St. Louis Cardinals fans rejoiced on Wednesday afternoon when it was announced that the team had signed catcher Willson Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million deal.
The team finally has its replacement for Yadier Molina behind the plate and may even have the big bat they were searching for.
However, as one fan points out on Twitter, there is still more work to do.
Despite replacing Molina, the Cardinals lost one of their top starters this morning in veteran left-hander Jose Quintana, who signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the New York Mets.
Albert Pujols also retired, and the Cardinals will need a big bat to replace him.
Contreras makes them better at catcher, and good job on that, Mo.
Now, the current situation is that you've lost Albert Pujols & Jose Quintana. And you can't just catch up to where you stood last year–you have to improve. So this is good–and nowhere near sufficient. #STLCards
— Just Blew In From Stupid Town (@johnrabe) December 7, 2022
Cards Have More Work To Do
St. Louis won 93 games during the regular season and captured the NL Central title.
Unfortunately, they were utterly embarrassed by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series.
And so, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak made adding additional offense a top priority.
The Cardinals have formed a lethal middle-of-the-order trio with Contreras, Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado.
While that may suffice in terms of offseason moves, fans still want more and know that the team is going to need to add a bat to replace Pujols.
The team could look into somebody like Brandon Drury or Trey Mancini.
Andrew Benintendi, Michael Brantley, and Brandon Nimmo are also still on the market.
A reunion with Matt Carpenter could be possible as well.
In terms of starting pitching, former Cardinal Michael Wacha is available.
The team could also dive in with veteran right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.
NEXT: The Cardinals Make Franchise History With Willson Contreras