3 remaining free agents the Cardinals should sign, 2 to avoid

2) Sean Manaea's innings are ones the Cardinals should avoid

Sean Manaea fits the bill as another innings eater the Cardinals would theoretically want. The thing about his innings is, like Lynn's and Gibson's, they're just not good enough. The thinking with signing Manaea is he'd work in multiple ways for St. Louis.

The Cardinals could add him to start games for them and trade an arm like Steven Matz. They can also use him out of the bullpen like the Giants did this past season. While there can be value in that, the Cardinals just need to spend their money on quality at this point.

Manaea's greatest attribute is his durability and his ability to eat innings. He threw 117.2 innings this past season in 38 appearances despite just 10 of them being starts. In the two seasons prior he threw 158 and 179,1 innings respectedly. Unfortunately, in those three seasons in which he's thrown a bunch of innings, he's posted a 4.41 ERA.

Manaea is fine, but nothing more than a back-end starter. The Cardinals have more than enough of that. Mozeilak has to look past the innings totals and find an upgrade in the rotation who can provide more quality. Even if he doesn't make an upgrade in the rotation, the money it'd take to sign Manaea would be better off spent in the bullpen.