Cardinals Should Hold Onto Veteran Reliever After Fantastic 2024

The Cardinals should make sure to keep a key reliever.

Sep 16, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view as Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals missed the postseason after finishing the 2024 campaign with a record of 83-79. Improving their record over 2023 by 12 wins wasn't enough for them to remain competitive.

Now, the time has come for them to enter a rebuild. This means that several key players could be traded, and no major free agent signings will be made.

However, this doesn't mean that they shouldn't try to add some players. They'll do it in a different way, but it can still be done.

Right-hander Andrew Kittredge is a free agent, and St. Louis should do everything in their power to try and keep him around.

The 34-year-old went 5-5 in 74 appearances and posted a 2.80 ERA. He served as a valuable veteran presence at the back end of the Cardinals bullpen leading up to Ryan Helsley. The veteran righty is capable of generating swings and misses too.

With Helsley likely gone, the bullpen will take on an entirely different look, but keeping Kittredge could help offset some of that. They have some young pitchers that are about to be ready, and having Kittredge around as a mentor could benefit the young arms.

While the Cardinals have chosen to put contending on the backburner for 2025, they should at the very least try to avoid suffering a similar fate to 2023. That year, they went 71-91 and finished in last place in the NL Central.

Keeping Kittredge would certainly be a good idea for St. Louis. Spotrac values him at $5.5 million per year.

We'll see if St. Louis can hold onto him.

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