Cardinals Could Acquire Southpaw With 2.27 ERA To Bolster Bullpen
The fall of the 2023 St. Louis Cardinals was due to a pitching staff that was not nearly good enough to contend. With that in mind, the club should be doing everything it can to get an early start on the offseason.
St. Louis will have to use the rest of this season as a tryout both for prospects and potential waiver-wire claims. Surprisingly, a contender just cut a highly-productive reliever amid a playoff run.
The Philadelphia Phillies designated Andrew Vasquez for assignment on Wednesday according to the Major League Baseball transaction wire.
The southpaw has a 2.27 ERA with a 34-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .235 batting average against and 1.24 WHIP in 39 2/3 innings for the Phillies this season.
Vasquez would be the perfect player to audition this season if the Cardinals could get their hands on him via waiver claim. The 29-year-old still is in pre-arbitration so he could be in St. Louis for the long haul if he continues to post similar numbers at Busch Stadium.
The journeyman has a 4.30 FIP and odd underlying stats but has the production to take a shot on. He avoids hard hits and high exit velocities at an elite rate but plays into contact and rates very poorly in chase and whiff rates.
By far the oddest statistic from Vasquez comes from his fastball, which has an average velocity of 89.2 mph but has been literally unhittable this season. He's thrown his heater 43 times and not allowed as much as a single.
The Cardinals could use a high-leverage reliever for next season, especially one from the left side of the plate for matchup purposes.
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