According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are “in the market” for a setup reliever to help replace right-hander at the back of their bullpen after he entered free agency in November.
It’s not surprising that the Cardinals are interested in adding to their bullpen. Aside from the gap left by Kittredge in the late innings, closer Ryan Helsley has been frequently mentioned in the rumor mill this winter. While all signs point to him staying with the team at least until the start of the 2025 season, the addition of a seasoned reliever with late-inning expertise might offer St.
St. Louis that would allow them to more seriously explore trading Helsley in the event that they obtain the sort of overwhelming offer that would convince them to alter their attitude. While the loss of Helsley would be a blow to the club’s bullpen regardless of which pitcher (or pitchers) they add to their relief corps this winter, it would be easier for the Cards to try to stay competitive in 2025 without Helsley if they had an experienced veteran who could step in as closer in Helsley’s place.
The more likely situation, of course, is that the club sticks to its apparent decision to keep Helsley heading into the season. Even in that case, it’s understandable why the club would want to strengthen its bullpen in order to maintain Helsley in his current role as closer. Helsley’s 2024 season marked the first time he was used completely in the ninth inning or later, and he responded with a 206 ERA+ and an MLB-high 49 saves. Goold thinks that the consistent availability of Kittredge, who produced a 2.80 ERA and collected 37 holds with the Cardinals last year, was a big part of why the Cardinals were able to be more selective in their deployment of Helsley in comparison to years’ past.
As much sense as it may make for the Cardinals to add at least one seasoned reliever to their bullpen this winter, the path is not without challenges. A number of publications, as well as President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak’s comments this winter, have made it clearly evident that St. Louis is prioritizing payroll reduction this winter. The most obvious way to accomplish so, and the Cardinals’ preferred method, is to locate a trade partner for Nolan Arenado.
Recent reports have suggested a quiet market for Arenado since a potential deal with the Astros fell through last month, and Goold suggests that the Cardinals may be better served waiting out fellow third baseman Alex Bregman’s market due to the possibility of overlapping suitors between the two infielders.
With no public hints that Bregman is close to signing, the Cardinals may have to wait quite some time before really considering adding more significant payroll. St. Louis has benefited from a slow relief market, with just Aroldis Chapman, Blake Treinen, and Yimi GarcÃa signing for more over $10MM thus far. The Cardinals’ interest in playing in the mid-tier of the relief market will undoubtedly be determined by how much (if any) of Arenado’s contract they are able to move, as well as whether or not they part ways with pitchers like Steven Matz and Erick Fedde this winter, after both starters drew interest earlier this winter. Even if Matz or Fedde are transferred, Goold argues that the club should consider returning to veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson rather than acquiring a more expensive relief pitcher like David Robertson.
Given the slow pace of the relief market this winter, the Cardinals should still have enough freedom to add to their bullpen once their financial problem is completely rectified. Goold speculates that former Rangers righty José Leclerc could be a good fit for the Cards, and players like Kyle Finnegan, Chris Martin, and Paul Sewald are among a few other late-inning veterans who could be signed on one-year contracts—as is a reunion with Kittredge himself. Each of those choices will almost certainly result in a reasonably healthy big league guarantee, but if the Cardinals are unable to sell any of their expensive veterans, they may not be interested in adding that type of cash. In that situation, Héctor Neris, Scott Barlow, and Joe Kelly are three veteran relievers with late-inning experience who are coming off poor seasons in 2024 and may be available to a club on a tight budget, like as St. Louis.
