When the World Series comes to a conclusion and the new champion reigns supreme, the St. Louis Cardinals will finally be able to begin their offseason as they look to overhaul their pitching staff.
Top pitchers such as Aaron Nola, Blake Snell, Eduardo Rodriguez, Sonny Gray, and Lucas Giolito will be available in free agency.
Nola and Snell will be the most sought-after starters this winter by any team looking to add pitching.
On Twitter, Cardinals writer Ben Frederickson discussed who he believes the team’s top offseason target should be, saying that if the Philadelphia Phillies are going to let him go, Nola would be a good fit as the next Cardinals ace.
In today’s @stltoday: If Phillies are willing to let Aaron Nola go, he would look great as #STLCards ace https://t.co/Mzbwx0fFcf
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) August 18, 2023
The former All-Star is not having his best season.
He is 10-8 with a 4.58 ERA.
However, he has succeeded in other categories.
In 153.1 innings of work, Nola has recorded 160 strikeouts.
The 30-year-old right-hander has also only allowed 39 walks.
The Phillies ace is averaging just 2.3 walks per nine innings while averaging 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
St. Louis has a pitching staff that relies on contact and defense heavily.
However, that got them into trouble this season, and they now need pitchers with more swing-and-miss capability.
Nola could help provide that for the 11-time World Series champions.
Ever since Adam Wainwright’s decline last September, the Cardinals have lacked a true ace, and Nola would certainly fit the bill for a team that hasn’t won a postseason series since 2019.
Nola will come at a high price, but that is ultimately the cost of top-level pitching that the Cardinals are going to need to target.
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