The St. Louis Cardinals will need to address voids in their rotation this offseason after Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson’s 2025 club options were recently declined.
If the Cardinals deal three-time All-Star Sonny Gray this winter, as appears likely, they will be without an ace in 2025 — unless a young homegrown pitcher steps up.
Fortunately, St. Louis has choices on the free agent market this year. Perhaps the Cardinals might sign a future Hall of Fame pitcher looking to finish his career on a high note.
According to The Athletic’s Tim Britton’s projection, Texas Rangers right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer has decided to return for another season in 2025, and the Cardinals, along with the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals, were mentioned as “best fits” to sign him this winter. During his 17-season career, Scherzer had a 215-111 record with a 3.16 ERA, 3,391-to-752 strikeout-to-walk ratio,.220 batting average against, and a 1.08 WHIP.
Despite his proven track record, the three-time Cy Young winner has had many injuries in recent seasons, causing his stock to fall. According to Spotrac, Scherzer’s expected market value on a one-year agreement is around $15.3 million, which is reasonable when contrasted to Miles Mikolas’ over $18 million contract for 2025. Britton believes the Cardinals could sign the two-time World Series winner for a reasonable $12 million.
Avoiding superfluous payroll acquisitions is critical to Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak’s strategy for his final offseason as St. Louis’ general manager. Acquiring a no-brainer Hall of Fame pitcher with St. Louis ties for what he’s worth would be a wise investment by chairman Bill DeWitt Jr.
