Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Which FREE AGENT Starting Pitchers Will The St. Louis Cardinals TARGET?
Episode Date: October 20, 2025St. Louis Cardinals pitching woes take center stage. Can the Cards rebuild their rotation for a 2026 comeback?JD Hafron breaks down the Cardinals' pitching needs, from top-tier free agents to "prove i...t" contract candidates. Key discussions include Dylan Cease's potential price tag, Zac Gallen's possible return, and Dustin May's high-risk, high-reward profile. Injury updates on Brendan Donovan, Ivan Herrera, and Lars Nootbaar add intrigue to the Cardinals' offseason plans.Will the Cardinals land a game-changing arm? Can young guns like Michael McGreevy step up? Tune in for expert analysis on the Birds' path back to contention.0:00 Intro: Cardinals' starting rotation needs help5:08 Analyzing Cardinals' current pitching situation10:11 Cardinals' goals and free agent strategy14:46 Top tier free agent pitching targets19:51 Potential "prove it" contract candidates24:58 Injury updates for Cardinals players27:30 MLB playoffs update and rookie pitchersFollow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-st-louis-cardinals/Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/mlb/Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIOFollow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_CardinalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONMLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.PrizePicks — Run Your Game.Click Link Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLBRugietReady to level up your confidence ? Head to https://rugiet.com and use promo code LOCKEDONMLB for 15% off your first order. MonarchTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at https://monarch.com/lockedonmlb for 50% off your first year.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)#ForTheLou #stlcards #mlb #lockedoncardinals #stlouiscardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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The starting rotation is going to need some help next season.
And there are a couple of free agent pitchers that I've been kind of looking at.
And I hope that Heinblum and company will look at as well.
This is Locked on Cardinals.
You are Locked on Cardinals.
Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network,
your team every day.
Hey, they're Cardinals fans.
I'm J.D. Hafford, a former national radio sports anchor.
Born and raised in St. Louis, a lifetime Cardinals fan since I was a wee little
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We've got some injury updates that we got to talk about for a couple of players like Brendan Donovan and Lars Newt bar.
Knut's got an injury at surgery that I was like, ooh, that will sound good.
So I'll be telling you about that.
We're going to talk a little bit MLB playoffs.
But we start with something that I've gotten a lot of requests about.
And that's free agent starting pitchers.
Everybody wants to know who are we signing, who are we training for?
We knew that October was going to be quiet.
Heinbloom warned us during his press conference when he was introduced as the new president of baseball operations that a thing's going to be a little quiet in October.
There's not going to be a lot going on.
November, things will pick up after the World Series and they'll have their GM meetings and then things will start to, you know, unfold a little bit.
So a lot of the stuff we're doing is it's just speculation.
Nobody has answers for any of this stuff yet.
all I can do is offer up names that I think the Cardinals should be interested in.
In recent episodes, we've talked about some of the question marks surrounding the Cardinals' rotation in 2026 this past year.
Sunny Gray, Eric Fetty, Miles Michaelis, Matthew Libertor, and Andre Palante were your five main starters.
To begin the season, Stephen Mats was like your sixth guy.
And I know, like, you look at that group of pictures and knowing what we know now about the trio of Fed.
Betty, Michaelis, and Palante, all three of them being on the same team and not having a record like the Colorado Rockies is amazing to me.
That's an exceptionally gruesome, threesome of pitchers that the Cardinals were throwing out there every fifth day.
Every fifth day, those guys were going.
And to be as competitive as they were till the very end, I think that says something about what the Cardinals have on this roster, how the coaching staff was able to pull the
best out of some of these guys.
But we know how bad it got.
You know, eventually the Fetty experience would get so bad that they gave him away to the Braves,
who then gave up on him.
And he joins the Brewers who were desperate for arms down the stretch.
Most believe he should have been traded during the last offseason, but that didn't happen.
And then his stock plummeted as his ERA skyrocketed.
I'm guessing he'll end up signing a minor league deal with somebody this spring,
hoping to make a big league club.
and we'll see.
We wish nothing the best for Eric Fetty.
Just didn't work out for him in St. Louis.
So when they finally cut the cord on Fetty,
it ended up opening up a spot for Michael McGrady, right?
Who finished 8 and 4 in 17 games.
16 of those were starts,
certainly a bright spot the rest of the season,
and, you know, somebody we're looking forward to watching in 2026 and beyond.
Miles Michaelis had his normal Michaelis season,
some decent stretches, but some of the worst search you'll ever.
see because when it goes bad, it goes really bad for Miles Michaelis and he gets destroyed by the opponent.
