Cardinals Reportedly Interested In Landing Elite Closer To Bolster Back End Of Bullpen

St. Louis could be in the market to land one of the top available relievers this offseason

It sounds like the St. Louis Cardinals won't just looking to improve the starting rotation this offseason.

St. Louis' starting pitching woes have garnered the most headlines since the beginning of the 2023 season. The Cardinals entered the campaign with pitching question marks and ultimately they never were answered and the club won just 71 games. St. Louis has made it clear that it will be improving the rotation but that isn't all it will be doing.

The Cardinals reportedly have an interest in bringing in Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles star closer Yuki Matsui this offseason to improve the back end of the bullpen, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold. 

"As previously reported in the Post-Dispatch -- this was several weeks ago -- and later confirmed in reports from Japan, the Cardinals have interest in reliever Yuki Matsui after scouting him for several seasons, according to sources," Goold said. "The level of interest, however, was not detailed in the Post-Dispatch report. Wait to see how that market develops."

Matsui is just 28 years old and would be an intriguing addition to the Cardinals' bullpen. The lefty has 10 seasons of professional baseball under his belt and a career 2.43 ERA over that stretch. He has been almost un-hittable for the Golden Eagles over the last three seasons and hasn't had an ERA above 2.00. He finished with a 0.63 ERA in 2021, 1.92 ERA in 2022, and 1.57 ERA in 2023. 

The Cardinals had the 23rd-worst bullpen ERA in 2023 at 4.47 so it certainly makes sense to bring in some help this offseason. Matsui likely will have a solid market, but the Cardinals have the spending power to get a deal done if they see fit. 

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