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The St. Louis Cardinals are coming off one of their worst seasons in decades, and their roster is full of holes. Besides the glaring need for starting pitching, the bullpen is in need of much needed upgrades as well. One of those bullpen needs is a quality left-handed reliever. A possible solution is a crafty veteran from Japan.
The Cardinals reportedly are interested in left-hander Yuki Matsui and have already given him an offer, per a report from Natsuki Une of Yahoo! Japan.
Matsui Would Make Strong Addition to Bullpen
Matsui is a left-handed reliever and ten year veteran of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The lefty has appeared in over 500 games posting an earned run average of 2.40 while collecting 236 saves. Additionally, he is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. In the 2023 season, he posted a 1.57 earned run average and recorded 39 saves. Also, he has an excellent walk to strikeout ratio. He struck out 72 and walked only 13 batters in 57.1 innings pitched. This kind of control and strikeout ability would be an excellent addition to the Cardinals’ bullpen.
Matsui debuted at a young age, so at the age of 27, he will be a free agent able to sign with any team. He can be signed without having to pay a posting fee to the Rakuten Golden Eagles, which makes him an even more attractive commodity to Major League teams. Undoubtedly, the Cardinals won’t be the only team interested in acquiring his services, but they should have the payroll flexibility to make a competitive offer. Reportedly, the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres have also shown interest.
It’s Time for the Cardinals Front Office to Make Some Better Decisions
The much scrutinized front office of the Cardinals is under a microscope this off-season and deservedly so. Mozeliak and company have repeatedly made poor personnel decisions for years. Their record in the free agent market is abysmal, and their trade history is very questionable. Evidence of their ineptitude in player evaluation has been spotlighted in recent playoffs. Most notably, trading Adolis Garcia and Randy Arozarena in favor of keeping Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader. The Cardinals have a lot of work to do this off-season, and Cardinal fans across the nation are hoping they will get it right this time around.
