Earlier in the offseason the St. Louis Cardinals were believed to be players for starting pitcher Jon Lester, despite their reluctance to hand out such lucrative contracts. The interest was said to be periphery, but now it seems as if they're taking initiative in hopes of signing a top-tier starter.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi write, "The team is exploring trades for left-handers Cole Hamels and David Price and the possibility of signing free-agent right-hander Max Scherzer, according to major-league sources." The Cardinals were previously linked to all of these names: they inquired about Price prior to the trade deadline and did the same with Hamels earlier this offseason, while many have speculated Scherzer could land with the team because he's from the St. Louis area.
The Cardinals have reiterated they were content with their starting rotation, but perhaps they've taken a deeper look and realized they could face some issues heading into the season (or they could have known this all along and were simply being patient). Their ace, Adam Wainwright, is coming off elbow surgery he underwent in October to "trim" cartilage in the area; Michael Wacha suffered a stress reaction in his throwing shoulder this past season, missed over two months of action and struggled in his return (0-1 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in four starts); John Lackey is entering the final year of his contract and was less than stellar after coming over in a trade from the Red Sox (3-3 with a 4.30 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 10 starts with St. Louis); and they'll have two youngsters, Carlos Martinez and Marco Gonzales, who have very little professional experience as starters, compete for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.
Although Wainwright should be fine and Lance Lynn logged an impressive 2014 campaign (15-10 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 33 starts), it appears the Cardinals are poking around in hopes they can get a good deal to solidify their rotation for at least next season and perhaps beyond.
Rosenthal and Morosi note the Cardinals would prefer a left-hander, and trades for Hamels or Price seem more likely than the team getting into a negotiation battle with Scherzer's agent, Scott Boras. Hamels' wife is from the St. Louis area and earlier in the offseason the left-hander expressed he would prefer trades to the Midwest or West Coast so his children can be with their families (he's from San Deigo). However, the Phillies want three top prospects for Hamels, who is owed $96 million over the next four seasons. St. Louis may not want to part ways with so much young talent after trading young starters Joe Kelly, Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins since July. They also lost rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras, who was killed in a car crash back in October.
As for Price, the left-hander lives in Nashville during the offseason, which is only a five-hour drive from St. Louis. He's expected to earn $18.9 million in arbitration, according to MLBTradeRumors.com, but it's likely the Cardinals try to sign him long-term if they land him in a trade. Although it's unknown what the Tigers would be looking for in such a deal, they have yet to initiate extension talks with Price, which may indicate he could be on the move before the 2015 trade deadline.
If the Tigers can't reach an extension with Price, or aren't interested in doing so, trading him away and re-signing Max Scherzer would be ideal. Look for the Cardinals to pursue such a move since they're in a competitive NL Central division and must look ahead to the future.
