The Cardinals are about to begin what should be a very productive and busy offseason. That could start as soon as Saturday, as the Blue Jays return home ahead 3-2 in the World Series with a chance to close out the Dodgers in Friday’s Game 6.
If necessary, Game 7 will be Saturday night, and the Blue Jays will start a familiar face, one people in St. Louis and all across the baseball world know very well by now. I’m talking of course about Max Scherzer, a St. Louis native that was originally drafted by the Cardinals before committing to Mizzou.
The Cardinals have had two chances to sign him, once after the 2014 season and again after the 2021 season. Both times they passed. But as we go into the offseason, the Cardinals have a clear need for starting pitching. I personally don’t care if it’s young pitching or a veteran pitcher, but John Denton had an interesting blurb the other day.
He listed several starters that the Cardinals could target. He noted that Miles Mikolas likely won’t return, but there was a particular pitcher on that list of starters that could be in their range.
“With Mikolas likely gone, [Andre] Pallante and Quinn Mathews (No. 5 prospect) coming off shaky seasons and Roby injured, the Cards must pursue pitching to fill out their rotation. Some pitchers who might fit their price range: Zac Gallen, Chris Bassitt, Austin Gomber or (gulp) Max Scherzer,“ Denton wrote.
Yes, Denton did link the Cardinals to the man himself. Now, we don’t know if the Cardinals actually will target Scherzer, but at this point in his career, he’s somebody that would be in the Cardinals price range. It would only be a one-year commitment, and he would get a chance to play for the team he grew up cheering for, so it could be a nice feel-good story.
A lot also depends on what Scherzer himself wants. Understand this—the Cardinals are not likely to be a contender next year. I would imagine Scherzer wants to pitch for a contender, so I would caution fans to not get their hopes too high for this potential match.
Still, it’s fun to think about and it would be a fascinating fit. Scherzer will be 42 years old next year, so they’ll want to be cognizant of that if they do target him, but I find him more of an appealing option than any of the other pitchers Denton listed, even Gallen.
I would certainly love to have Scherzer in St. Louis. It’d be a different situation for him since he’s used to being on a competitive team, not a rebuilding one. But if the Cardinals are going to trade Sonny Gray, they need to fill out the rotation with at least somebody from free agency. I say, why not take a chance on the local product, if he wants to be here?
That will ultimately be the deciding factor, but I think Cardinals fans would love to have him on board.