Cardinals Loosely Linked To Projected $12 Million Future Hall Of Famer

The Cardinals should look to bring in one more pitcher

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

From most of the reports coming out, it doesn't sound like a full-scale rebuild is in the cards for the St. Louis Cardinals.

St. Louis has talent. The Cardinals won 83 games last year and were in the playoff hunt until late in the second half of the season. The Cardinals will look different in 2025, but not extremely. The New York Yankees signed Paul Goldschmidt and both Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson are available after having club options declined.

The Cardinals likely will cut ties with Nolan Arenado, but the club has a lot of young talent knocking at the big league door and could be able to at least be competitive in the National League Central. Because of this, they should add one more veteran pitcher as a way to replace Lynn and Gibson but also leave another space for a younger guy.

If the Cardinals decide to go this route, they should go out and sign future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer. He made just nine starts last year with the Texas Rangers and had a 3.95 ERA. He's now 40 years old and is from around the area.

He's still out there in free agency and The Athletic's Tim Britton, Aaron Gleeman, and Chad Jennings loosely linked him to St. Louis while also predicting that he will get a one-year, $12 million deal.

"Though he turned 40 in July, Scherzer has indicated that he wants to pitch one more season, putting his Cooperstown bid on hold for the time being. His workload has meaningfully declined in recent years, and he’s surely not the 200-inning beast of his prime, but he remains Max Scherzer. We’ll soon find out what that means as he approaches his 41st birthday...Britton's projection: one year, $12 million. Best fits: (Detroit Tigers), (St. Louis Cardinals), (Washington Nationals)."

Scherzer is a guy who could be a solid player on the field and a great clubhouse guy for a year. There are no truly bad one-year deals. The Cardinals should go out and get him.

More MLB: Cardinals' Nolan Arenado Sweepstakes: One Rumored Suitor Reportedly Out