Inside The Cardinals

Here's What Three Ex-Cardinals Hurlers Are Projected To Earn In Free Agency

St. Louis could inquire about all three pitchers

Scott Neville

Here's What Three Ex-Cardinals Hurlers Are Projected To Earn In Free Agency
Here's What Three Ex-Cardinals Hurlers Are Projected To Earn In Free Agency /
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The St. Louis Cardinals will be highly active in the pitching market and will have to re-evaluate plenty of old friends in order to sort out the upcoming offseason.

While the firesale at the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline displaced many of the Cardinals' best pitchers coming into the year, they'll all be back on the table in a week or so.

With that in mind, let's see what each hurler will be worth. The Athletic's Tim Britton did a tremendously in-depth evaluation of the top pitchers entering free agency to determine their projected contracts.

Texas Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery
After tons of analysis, Britton projects the star southpaw to earn a contract in the range of five years, $105 million.

Is the 30-year-old worth $21 million a year after his dominant regular and post-season? He sure would be for the Cardinals. Montgomery posted a 3.20 ERA with a 166-to-48 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .247 batting average against and 1.19 WHIP in 188 2/3 innings between his time with St. Louis and the Texas Rangers.

The Cardinals should offer him a contract right out of the gate and attempt to pair the southpaw with someone in the Sonny Gray, Shōta Imanaga, Michael Wacha tier.

Baltimore Orioles starter Jack Flaherty
The newly-minted 28-year-old's season did not go as planned, and got even worse after he departed from St. Louis. 

Flaherty posted a 4.99 ERA with a 148-to-66 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .287 batting average against and 1.58 WHIP in 144 1/3 innings this season. He left the Cardinals with a respectable season but imploded in Baltimore -- 6.75 ERA in 34 2/3 innings -- which sent the former Cy-Young contender into the bullpen to conclude his rocky season.

Still, due to his age and prior production, Britton has projected Flaherty will earn a contract worth three years, $45 million.

If the Cardinals truly want to change their ways, they'll stay away from the physically talented but oft-injured right-hander this winter. The market is far too strong to run it back with Flaherty, especially at $15 million a year.

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jordan Hicks
Britton has Hicks tabbed for a four-year, $36 million deal this winter -- which given his age and production, feels more than reasonable. 

The 27-year-old finished his season strong in Toronto, boosting his season totals. Hicks posted a 3.29 ERA with an 81-to-32 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .231 batting average against and 1.36 WHIP in 65 2/3 innings this season.

His advanced analytics are right in line with his production, so there is no reason not to expect him to continue to perform as he did last year. 

The Cardinals originally attempted to extend Hicks prior to the deadline, then reluctantly dealt him when negotiations fell through. Expect St. Louis to re-engage with their homegrown star when free agency opens up.

More MLB: Cardinals Reportedly Plan To Add Pair Of High-Leverage Relievers This Offseason

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Scott Neville
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