Expect to be underwhelmed by the Cardinals in free agency
11/01/2024 08:00 AM
For a while, I was beating the drum for the Cardinals to still make some moves to improve their roster for 2025. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized what the Cardinals meant by "reset."
They're going to rebuild to a degree, and instead of making moves to improve the roster, they're likely not going to do much of anything in free agency. That certainly is not ideal, but such is the reality of the situation the team is in.
We know the Cardinals are going to trade some guys, and I won't place bets on who I think is going to be traded and who I think they'll keep around just yet. This piece is about free agency.
The World Series came to an end on Wednesday, and now players are eligible for free agency. I for one, would like to see the Cardinals go after Walker Buehler after he closed out the World Series and rebounded from a dreadful regular season. I think he and Sonny Gray as a one-two punch could be exciting.
However, I think we all know that isn't going to happen. Buehler is projected to land a $10 million deal by Jim Bowden of The Athletic. One would think that's not too expensive for the Cardinals, but something happened yesterday that quickly changed my thoughts on that.
Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, and Keynan Middleton's club options were declined. Gibson and Lynn's options were for $12 million and $11 million, respectively, while Middleton's was worth $6 million. The Cardinals decision to decline Middleton's option was the most telling to me, and it gives us an idea of how they're going to operate in the offseason.
They really want to cut costs. They might even sit out free agency all together. What I'm trying to say is, lower your expectations.
No, the Cardinals aren't going to sign Buehler. Michael Wacha is out of their price range too. If they make any free agency moves, they'll barely scrape the surface. The Cardinals plan is to let the young guys ride in 2025, and they won't sign any big veterans that are going to block the younger players.
I hate that it's come to this. It never should have in the first place. The Cardinals don't have to sacrifice winning to revamp their player development system, but that's exactly what they're doing, and we're just going to have to live with it.
Get ready for a tough offseason, folks!
