some of it’s not in my control, and we’ve had our opportunities and our chances — but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be open to it,” Flaherty told the Post-Dispatch. “All these guys here and we know what this team has. Nolan (Arenado) for a couple of more years. Goldy (Paul Goldschmidt) at least one more. You see what the offense can do. So, whatever is going to give me a chance to win, and here they’ve got the guys to do it.”
The Cards can certainly offer a good offense behind Flaherty most years. This season has been one of his best in quite some time, and while he's performed admirably in Baltimore so far thanks to some tweaks in his pitch selection, a return to St. Louis for the right asking price would be tough to turn down.