Cardinals Reportedly Met With Elite Free Agent Closer About Possible Signing

St. Louis reportedly is pursuing one of the most intriguing free agent relievers available

It sounds like the St. Louis Cardinals are looking to improve their bullpen in a major way.

St. Louis entered the offseason with the starting rotation as the club's biggest question mark after a disastrous 2023 season. The Cardinals put an intense focus on the position and actually landed three starters before the Winter Meetings by signing Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson.

Now that the rotation has been taken care of, the next area the club needs to improve is the bullpen. St. Louis had one of the worst bullpens in the league last year, likely due to increased strain because of the rotation struggles.

It sounds like the Cardinals aren't messing around and are looking to land one of the most intriguing hurlers available to improve it. St. Louis reportedly met with Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles star Yuki Matsui about a possible deal, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. 

"Yuki Matsui, a five-time NPB All-Star lefty reliever, visited the Cardinals in St. Louis on Thursday, per sources," Feinsand said. "The 28-year-old has 236 saves and a 2.43 ERA in 10 seasons with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and is considered one of the better free-agent bullpen options."

The 28-year-old has been one of the best relief pitchers in Nippon Professional Baseball since making his debut with the Golden Eagles in 2014. In 10 professional seasons, Matsui has an impressive 2.43 ERA to go along with 236 saves -- including 39 in 2023 alone. 

Matsui shined for the Golden Eagles last season and logged a minuscule 1.57 ERA across 59 appearances and 57 1/3 innings pitched. The lefty hasn't had an ERA above 2.00 since 2020 and would be a very solid pickup for the Cardinals.

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