He's now a free agent and I'm going to assume that the organization will finally move on from him.
I know that Mo is not around anymore, but I still have this PTSD from some of the moves and knowing what he
might do and what he was always thinking. So I'm not going to shut the door completely on a Michaelis return,
just because when we get to the free agent pitchers,
you're going to see why there's really not a ton of great arms out there,
at least not a ton of great healthy arms.
So I'm not going to completely shut the door,
but I'll say 97% of me feels like he won't be back
that they've kind of turned the page on that,
but never say never.
There's still a chance of Sonny Gray gets traded,
and I honestly have no idea if he's going to be here or not.
A lot of money for next season with Sunny,
so we'll see how that goes.
And then there's Andre Palante,
who regressed at an alarming rate.
year. Didn't win a game after July 28th. And the team would only go to or only win 10.
Pardon me. They would win two of his final 10 starts and they went just 12 and 19 overall in
games he started last year. He was a problem. He was a problem. In one sense, we can look at this
rotation and say the only guys that you're for sure about that's going to be there like today is
Libby and McGreevy going into the season.
Those are like the two guys who were locked into the rotation.
And you could also say you have those two plus sunny.
You can put Palante in there if you want to.
I'm going to go with a mix and say that as of right now,
these are the spots that I'm just going to say are full as we go into this conversation.
Sunny, Libby, and McGreevy.
Just give me those three.
I'm not putting Palanty in there yet.
I think he's got to earn it again.
So that leaves two spots open for other players.
Now, one of these players could be an in-house guy, right?
And it is going to get a chance to win one of those spots other than Palante,
who I fully expect them to give another opportunity to.
It's fine.
They can give him a chance.
And if he shows out and becomes good, great, great.
But if he's like he was last year, then no.
But the guy that looks like they're going to give a real opportunity to
to become a starter next year is Kyle Leahy.
Hain Bloom has already stated that they want him to come into camp,
stretched out and prepared to compete for a spot in this rotation in 2026.
That's fine.
You know, there's, you know, you heard a lot about that in the second half last year
that he's considered to have, you know, an arsenal,
a pitching arsenal that would work as a starter.
So they're going to give him a chance there.
You've also got some prospects looking to make the roster like Quinn Matthews
and Eishon Henderson, who will certainly get a chance to prove,
that they should be up on the club in 2026.
Do they have to be their opening day?
No, but they'll give an opportunity to them in the spring.
And if they look good, then by all means, why not, right?
And when you're discussing payroll,
I know we haven't heard a lot about payroll so far this offseason.
And if they're going to spend some money,
and you've kind of heard Heim Bloom hint about this,
that, you know, if we're going to spend money and he says by,
as far as he knows,
that ownership is on board with, you know, doing what needs to be done,
that starting pitching seems to be like the most logical choice of an area where money will go to.
Okay.
But who are the names?
Who are these guys that they could spend money on?
Who fit what the Cardinals are trying to do and where they are right now as far as winning, you know,
and what their plans are in 2026.
I have got some names for you.
We're going to go through the free agent class.
We'll point out some people that, you know, in a different tier, we've got top tier, we got middle, we got bottom.
We'll get to all of that today.
So we've got names for you.
So have your pen and pencil ready to go.
We'll write these down because I'm going to want your feedback on what you think the Cardinals should do.
So we'll get you those names coming up here next on Locked on Cardinals.
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a Lockdown Cardinals as well. Now, before we get to the
the names in the free agent market that looks like they're going to be available because some of
them have like team options and mutual options and you know they got you know player options so let's be
clear on what the cardinals are trying to do next year you know because you're going to be like yeah
I want you to go sign this guy this guy this guy and just you know they're not going to break the bank
and get all crazy long term goal oriented is what they're they're shooting for the hind bloom has said
repeatedly that he is not tanking. This is, you know, that winning is still the goal.
They're, they're not, they're looking long term, but at the same time, they're not sacrificing
the now. This is not where we want to lose as much as we can to get better picks and say,
that's not what the plan is, you know, there's the long term goal, excuse me, long term goal,
and they want to get there so they can sustain winning. That's what they're trying,
they're trying to achieve here. They're not trying to do it where it's like in one.
burst where it's like, yeah, we win for a year and then we suck for two more.
No, they want it to be like it normally has been in St. Louis where winning is tradition and
consistent winning. So let's start at the top of the pyramid here, right? Some big free agent
pitching names are going to be out there. Now, this is not a very sexy class by any means.
