The St. Louis Cardinals made a savvy depth move earlier on Friday, signing veteran left-hander Andrew Suarez to a minor league contract.
While only a minor league deal, this could be a good move for the Cardinals, as they were in search of a pitcher capable of starting and pitching in relief.
The 30-year-old was an All-Star in the KBO in 2021 and seemingly reinvented himself after three seasons with the San Francisco Giants.
On Twitter, a Cardinals fan hyped up the addition of Suarez by posting a compilation video of him striking out some of the game’s best hitters, including Nolan Arenado, Carlos Correa, Bryan Reynolds, and Matt Olson.
84 seconds of new St. Louis Cardinal Andrew Suárez striking out former MLB All-Stars: pic.twitter.com/5rYVQpIHTL
— Random STL Cardinals (@RandomStlCards) January 27, 2023
While this isn’t an Earth-shattering move for the Cardinals by any stretch and also doesn’t rule out other additions, it could turn out to be a frugal move.
Suarez is capable of starting and can be used in a swingman role, if he cracks the Opening Day roster.
Either way, it does strengthen the pitching depth of the team.
In 2021, Suarez appeared in 23 games, starting 22 of them.
He went 10-2 and posted a 2.18 ERA.
He took a step back in 2022, going 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 21 appearances, none of which were starts.
But if he can show flashes of his 2021 form, there could be a spot for him on the Cardinals roster.
There will certainly be competition on the Cardinals roster in spring training, especially on the pitching staff.
He’ll join Matthew Liberatore, Dakota Hudson, Andre Pallante, Zack Thompson, and Jake Woodford in the competition for the starting rotation.
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