While the Cardinals are again shaping up nicely to compete for top honors in the National League Central, they’ll be faced with some important decisions a year or so from now. Among their starting rotation, only Steven Matz is signed beyond the 2023 season, with Jordan Montgomery, Adam Wainwright (who will retire), Miles Mikolas and Jack Flaherty all slated for free agency in November.
Replacing four starters in free agency is no easy feat, particularly given the way starting pitchers were priced this winter, and while they do have Dakota Hudson and prospect Matthew Liberatore as options, it should come as little surprise that Derrick Goold of the St Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the team is planning to open discussions over an extension with two starters this spring.
As Goold notes, Mikolas and Montgomery would appear to be the obvious candidates, with Flaherty a possibility as well – although he has dealt with injuries over the past few years. Montgomery, 30 last month, worked to a 3.11 ERA over 11 starts for the Cards after coming over from the Yankees at the deadline last year. He’s been a steady mid-rotation arm for a few years now and agreed to a $10MM salary in his final year before free agency. Mid-rotation arms such as Taijuan Walker and Jameson Taillon were sought-after commodities in free agency this year, and Montgomery would likely fit into that bracket next winter.
Mikolas, 34, worked to a 3.29 ERA over 202 1/3 innings last season. Another year like that in 2023 would set him up for a nice payday late in his career, so perhaps the the Cardinals could try and get ahead of that and lock up Mikolas for another few seasons.
Here’s some more notes from around the NL Central:
- The Pirates move to bring back franchise icon Andrew McCutchen has been met with positivity around baseball, and Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sheds some more light on the matter. As it turns out, a return to Pittsburgh seemed unlikely until as recently as New Year’s Day when McCutchen sent a text message to Pirates owner Bob Nutting laying out his desire to return to Pittsburgh to finish his career. As Mackey relays, Nutting then approached general manager Ben Cherington, who then met McCutchen for coffee in Pittsburgh’s northern suburbs to see if a deal could be made.While veteran signings on rebuilding clubs are often done with an eye towards the trade deadline, Mackey reports that it’s more likely McCutchen returns to the Pirates in 2024 than is flipped at the deadline. That’s not to say there’s no chance of a trade, but it does seem like McCutchen is motivated by helping Pittsburgh’s young core return to relevance, and Mackey adds that the 2013 MVP sees similarities in Pittsburgh’s 2009-12 rebuild that wound up in the team going to the playoffs three straight years between 2013-15. The Pirates don’t seem quite ready to return to playoff baseball just yet, but it would make for quite the fairytale if McCutchen were to be part of the next playoff team in Pittsburgh.
- The Cubs have been aggressive in free agency this winter as they look to return to the top of the Central. The team has inked long-term deals with Dansby Swanson, Jameson Taillon and Drew Smyly, while also adding the likes of Cody Bellinger on significant deals. The team currently has a bit of wiggle room under the first luxury tax marker, but they’ll surely be approaching it over the next few years as they make more free agent additions and deal with Nico Hoerner’s arbitration raises. Per a report from Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, owner Tom Ricketts spoke of a strategic approach to the luxury tax as the team moves forward.“There will be times I’m sure in the near future where we’ll go over. But we’ll always keep in mind that there’s a balance there you have to always look to manage. Just like we did a few years ago, we’ll go over, but we have to be careful of how long and by how much,” Ricketts said.The Cubs’ luxury tax payroll currently sits at $215MM (according to Fangraphs’ calculation), with the first threshold coming at $233MM.
I find it amusing when the media gives the cubs so much attention while ignoring better teams. The cubs aren’t going to contend for anything this year. They aren’t going to threaten St. Louis or the Brewers. They should be watching out for the Pirates. You could look only at their additions, which the media will do, or you could look at all of the many holes still remaining in the their lineup, which the media will not.
So Pirates have a feel good story with Cutch return, great but rather sigh higher end players to give hope……
Not with current ownership. Sadly they just don’t spend money. Also why isn’t Cobra in the hall? Harold Baines ….ugh. Harold baines.
ownership has no decision on whether Parker is voted into the Hall of fame and while I agree with you that he deserves to be, the drug scandal of the 80’s hangs over his head
Welcome back cutch….and the pirates won’t flip him at the deadline…it would be a public relations disaster
apparently mr know nothing pinstripes didn’t read the article, Buuba.
It clearly said that Cutch probably will be playing for the Bucs in 2024 and not get dealt at the deadline
I know.. man 3…these Yankee fans think they are privileged .. anyway I love this move
You know what’s sorry than a Yankees fan? A Yankees hater. pinstripes and Drasco showed you what’s what with Cutch. haha.
