The St. Louis Cardinals could use a frontline arm, but the idea of them chasing Freddy Peralta feels like a stretch.
CBS Sports included the two-time All-Star among its surprise fits, naming St. Louis as one of three possible landing spots along with the Braves and Cubs.
Mike Axisa wrote, "No. 5.
RHP Freddy Peralta," CBS Sports' Mike Axisa wrote. "Potential landing spots: Braves, Cardinals, Cubs.
It has been a roller coaster year for Peralta, who flopped with the Mets, rebounded with the Rays, then faced the Brewers (his former team) in the World Series and lost. The post-deadline stint with Tampa salvaged Peralta's free agent year.
They made several adjustments, most notably raising his arm angle and getting him to pitch exclusively from the stretch, and the result was a livelier fastball and also better command."
There’s no question Peralta would help. He posted a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts down the stretch with the Tampa Bay Rays and owns a 3.71 career ERA over nine big league seasons.
But the price tag is where this gets tricky. Spotrac has his projected market value at just over $201 million over seven years, and even a deal that lands around half that number still looks like a tough sell for St.
Louis.
That’s the bigger issue here: the Cardinals need pitching, but they’re not at the point in their rebuild where a nine-figure splash makes sense. They have young talent spread across the roster and elite pitching prospects on the way, including Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Brandon Clarke and Tekoah Roby. For now, they can afford to wait.
The Braves and Cubs are in a different place. Atlanta won 94 games, Chicago won 89, and St.
Louis finished at 77. The Cardinals need help on the mound, but they are not one pitcher away from a World Series run.
If St. Louis does shop for a starter, the fit probably comes from a different tier. Shane Bieber or even Nick Martinez would make more sense for where the Cardinals are right now.
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For the Cardinals, though, the conversation quickly turns from fantasy to reality under Chaim Bloom. Payroll remains a central issue as the organization tries to balance long-term planning with short-term competitiveness, and the cost of landing a premium free-agent starter would be steep even before factoring in Skubals injury history. The bigger question for St. Louis may not be whether he would fit, but whether Bloom is willing to break from the clubs current path to chase a name that big. [Read more 🡒]