Rumored Cardinals Target Reportedly Close To Signing Deal With Padres Despite Speculation

It sounds like one Cardinals free agent target reportedly is off the board

The St. Louis Cardinals need to improve the bullpen this offseason but it sounds like one of the club's targets reportedly is close to a deal to sign elsewhere.

St. Louis recently met with intriguing closer Yuki Matsui about a possible deal. Matsui even reportedly traveled to St. Louis to meet with the club about a deal. While it seemed like a move could happen, now that may not be the case as Matsui reportedly is nearing a deal with the San Diego Padres, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand and Sankei Sports' Yuki Yamada. 

"Left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui is close to signing a deal with a Padres, per source. (Yuki Yamada) was on it."

Matsui is one of the most intriguing free-agent relievers. The 28-year-old has been a star for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles over the last 10 years. Over that stretch, Matsui has logged a 2.43 ERA to go along with 236 saves in 517 total outings. 

St. Louis needs to add to the bullpen and Matsui would've been a perfect option. The Cardinals had one of the worst bullpens in baseball last year and plenty of blown saves. Landing Matsui immediately would've helped fix that. 

Although that is the case, it sounds like the Cardinals are going to need to look elsewhere to shore up the bullpen. There are plenty of hurlers available that could help -- including former New York Yankees fireballer Keynan Middleton or Atlanta Braves reliever Collin McHugh.

It looks like it's back to the drawing board for the Cardinals. 

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