MLB Rumors: Cubs-Cease chatter, Cards lose out, Red Sox punt on Montgomery

MLB Rumors: Cardinals miss out on clear bullpen upgrade, Yuki Matsui

Feelings about how John Mozeliak and the St. Louis Cardinals have handled the 2023-24 offseason are certainly mixed to this point. Sonny Gray is a high-end addition while the likes of Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn are bottom-of-the-rotation innings eaters who have value. However, it's hard to still feel totally confident that an organization that essentially (and shockingly) bottomed-out in the 2023 campaign made quite as big an impact as fans were hoping.

The one saving grace was that Mozeliak and the Cardinals brass might have something more up their sleeves. But at least one rumored move has been taken off of the table.

St. Louis reporedtly had met with 28-year-old veteran Japanese closer Yuki Matsui in recent weeks in hopes of bolstering the bullpen with a player who had 236 saves in his NPB career. However, multiple reports confirmed this past weekend that the San Diego Padres signed the closer to a five-year, $28 million deal.

While Matsui isn't a sure thing, the relatively cheap price tag likely was enticing to Mozeliak and the Cards front office as they have multiple moves still to make after already having committed north of $30 million to starting pitching this offseason with the aforementioned moves. That likely takes them out of something like the Josh Hader market, hence why the Japanese veteran was intriguing.

With the Padres swooping in and causing the Cardinals to miss out, however, there are still options on the board to join a St. Louis bullpen that, unlike the starting rotation, wasn't completely bare coming into this offseason. A reunion with flamethrower Jordan Hicks, who was dealt to the Blue Jays at the deadline this past year, is still on the table while players like Nick Martinez, Hector Neris and others remain unsigned.

All told, this isn't the end of the world for St. Louis. However, it does enhance the need to act quickly, both to ensure the Cardinals can get the guys the front office they believe the team needs to win, and also to not have the market set at a place where they could be priced out.