Like the names that you're going to hear, you're going to be like, wow, that's amazing.
There's really none of that. Okay. Some of the bigger names are Dylan C.
Bramber Valdez,
Ranger Suarez.
I know.
It's not
that sexy.
There are guys like Chris Sale and Freddie Peralta.
Those are sexy names, but they have club options.
So they're almost guaranteed to be picked up by the Braves and the Brewers.
So we can cross those two off.
Dylan Cease,
he's a he's a big name but had an incredibly disappointing season this year
ERA plus of just 87 remember 100 is league average he was at 87 on a very good Padre squad
this is not when he was with the white socks and there he was that was bringing him down
he was on the Padres that was a really good team a playoff team 87 ERA plus you would
think the market might be down on him
But he feels like one of those guys who, because you've seen him be really, really good at times,
he seems like a guy that's going to get a bloated deal from a bigger market club,
like the Mets, who, you know, crap the bet again this year.
And how do they fix things?
They just spend more money, right?
That's what they do.
So that feels like a very Mets move is to overpay for somebody like Dylan Sees,
and that type of contract is going to be way too rich and risky for the Cardinals.
That's what it feels like to me.
Framber Valdez was solid again this year for the Astros.
I would much rather, if I was any team, would rather have Valdez than Dylan Z's.
Did have that weird situation with his catcher this past year where he was, he crossed
him up or wasn't crossed up and hit the catcher and they look mad at each other.
But you're talking about what I would consider a premium pitcher.
at age 32 that will certainly be priced out of the Cardinals range.
I just, again, a bigger market team like the Mets, somebody like that,
I feel like it's going to come in and, you know, try to overwhel him with money,
you know, at age 32.
Would I want to give somebody at age 32 a six, seven year deal?
No.
And I don't think the Cardinals are either, but I can see one of these other markets just go,
yeah, it's fine.
We'll do it.
Five, six, seven years, whatever.
So that's not going to be somebody that's in the Cardinals' possibilities, in my opinion.
Then you get Rangers Suarez, who had a phenomenal season with the Phillies,
and we'll certainly be looking to cash in on a long-term deal somewhere as well.
Again, these are guys that somebody's going to throw silly money at them,
and they're going to be overpaid, and it's not going to, in the long run,
those deals are probably not going to work out.
but big market teams will spend that way.
A name to keep an eye on is Shane Bieber with the Blue Jays,
actually starting game seven tonight against Seattle.
He's got a player option for next year.
And is a big name.
He's a former Sy Young Award winner.
It's somebody that we've thought would look great with the birds on the bat.
He just seemed like he'd always be a good fit at some point.
Just felt very cardinally.
So certainly they'll kick the.
tires, but he's pitched pretty well in the postseason. And if he has another big game tonight
and goes to the World Series, his price is going to go. And again, that's going to be a little too
much for what the Cardinals will want to spend. But my guess is, again, that another big market
team would swoop in and pay him handsomely. Again, I feel like the Mets are the ones that are going to
be like we need six dudes and just go crazy on their starting rotation after what happened to them
this past year. I just, that's the team that I feel like is really going to be looking to spend
some money. So for the Cardinals, we're going to have to drop down another tier below that group.
And that's where we get to a couple of former Cardinals in Zach Allen and Jack Flaherty.
Now, neither of them had the seasons they were hoping for. So some of the shine on their star has dimmed a
little bit. Both are 30 years old now. And even though a mega six or seven year deal is not likely,
in my opinion, I certainly could see both of them signing a three or four year situation type of deal.
That doesn't sound like out of the realm of possibilities. Obviously, you can do the opt-outs for
these guys where you signed for four years. And then there's an opt-out after one or two years.
Like, there's things that you can do. Heinbloom did say that signing someone to a longer deal isn't
off the table because they still want some guys ready to go when this thing gets turned around
for the better, which could be next year or the year after that. So it's not like anybody they
signed has to be a guy that's on a one-year deal. So they could go two, three, four, maybe a similar
length of Sunny Grays, which was like three years and then an option at the end of that. Personally,
I've kind of turned the page on Jack Flaherty. I feel like we've went down that road, been there,
done that.
I don't need to go back there again.
But Zach Allen is someone I'm very much interested in.
If he doesn't have any ill will towards the franchise that drafted and then traded him in the
Marcelo Zuna deal with the Marlins, I feel like I've read where he's talked a little
tough about the Cardinals at point.
