Dodgers Hurler Elects Free Agency; Cardinals Could Pursue Reliever To Bolster Bullpen

St. Louis could use another reliable arm

Scott Neville | Mar 13, 2024

Dodgers Hurler Elects Free Agency; Cardinals Could Pursue Reliever To Bolster Bullpen /

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals spent the whole offseason attempting to revamp the pitching staff after their first last-place finish in the National League Central since 1990.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak largely accomplished his goal, adding three new starting pitchers and a pair of high-leverage arms.

The expectation is that St. Louis has all the pieces in-house to build their 26-man roster, but could they be open to one more external addition? A player with a strong track record recently became available.

"Left-handed pitcher Justin Wilson, who impressed scouts this spring, opts out of his (Los Angeles) Dodgers’ minor league contract and becomes a free agent. He’ll be on someone’s Opening-Day roster," USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Tuesday.

Wilson could provide some added depth, stability and veteran leadership to a Cardinals bullpen that ranked No. 23 with a 4.47 ERA last season.

The 36-year-old has had a tough go of it in recent years, undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022 only to suffer a lat injury that ended his 2023 season before it began.

Wilson has a career 3.41 ERA with a 25.9% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate, .225 batting average against and a 1.29 WHIP in 467 innings across 11 seasons.

It would be wise of the Cardinals to take a chance on Wilson to shore up the lower half of the bullpen for an affordable price.

Mozeliak is set on not expanding the budget in any meaningful way but could reasonably afford Wilson as a potential low-risk, high-reward option.

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Published Mar 13, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu