One name would change the conversation for the Cardinals this winter: Spencer Strider.
St. Louis is already in a position where the rotation looks better for the future than it does for the present, but that’s exactly why another veteran arm makes so much sense.
Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy are the three most likely to still be in the mix for the 2027 rotation, and all three are still in their mid-to-late 20s. Quinn Mathews, also 26, could be part of that group too.
Matthew Liberatore is 26 as well, though he arguably belongs in the bullpen. Add in a handful of promising prospects near the top of the system, and the Cardinals have plenty of youth coming.
What they don’t have enough of is a proven starter with upside. That’s where Strider comes in.
MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported in September that the Braves had tried shopping Strider at the trade deadline, and if Atlanta puts him back on the market this winter, he’s the kind of pitcher St. Louis should be aggressive about pursuing. The Cardinals are still early in the rebuild under Chaim Bloom, but this is the sort of swing that fits a team trying to accelerate the timeline without gutting the system.
Strider is only 27, yet he already has six years of big-league experience, a one-time All-Star nod and a career 3.86 ERA across 98 total major league appearances. More importantly, he comes with control beyond this season, under contract for 2027 and 2028 with a club option for 2029.
If he stays healthy, he profiles as an ace-level starter. That’s the kind of arm St.
Louis needs to chase.
A rotation built around Strider, Liam Doyle and Jurrangelo Cijntje, with McGreevy, Leahy and Pallante filling in behind them, would give the Cardinals a real chance to win a lot of games.
A deal like this would not come cheap, and the Cardinals aren’t expected to start tossing around top prospects lightly. Still, they have enough depth to make a run at it.
The Braves’ pitching depth is a question mark, which is why Franklin is included in the kind of framework being discussed here. Even if he were no longer in the organization, St.
Louis would still have more pitching talent coming. On the position-player side, the Cardinals are crowded in the outfield, and No. 11 prospect Josiah Ragsdale has enough upside to matter in the majors soon.
Gorman, meanwhile, isn’t the answer in St. Louis, and a fresh start might help him.
It would be a surprise if the Cardinals made a true winter splash. But if Strider is available, he’s the one player they should be lining up to target.
In Other News...
Cardinals Reunion Idea Hinges On One Big Question About A Familiar Arm
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Cardinals Face An Offseason Decision That Could Box In Their Youth
The Cardinals enter the winter with a familiar kind of tension: a 77-85 finish, a young roster, and enough in-house talent to make the next step feel possible without a full reset. St. Louis has promising pieces already in the majors, along with high-upside names working their way up the farm system, including Jesus Baez and Rainiel Rodriguez, so any offseason shopping list has to account for both present need and future flexibility.
Bullpen help and a veteran starter make sense, and theres also a case for bringing in another option at third base. But thats where the organization has to be careful, because a heavy commitment there could crowd out the younger players the Cardinals are trying to develop. With so much of the roster still in the making, this winter may be less about solving everything at once and more about avoiding a move that blocks the very youth the club is counting on. [Read more 🡒]