At this point, the market for starting pitchers is pretty picked over.
The St. Louis Cardinals passed on a chance to sign Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom, and Carlos Rodon, and now face serious question marks in their starting rotation.
There are a few starters on the market that could potentially fit their needs, but their chances of acquiring a frontline pitcher are slim.
On Wednesday, the Boston Red Sox took a chance on one of the remaining starters, signing veteran right-hander Corey Kluber to a one-year, $10 million contract with a club option for 2024.
On Twitter, a Cardinals fan lamented the fact that the team chose to pass on yet another solid option for their rotation.
We could’ve had Corey Kluber for $10mil…..
— The Cardinal Way (@STL_Cards_nut) December 28, 2022
Kluber started 31 games for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2022, going 10-10 and posting a 4.34 ERA.
The veteran right-hander also struck out a total of 139 batters.
For the Cardinals, things have been pretty quiet since the signing of Willson Contreras.
The day Contreras was signed was also the day the Cardinals lost their ace in left-hander Jose Quintana.
As of now, St. Louis has not replaced Quintana and instead has put its faith in the current group of starters that consists of Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Jordan Montgomery, and Jack Flaherty.
Wainwright, Matz, and Flaherty all have question marks entering 2023.
The latter two dealt with injuries in 2022, while Wainwright endured an uncharacteristically bad month of September.
The Cards could offset some of that with the addition of a starting pitcher.
Former Cardinal Michael Wacha remains unsigned after a bounce-back season in Boston.
NEXT: Cardinals Fan Reflects On A Legendary 2022 Moment