*more sorry
Cornelius was a name of an ape in planet of the apes…it figures
A Yankee/Yankee fan hater is sorry because they think they know everything while complaining that Yankee fans think they know everything. How pathetically simpleminded is that? haha. TheMan 3 was schooled on Cutch by pinstripes and drasco. Called Cutch mediocre, which he is at this point, and The Man 3 argued he wasn’t because of 17 HRs and 69 RBI’s. He’s the fool. Nothing spells mediocre better thn 99 OPS+. That was drasco’s point. Cutch is a feel good story but the Pirates won’t be contending because of him. That was pinstripes’ point. And I’m not even a Yankees fan or a Pirates hater. Just don’t like haters.
Buuba ho tep doesn’t even know the source for utah cornelius.
The source for Utah Cornelius is written on toilet paper
You made my point. Still don’t know it. And you’re just an ignorant Yankee hater. What’s more you’re on the wrong side of the argument with TheMan 3 and can’t admit it.
Troll
Please keep making my point.
nah, the Yankee fan is definitely more sorry. sorry
You need to read pinstripes original comment again then explain how he “ schooled” me
Incompetence is running rampant on this thread
I didn’t realize that Nostradamus was resurrected into you, Utah
No one can say how good or bad any team will be next year considering injuries, slumps, high expectations that can easily become disappointments
Tell you what, break out your crystal ball and predict the second coming
MLBTR writes about the Cubs, Yankees, etc because they have a ginormous fan bases. Not so much for the Brewers or Pirates.
And the Pirates will be awful again this year. They simply do not compete.
this article is partly about the Pirates, or can’t you comprehend the written word either, bronyaur1
Furthermore you aren’t nostradamus either
It doesn’t take Nostradamus to figure out that the Pirates are not a competitive MLB franchise. It only takes a handful of functional brain cells.
Why would you think that Pittsburgh won’t totally suck this year. The only decent player you have loudly wants out. He seems to be aware of what you aren’t.
Absolutely nobody outside the relatively tiny Pirate fan base cares about this total failure of a team.
Pirates have improved. They are not likely to challenge for the division, but .500 is a solid step in the right direction. They will not be an easy win, and should be fun to watch this summer.
Pirates have a plan. They have promising young core of Contreras, Keller, Cruz, & Hayes, with Endy, Priester, and others coming this year. They have brought in vets with defined skills to fill gaps and mentor these promising young players.
Will it produce a winner this year? Probably not, but it certainly will help build a foundation for ‘24 and beyond.
A team cannot base MOST of their signings on such things as veteran leadership, if the production is not going to make them better.
When it comes to someone like Cutch, however, he is perfect coming back to Pittsburgh for the last year or two. The team is young, and is starting to show some talent that would be served by having one of the best leaders in all of baseball there to show them the way to be a professional. And he can still add value on the field when used correctly. The dynamics within a clubhouse matter, and he can make a huge difference in this situation.
CarverAndrews;
I was very positive about the Pirates rebuild the past couple of years. This year I turned negative, primarily because of 2 things: 1) the lack of fundamental play and hustle by the young players on the field; and 2) the manager and coaches which relate to #1. Also noted a lack of veteran leadership, something it appears they were sticking on Bryan Reynolds – which it seems he doesn’t have the personality to do (most players don’t). This year they brought in Santana, Choi, Hill and Hedges which I thought was a good start. McCutchen’s rep and personality though is on another level.
The fact is that a manager and his coaches only have so much hold over players. Leadership has to police the clubhouse and hold players responsible to some degree, with management stepping in as well.
The fact that the Pirates organization didn’t understand how necessary this is made me do a 180 on their rebuild. Teams a year or two ahead of them on rebuilds – the Guardians and Orioles – totally understood the need for veteran player leadership in the growing process.
Someone needs to tell Cruz he isn’t a SS. That OF’s have to back one another up, and when balls to the OF get on the ground the player retrieving it needs to get it the cut-off man…..and the cut-off man has to be between the OF with the ball and the base the lead runner is going to…..not standing on 2B or off 1B like he’s waiting for a bus. Baserunning counts. The break between pitches should give all defenders the chance to size up the game situation and determine what they should do if the ball is hit to them or put in play elsewhere. As for the pitching…..not much position players can do about that. Maybe Rich Hill can lead by example.
I still have doubts about what the Pirates are doing. The Reynolds situation is awkward as he’s played 4 years for them (only 3 counted against his service time), and knows that in 2023 only some of the Pirates prospects will be up….with more coming in 2024….and they’ll all need a year to adjust to the level of play in MLB. By that time he’ll be 30 years-old as a FA…..and who knows how all those prospects will work out.
