The St. Louis Cardinals are heading into 2027 with a rotation that already has a promising base, but the front office could still use one more established arm to steady the group.
Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy and Kyle Leahy give St. Louis a strong starting point, and Quinn Mathews is expected to be in the Opening Day rotation as well.
Beyond that, the organization has more arms on the way, including Liam Doyle and Jurrangelo Cijntje, though the big question is whether they’d be ready to make an immediate impact when the season begins. With that in mind, Matthew Liberatore could end up in the bullpen if the Cardinals land another starter.
That’s where the trade market comes in. The Cardinals have built a deep farm system, so any move would have to be worth it.
They’re not expected to act fast or force anything. If they make a significant deal, it would need to help both the 2027 club and the future.
One name that fits that kind of thinking is George Kirby. He has the talent, but he’s only under team control for the 2027 season, which makes an extension a key part of any possible deal.
If St. Louis believed it could lock him up long term, he’d be worth serious consideration.
Spencer Strider is another possibility, and his situation is a little different. He has two more seasons left on his deal before a 2029 club option.
Injuries have knocked him off track, but he’s still only 27. The Braves were trying to shop him this summer, and the price tag likely wouldn’t be overwhelming.
That makes him the kind of pitcher a team could buy low on and hope to cash in if he stays healthy.
Shane McClanahan also fits the low-cost, high-upside mold, though his control situation is tighter. The two-time All-Star has just one more season of control left, and his recent workload has been limited after missing the entire 2024 and 2025 seasons and then pitching in only eight games in 2026. Even so, there’s upside there, and the price should stay manageable because of the injuries.
Bryan Crawford is in a similar bucket as a pitcher with injury concerns and some track record. He isn’t viewed on the same level as Kirby, Strider or McClanahan, but he posted a 4.04 ERA in 2023 and a 4.36 ERA in 2024, and he still has two seasons of control remaining.
Tanner Houck is another name to keep in mind. He’s a one-time All-Star with one season of control left, and he missed most of the 2026 campaign aside from the regular season finale. Like several of the other options, he probably wouldn’t cost much.
Then there’s Emerson Hancock, who might be the most controllable of the group. He’s under team control through the 2030 season and was mentioned as a trade candidate this past summer.
With the Mariners carrying so much pitching, it would make sense for St. Louis to at least call and see whether Hancock is available.
In Other News...
Braves Enter Do Or Die Game 3 With One Huge Pitching Problem
The Braves head into a must-win Game 3 against a division rival with the kind of pitching uncertainty teams try to avoid in October. Philadelphia is expected to counter with Zack Wheeler, which only sharpens the pressure on Atlanta to piece together a workable plan on the mound. Grant Holmes and Ray Kerr are expected to be central to that approach, but the larger issue is simpler and more unsettling: there is no obvious traditional starter waiting to take the ball.
Tyler Mahle gave Atlanta a strong outing in Game 2 and has been one of the brighter signs recently, but even that was not enough to change the result. The Braves lost anyway, undone by a quiet night for the lineups power and a bullpen that could not hold the edge. Now the series has reached the point where every pitching decision matters, and Atlanta still has to answer the biggest question of all before the first pitch is thrown. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Just Got A Real Opening In Winner-Take-All Game 3
The Phillies have handed Aaron Nola the ball for their winner-take-all Game 3 against the Braves, a choice that immediately changes the feel of this Wild Card finale. Atlanta now gets a different look than many expected, with Philadelphia going with the veteran right-hander instead of Zack Wheeler, whose strong season made him the more obvious option on paper.
For the Braves, the opening is in the matchup itself as much as the name on the lineup card. Nola has been uneven this season, but his history of success against Atlanta in past postseason moments gives the Phillies a reason to trust him, even if the move has sparked some second-guessing about leaving Wheeler out of the biggest start of the year. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Waste A Start That Should Have Changed This Series
Tyler Mahles first postseason start gave the Braves exactly the kind of pitching backbone they needed in a tense Wild Card Game 2 against the Phillies. After a shaky beginning, he settled in and worked effectively through seven innings, keeping Philadelphia in check and striking out several key batters along the way. For a team trying to swing the series back in its favor, it was the sort of outing that should have set up a much different night.
Instead, Atlanta kept leaving chances on the table. The Braves had multiple opportunities to break through, including a bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning, but could not fully cash in when the game was there to be taken. With the pitching doing its part and the offense unable to finish the job, it became one of those postseason losses that felt bigger than the final score. [Read more 🡒]