So I don't even know if he has an interest in coming back to St. Louis.
But certainly a guy just, you know, not talking about.
personality-wise, but just like his body of work is something that I would be interested
at. There's also a group of guys that I'd also look at that I would consider another
rung down, another level. They're, you know, they're guys that aren't going to jump off
the page at you, but this is kind of the Cardinal zone for shopping. You know, these guys have
been solid pitchers, but because they aren't superstars, they could be had for a decent
Price in this day and age, names like Nick Martinez, Zach Lattel, who were both with the Reds
at the end of the year last year. I think Zach Lattel has got Cardinal written all over him.
He just feels like somebody that fits what the Cardinals would be trying to do.
There's also a couple of older players who are, I think, better than one-year deals, despite
their age and Merrill Kelly and Chris Bassett, who are both 37 years old, seven years old,
both solid pitchers who, you know, maybe the team looks at.
but at the same time,
I'm not really trying to sign somebody of that age at this moment.
I mean, I would,
I'm not saying I wouldn't.
I'm just saying I'm not actively looking at a 37-year-old pitcher right now.
I would rather find somebody else younger.
They don't have to be, you know, in their 20s,
but somebody around the 30 to 35 age is what I'm looking at more than 37 and up.
but I feel like Merrill Kelly, he's pitched really well.
Chris Bassett, I think, has been very good with Toronto.
Multi-year deals for those guys at age 37, though.
I don't need that for the Cardinals right now.
Like, if the whole free agent board gets wiped out and you're picking at 37 years old
and those guys are still there, then okay, but that's not who I am targeting.
Let's put it that way.
Then we get to another area where I think the Cardinals probably will be doing more of
they're shopping and that's the guys that have I've shown promise or had good seasons before
at one point or another, but injuries or down seasons have put them in a spot where
they need one of those, what we call the prove it contracts, right? Some of these names are
familiar and could use the Cardinals rotation openings as a springboard for more money down
the road. They could be used as trade bait later on, stuff like that. But, you know, they're
looking for a shot into starting rotation spot.
And the cardinals got some openings here.
And you could pitch in a lot worse spots than with the St. Louis Cardinals next year.
The guy that it's on this list that I've always kind of had a crush on is Dustin May,
formerly of the Dodgers of the Red Sox.
Injuries have set him back time and time again.
He's probably had 35 arm surgeries.
It seems like he's always got one.
He's had control issues.
But he's got some wicked nasty stuff when he's out there on the mouth.
on just, I mean, just tons of movement.
It's, when he's on, he's virtually unhittable.
But is he on enough?
Do you trust him enough to give him money and put him into rotation?
Because, you know, the Dodgers moved on from him.
Didn't have a lot of success with the Red Sox either.
He's very intriguing to me, but I can totally see why they would stay clear of him
with the injuries in the rough numbers this past year.
Walker Bueller is another one.
A few years ago seemed to be an ace in the making for the doubt.
Dodgers and then the injuries hit and things got so bad that he when he was in Boston this year that
they just released him.
You know, last year he's closing out the World Series for the Dodgers, goes to Boston, gets released,
ends up with the Phillies where he pitches much better.
He goes 3 and 0 with a 0.66 CRA over 13 and 2 thirds inning, small sample size.
But is that somebody you would take a chance on?
I think I think some teams would.
Cardinals could be one of them.
Tyler Mallee.
another former red, but also went to the twins,
was with the Rangers this past year,
has had a bunch of injuries in the last few seasons,
but was really good last year until a rotator strain,
cut him down in June on the shelf for quite a while,
came back to make two more starts at the end of the year,
was very good.
Certainly somebody that I would look at
because I feel like he's, again,
injuries are going to be something you're going to have to deal with
when you're shopping in this particular aisle.
So, but he's a guy that I would look at.
Zach Applin was a highly sought after a free agent just a couple of seasons ago.
We thought the Cardinals would be interested in him when he was a free agent.
Tampa Bay got him.
I ended up trading him to Baltimore for some pieces.
Injuries hit him again.
Not sure what his status is for 2026 just yet, but if he is healthy,
he's definitely another one of those prove it guys, a bounce back candidate that you might be willing to take a chance on.
A couple years ago, Hermann Marquez appeared to be the staff ace of the Rockies.
Injuries hit, and then he hardly pitched for them in 2023 and 24 came back last year and had horrible numbers for the Rockies.
Made 26 starts for a terrible Rockies team, granted, but it was bad.
