The St. Louis Cardinals dedicated their entire offseason to revamping their pitching staff following their first last-place finish in the National League Central since 1990. Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak successfully added three new starting pitchers and a pair of high-leverage arms to achieve this goal.
While the Cardinals believe they have all the necessary pieces in-house to construct their 26-man roster, there is a possibility they could consider one more external addition. A player with a strong track record has recently become available. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, left-handed pitcher Justin Wilson, who impressed scouts this spring, has opted out of his minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and become a free agent. Nightengale reported that Wilson is expected to be on someone’s Opening-Day roster.
Wilson could provide the Cardinals with added depth, stability, and veteran leadership for a bullpen that ranked 23rd with a 4.47 ERA last season. Despite facing challenges in recent years, including Tommy John surgery in 2022 and a lat injury that ended his 2023 season before it began, the 36-year-old has a career 3.41 ERA with a 25.9% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate, .225 batting average against, and a 1.29 WHIP in 467 innings across 11 seasons.
Acquiring Wilson could be a prudent move for the Cardinals to strengthen the lower half of their bullpen at an affordable price. While Mozeliak is committed to not significantly expanding the budget, he could reasonably afford Wilson as a potential low-risk, high-reward option.v
While the Cardinals believe they have all the necessary pieces in-house to construct their 26-man roster, there is a possibility they could consider one more external addition. A player with a strong track record has recently become available. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, left-handed pitcher Justin Wilson, who impressed scouts this spring, has opted out of his minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and become a free agent. Nightengale reported that Wilson is expected to be on someone’s Opening-Day roster.
Wilson could provide the Cardinals with added depth, stability, and veteran leadership for a bullpen that ranked 23rd with a 4.47 ERA last season. Despite facing challenges in recent years, including Tommy John surgery in 2022 and a lat injury that ended his 2023 season before it began, the 36-year-old has a career 3.41 ERA with a 25.9% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate, .225 batting average against, and a 1.29 WHIP in 467 innings across 11 seasons.
Acquiring Wilson could be a prudent move for the Cardinals to strengthen the lower half of their bullpen at an affordable price. While Mozeliak is committed to not significantly expanding the budget, he could reasonably afford Wilson as a potential low-risk, high-reward option.
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