STL Cardinals rumors: St. Louis to call up top prospect this season?
The St. Louis Cardinals indicated in the weeks before the MLB trade deadline that they were not in contention for a postseason berth. It's always a hard thing to admit, but even though the team is still in the NL Central, president John Mozeliak believed that the best course of action was to trade away impending free agents and build to contend in the near future. The team did quite well after they traded players like Jordan Hicks, Jack Flaherty, and Jordan Montgomery.
One area that the team needs to address this offseason is at starting pitcher. After all, they traded away Flaherty and Montgomery, and Adam Wainwright is set to retire. With over a month remaining in the season, could the Cardinals give one of their prospects a try-out?
A reader asked The Athletic's Katie Woo in a mailbag (subscription required) about whether Mozeliak will spend big for starting pitching, or if they could look at internal options. Woo mentioned the possibility of calling up Triple-A pitchers like Gordon Graceffo or Michael McGreevy but says that the team would have to open up a 40-man roster spot to do so.
Out of the two pitchers, Graceffo is the higher-ranked prospect in the Cardinals farm system (No. 6). Here is what MLB Pipeline had to say about Graceffo and what he could bring to the Cardinals if he were to make it up to the major league roster:
"The former Wildcat worked deeper into games than many first-year pitchers because of his impressive ability to fill up the zone. That caught up to him in the Texas League as Double-A hitters were able to make more contact, but an improved ability to work around the edges helped him end 2022 on a high. He's remained at Triple-A Memphis throughout 2023 as of August and hasn't quite broken through to the Majors just yet. Graceffo's special command gives him a promising floor as a No. 5 starter, and he can be more if he uses the breadth of his arsenal to generate more whiffs."
This season with Triple-A Memphis, Graceffo recorded a 4.46 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP, a 4-2 win-loss record, 63 strikeouts, and 32 walks in 70.2 innings (16 games).
With over a month left in the season, the Cardinals will have to decide whether they want to do some early scouting before deciding to take the plunge into free agency this winter.
STL Cardinals rumors: Star Nolan Arenado leaves game with injury
The St. Louis Cardinals didn't think they would be out of postseason contention with third baseman Nolan Arenado and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on the roster. Alas, that's where they're at at this point. Speaking of Arenado, he was floated around as a potential trade candidate, but that was quickly shut down by team president John Mozeliak. Arenado will be in this for the rest of the season.
On Friday night, however, Arenado exited the team's game against the Philadelphia Phillies due to a lower back injury. Manager Oli Marmol revealed that this isn't the first time that he's dealt with this injury. He was dealing with this for weeks, but he refused to sit out of a game.
"He's been battling it for weeks now and he refuses to come out of any game or come out of the lineup," said Marmol, h/t Sports Illustrated. "He preps for every game and he's been able to play through it. It started to lock up a little bit there and I didn't want to push through it."
For those curious, Arenado will not be in the lineup for the team's game in Philadelphia on Saturday. Instead, Nolan Gorman will be playing third base. Additionally, Arenado is not being placed on the injured list. Instead, the team will monitor it on a day-by-day basis.
This season, Arenado recorded a .281 batting average, a .330 on-base percentage, a .503 slugging percentage, 26 home runs, 60 runs, 87 RBI, 134 hits, 89 strikeouts, and 35 walks in 477 at-bats (123 games).
It will be interesting to see when Arenado can return to the team, whether that's before the conclusion of the Phillies series, during their three-game set against the San Diego Padres, or beyond that.
STL Cardinals rumors: St. Louis to target starting pitcher in free agency?
As mentioned earlier, the St. Louis Cardinals need to address their starting rotation this offseason. They traded away Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery (who are both free agents), and Adam Wainwright is going to retire at the end of the year. So, that is a massive area of need for the Cardinals, especially if they want to get through what is a pretty wide-open NL Central.
The easiest way that the Cardinals can do that is by targeting the position in free agency.
The Athletic's Katie Woo answered a reader's question in a mailbag (subscription required) regarding how the team can tackle the starting pitching rotation this offseason. In terms of free agents, Woo mentions Sonny Gray of the Minnesota Twins as one of the "top three arms worth looking into," alongside Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres and Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Gray has done pretty well for himself ever since he ditched the New York Yankees pinstripes after the 2018 season. In three years with the Cincinnati Reds, Gray recorded a cumulative 3.49 ERA. He has played even better in his two seasons with the Minnesota Twins.
Last season, Gray recorded a 3.08 ERA, a 1.128 WHIP, 117 strikeouts, and 36 walks in 119.2 innings (24 starts). This season, Gray recorded a 3.06 ERA, a 1.193 WHIP, 151 strikeouts, and 50 walks in 150.0 innings (26 starts).
Woo writes that although all three options of Gray, Snell, and Nola would help improve the rotation, it's unlikely that they'll sign more than one due to how competitive the market will be. Woo also writes she wouldn't rule out a reunion with Montgomery this offseason.
So Cardinals fans, Gray is a name to potentially keep an eye on this offseason as a potential new arm for the rotation.