Ex-Cardinals Hurler 'Close' To Finalizing Deal With Royals Amid Spending Spree

The right-hander is on his third team this year

Scott Neville | Dec 12, 2023

Ex-Cardinals Hurler 'Close' To Finalizing Deal With Royals Amid Spending Spree /

In this story:

St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak spent the beginning of the offseason sorting out the rotation and has since pivoted his focus onto the bullpen.

In both pitching markets, former Cardinals hurlers are available to reunite with. One of the more recent contributors, however, has fallen off the board amid a surprising spending spree by the Kansas City Royals.

"And the Royals aren't done. They're also close to finalizing a deal with right-handed reliever Chris Stratton," MLB.com's Anne Rodgers reported Tuesday. "It would be a one-year deal with a player option for 2025, source says."

The news came just minutes after it was reported that the Royals signed right-hander Seth Lugo to a lucrative two-year, $30 million deal with a $15 million player option for Year 3.

Stratton posted a 3.92 ERA with an impressive 81-to-25 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .227 batting average against and 1.14 WHIP in 82 2/3 innings between the Cardinals and Texas Rangers last season.

The 33-year-old was an underappreciated asset last season given his amount of meaningful innings. Stratton not only recorded the fourth-most innings out of the bullpen last season but did so with a 113 ERA+ across 64 appearances.

The veteran could have been a solid reunion candidate given his ability to go multiple innings when needed but the Cardinals already acquired starters whose greatest abilities were durability and consistency.

This year, Mozeliak would be wise to aim for dynamic arms that serve as high-leverage options while relying on the new rotation additions to get them deep enough into games.

More MLB: Cardinals Reportedly Could Add Another Starting Pitcher Via Trade

Published Dec 12, 2023

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