If the owner and GM were smart, they’d look at developing McCutchen to manage by 2025.
Samuel…he doesn’t want to manage or coach after he retires. He made a lot of money. Time for cutch to be a family man after he retires
@Samuel – well, you definitely should have doubts about the Pirates ownership and approach. The have taken a great baseball town with one of the best ballparks and turned it into a very frustrating experience.. The city deserves better.
It’s only a one-year contract. Depending how things are going with the season, McCutchen could be on board with getting flipped for a prospect at the deadline, and then sign back again with Pittsburgh for 2024.
May not be a trade deadline flip ploy. Cutch coming back is a marketing move? He is there to help get fannys in seats.
The article does state that he’s open to being moved at the deadline to a contender.
@YBC; I read it again. Looks like Cutch reached out to the Pirates expressing interest in finishing his career there. I do see the “flip” part too, but is that Mackey speculating?
Cardinals rotation does not look very good. Bottom 10.
At some point this year trades will be made to bring in pitching. It’s not a bad idea to see what’s happening early in the year before making moves. They can win the central with what they have. The improvements need to come before the playoffs.
Cardinal’s MO. They will absolutely be supplementing that starting rotation mid-season and probably heavily.
Bob likes Andrew. I really hope 2023 is at lease a league average run for Andrew so he is more likely to resign in 2024. Assuming it is true that there is little interest in flipping him I would’ve put vesting options on him to keep him until age 40.
Now if the pirates can sign J-Hay the dug out attitude would likely be much better. Not much room for him but the chemistry might be worth it.
Maybe bring back the Z.
just the emotional wants, doesn’t make a lot of baseball sense given the ‘youth movement’ more specifically with J-Hay.
I love the cutch signing letting him finish in pgh an still can play in a platoon role an will help the younger guys but let’s not get crazy bring back jhay is a joke I hope we can be a team of old men just for nostalgia an even though I loved watching that team I don’t want any of them now other then cutch
yeah yeah yeah, i know but… awe heck i’ll just go watch the old tapes lol 🙂
I’d still take j-hay if there were room… but there isn’t so doesn’t matter.
“…it would make for quite the fairytale if McCutchen were to be part of the next playoff team in Pittsburgh.”
Small market fairy tales are quite measured and humble.
No Reds news. No surprise. Sell the team Bob.
Heywards $20+ million comes off the books after this season.
plus Stroman could opt out of the last yr of contract – another $20MM and cubs won’t pick up Hendricks option another $14MM Thats $50MM to use on 2 starting pitchers
You are forgetting Bellinger, too. The Cubs will be at about $120 Million in 2024. Ricketts today said they are fine with being over the luxury tax threshold some years. So they could have $100 million or more to spend next offseason and with another year of development for PCA, Devers, Brown, Alcantara, Wicks, Horton, Ferris, Hernandez, Caissie, Triantos, Wesneski, Davis, and etc.
Why can’t the Pirates contend this year? I think they’re one good starting pitcher away from a seat at the contending table. Michael Wacha is still out there. Or go talk with the Marlins about a starting pitcher.
I understand why the Bucs aren’t interested in trading Reynolds now. They want to contend. Good for them.
This about building a winning culture. It helps to have a helpful veteran voice and ear in the clubhouse. They won’t contend but they’re better with than without.
Because they may have, at most, 4 hitters that are even average?
They have more than 4 average guys. Problem is they are only average. They need more than 2 guys who are significantly above average.
If adding Wacha could take you from a 70 win team to a contender he wouldn’t be a free agent still. Marlins have some better options but won’t move the needle enough and who are you giving up? There’s one guy available for free who could move the needle though.
They won 62 games last season and haven’t done much to move the needle this offseason. Getting back to .500 this year in itself would be a huge accomplishment.
The Cards are clearly the class of he division, but the Cubs finished the second half strong and had the 3rd best record in the majors last year vs teams with above .500 records. Chicago has added a lot of helpful pieces this off-season and shored up their defense up the middle in a big way. They won’t win the division but they will be one of the wild card teams in 2023 and then onward and upward from there in 2024 and beyond. I like this team. They will definitely be fun to watch.
I’ll be surprised if a wildcard comes from the NL Central this year. Two from the east and one from the west is much more likely.
