Orioles All-Star Called 'Low-Risk, High-Reward' Option For Cardinals

St. Louis will need to add at least one starting pitcher this winter

Mar 11, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; A detailed view of Baltimore Orioles baseball hats and gloves in the dugout during the first inning against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals may not make a massive investment in the club this season, but that doesn't mean that they won't add any players.

St. Louis will be using the 2025 season as a bridge year until Chaim Bloom takes over the president of baseball operations role after the campaign. Because of this, it will make sense to take chances on players who could bounce back and help the team in the long-term.

One player who was floated as a "low-risk, high-reward" option who could do just that is Baltimore Orioles pitcher John Means by FanSided's Josh Jacobs.

"Back to buy low-candidates, John Means emerged as a promising starter for the Baltimore Orioles toward the end of their rebuilding years," Jacobs said. "In 2019, Means posted a 3.60 ERA in 155 innings, and after a 4.53 ERA in the COVID season, replicated his 2019 production with a 3.62 ERA in 26 starts for the Orioles...

"Means fits a lot of the profile of what the Cardinals have liked in their starters in recent years. Means is elite at preventing walks, so he rarely gives up a free base to opposing hitters. Means does not generate many strikeouts, but his changeup does generate a lot of whiffs, and he is at his best when he is keeping hitters off balance and getting weak contact."

The 31-year-old was an All-Star in 2019 but has appeared in just 46 total games ever since. Over that stretch, he has logged a 3.60 ERA, but injuries have kept him off the field. He made just four starts in 2024 and had a 2.61 ERA.

Because of his injuries, he will be cheap this offseason after making just over $3 million in 2024. He's someone the Cardinals easily could bring in. He's someone who will be cheap and could have All-Star-upside. Why not bring him in?

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