Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Linked To No-Brainer $4.6 Million Lineup Bolstering Opportunity

St. Louis could use the added depth

Nate Hagerty

Jun 22, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages (43) catches as San Francisco Giants outfielder Michael Conforto (8) bats against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images
Jun 22, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages (43) catches as San Francisco Giants outfielder Michael Conforto (8) bats against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images / Tim Vizer-Imagn Images
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Although the St. Louis Cardinals have many things to blame for what went wrong in 2024, the offense's lack of production was easily the team's Achilles' heel.

With the Cardinals front office recently declaring that the franchise will look to reduce payroll this upcoming offseason, it's tough to imagine who St. Louis could pursue for offensive help.

Surprisingly, the Cardinals could have a perfect opportunity to add some much-needed depth to their lineup without breaking the bank this winter.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Michael Conforto, who's on an expiring contract, was recently mentioned as a possible option for the Cardinals to sign this offseason, according to SportsGrid's writing staff.

Conforto has batted .251 with 356 extra-base hits including 167 home runs, 520 RBIs and a .804 OPS throughout his nine-year career between his time playing for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.

The 31-year-old has been steady at the plate throughout his career, with a .718 OPS being his lowest ever recorded in a single season. Surprisingly, according to Spotrac, Conforto is projected to have an extremely affordable market value of roughly $4.6 million for a one-year contract.

The All-Star slugger logged a .237/.309/.450 slash line with 50 extra-base hits including 20 home runs and 66 RBIs in 130 games played for the Giants this season.

Considering the Cardinals have only one outfielder who has ever logged 20 home runs in a single season -- Alec Burleson -- acquiring Conforto might be necessary to give St. Louis' lineup a chance to compete in 2025.

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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