But is he somebody that's one of those reclamation projects where you're like, dude, I've seen this guy be really, really good.
Let's get him out of Colorado.
Let's get him into a pitcher-friendly ballpark and see what we can do, is he still got to.
some juice in that arm. Obviously, it's risk reward for most of these guys, but that's kind of the
name of the game when it comes to pitching these days, especially on the free agent market.
You've got veterans like Max Scherzer and Justin Burlander who are very, very old.
Probably don't want to come to a place that is in a winning mode at this moment.
But Max Scherzer is from St. Louis, so maybe you pull on that string and see what happens.
guys with mutual options like Michael King.
If he becomes a free agent, people are going to pay him.
Michael Lorenzen is a guy, Brandon Woodruff from the Brewers,
although I suspect Milwaukee will bring him back.
Jose Cantano was with the Brewers this year.
Again, one of those older guys that if at the end of the day,
there's not a lot of people left,
I have no problems of bringing Jose Cantana back to St. Louis.
I was pissed when they let him get away.
Lucas G. Alito, another name that just a couple years ago,
everybody wanted him.
and then things went south.
I'm curious which ones you're willing to take a risk on,
if any of them, you know,
or do you just stay away altogether?
Let me know.
Maybe, you know, perhaps a trade would suit the Cardinals better
to acquire someone of the quality that they would want
to fill a spot or two.
If sunny stays with Libby, McGreevy,
you add a Zach Gallin or a Zach LaTel
and then one of those bounceback type of guys or veterans,
you might have something to work with.
you might have something to work with.
And then maybe one of your prospects ends up coming up and shining.
You know, there's a way to put this together where it's not quite as dreary looking as it was last year.
There's a way to do it.
Do people want to come to St. Louis?
That's the question.
But of that group picking out two, I need you to pick out two.
That's what I want.
I want you to pick out too.
And let me know in the comments section who you would add.
And we could talk about it in an upcoming episode.
News and notes about some injuries.
with the Cardinals. We got that coming up next here for you on Locked on Cardinals.
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Some injury updates for the Redbirds. Derek Gould reports from SDL Today.com that Brendan Donovan had surgery for a sports hernia in the first week of October to repair the damage.
His timetable is to be determined based on recovery as the offseason progresses.
So I wonder if that puts the kibosh on any trade talk with Brendan Donovan because his name has been circling.
Yvonne Herrera had the elbow surgery that we mentioned last week for bone spurring.
We're hoping he recovers.
he's going to take another crack at catching next year.
So we'll see how that works out.
But kind of tough to do that if you can't throw a ball.
Lars Neupar had surgery on both of his heels to shave down Haglund's deformities.
Those are bone growths on the back of the heel where the Achilles tendon attaches.
Yikes.
That sounds awful.
Oh, no thank you.
But hopefully nude will be okay.
Mason went on the Slighter.
of his meniscus, but should be ready to roll for spring ball. Game seven of the ALCS between the
Mariners and the Blue Jays will be tonight. Winter will move on to face the Dodgers in the World Series
after they swept the Brewers and the NLCS. Rookie Treya Savage, excellent in game six for Toronto
again. And just like some other rookies like Cam Schlittler of the Yankees, Connolly Early with the
Red Sox, you know, they're using these rookies who didn't pitch all that much during the regular
season and they're using them in huge, huge spots, like to survive.
You know, it was Schlittler versus early in game three of the wild card series between the
Red Sox and the Yankees.
They leaned on him in Schlittler, I should say, they leaned on him against the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays have been leaning on Traja Savage.
And it just goes to show that these rookies are able to contribute much sooner than we're
used to.
So fingers crossed that, you know, a guy like Liam Doyle for the Cardinals will contribute
sooner rather than later for this organization considering it was a top five pick got all the
hype coming into 2026 he's coming out of college and not high school so he's more mature
so you know you get a doyle and an eshon henderson and a quinn matthews and if those three guys
are ready for 2026 then you know perhaps the cardals will be competitive much sooner than
we anticipated and if not well you know could take longer but game seven tonight george
kirby for seattle against Shane Bieber for Toronto uh looking for
to it should be a lot of fun. Game one of the World Series is set for Friday night.
We don't know when and where yet because, you know, we don't know who's in it.
So I still, I said from the beginning of the playoffs, Seattle and the Dodgers in the World Series
when I, and I picked Seattle to win just because I didn't want to pick the Dodgers, but, you know,
still could come to fruition. We'll see. Thanks for making a lot on Cardinals.
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