It will certainly be tough, but I think the Giants and Braves take a step back this year. I’ll go with:
West: Dodgers
Central: Cardinals
East: Mets
WC1: Padres
WC2: Phillies
WC3: Braves
WC4: Cubs
That would set up a tasty first round series of Cards vs Cubs. Anything can happen in a 3 game series. Just can’t pitch Drew Smyly because the Cards FEAST on LHP. Anyway, just my thoughts. I love the way teams spent overall this off-season and it should be an exciting 2023 season.
CardsFan57,
I agree, but I had the Cubs as the 4th wild card team along with 2 from the east and 1 from the west as you alluded to.
I would put money on the Cardinals finishing the season 2nd or even 3rd in the central. They have two guys in Goldy and Aranado that are great, but I think Goldschmidt is likely to have a not-great year next season. I think injury keeps him out a lot of the season. The rotation is not very good either and Flaherty has a tough time staying healthy too.
Easy come and easy go with the money. It’s a quite a stretch saying the Cardinals are a two man roster. Granted they only have two players who finished in the top 3 for MVP last year. They still have plenty of above average players around the diamond. I think it’s more likely the Cardinals run away with the division than they are to finish second or third.
If you lost one of those two though, I think it would be an average lineup.
As would almost every other team in the league that loses an MVP caliber player.
I disagree, I think other teams have better depth.
We’ll have to disagree. The Cubs are treading water with this off season. Everything they gained offensively was lost when Contreras signed with the Cardinals. Catcher was the Cardinals biggest offensive weakness last year. I look for the Cardinals to once again score 115 runs more than the Cubs. If O’Neil and Carlson return to 2021 form, it will be an even bigger gap. The rotation is the Cardinals biggest weakness. They have the prospects and a surplus of good young players to correct that when the season begins. Frankly, Cathcer is still the only position where there isn’t an above average backup player ready to step in.
That cardinals rotation is thin and without yadi this year. I have no idea what to make of O’Neil or Carlson but I am glad Bader is gone. The offense should be very good but Arenado and Goldschmidt both had career years, zero chance there isn’t regression. I think the central is going to be a dog fight.
The Cubs just added Mancini, they are significantly better than they were even earlier today. Mancini at DH makes them MUCH better. This is going to be an interesting season for certain.
Shock top, I’m hoping I’m wrong – but I don’t understand why you feel Mancini moves the needle. Him nor Hosmer. What could help big time, would be giving Mervis an opportunity, and seeing him deliver. Cubs need a GOOD LH bat, added to this lineup.
Mancini has had two things work against him. In 2020 he did not play, in 2021 he had to come back from that year off, and then in 2022, they moved the fence back 30 ft at Camden Yards, and then got traded halfway through the season to play for the Astros. He would have hit more home runs at Wrigley. The odd man out might end up being Hosmer. I think they could use Mancini to spell LF and RF at times and Hosmer will have a short leash with a league-minimum salary.
Mancini has power and he hits lefties and righties. Great pickup.
The cubs were 9 games over the second half last year and with the addition of a couple key players they can build on it.
The Cubs rotation is a little better, they don’t have Wilson calling the games and they added bats, so a wild card is not out of the question nor is winning the division.
This smells like 2015 again.
Matt Liberatore will be interesting to see in the future. He has pretty high WHIPs with the Rays, but he never gave up HRs so the results kind of fell in line with the talent.
Maybe I’m too suspicious to Tampa trading players, but this seems quite convenient to me. I think they recognized his 2018 and 2019 weren’t sustainable due to the HR/rates and saw him as a rapidly depreciating asset.
I don’t see him as a starter, personally. His fastball is weak and his slider isn’t mlb quality. I could see him doing alright out of the BP
I now have him as the Cardinals 3rd best pitching prospect. I expect okay back of the rotation at best from Liberatore. He could surprise me. Hopefully he will.
I’m not too familiar with the cardinals system, but I hope you have Tink Hence above him. I think he could be a some special for you guys.
Hence is one. Graceffo is the other.
Cards might win the division again but dont see them making much noise beyond that thier starting pitching will be an issue ..against teams with 2 aces like mets or dodgers yea ..
Any team with two good right handers will beat the Cardinals in a 2-3 game series. Goes without saying. Almost impossible for them to win. Plus the Cardinals have left the need for more lefty pitching or a legit ace without being addressed,…so far.
The Cubbies have just quietly re-made themselves as the team to beat in the Central. The Brewers have been quiet but have the pitching to win. STL Cardinals have been sitting on their laurels banking on their young unproven and uncontrolled pitchers for a division win and playoff run… or the last hurrah for Mo. There is still time to beef up the Cardinals weaknesses but time is running out. Interesting developments for sure.