Intriguing Veteran Hurler Floated As Possible Offseason Reunion Candidate For Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have plenty of tough decisions to make this offseason.

St. Louis needs to rebuild the starting rotation. This is the club's biggest need and has drawn the most headlines. Although this is the case, the Cardinals do have other questions they need to address this offseason. One spot the club likely will look to improve is the bullpen. The Cardinals finished the 2023 season with the 23rd-ranked bullpen with a 4.47 ERA.

Although the Cardinals' bullpen wasn't very strong last season, one player who did look solid was veteran righty Drew VerHagen. It's unclear if he will be back with St. Louis in 2023, though, but MLB.com's Mark Feinsand suggested he could be a reunion candidate for the club.

"The Cardinals traded away all of their high-profile free agents, leaving only Adam Wainwright -- who is retiring -- VerHagen, Andrew Knizner, Dakota Hudson, Jake Woodford, and Juan Yepez and Jacob Barnes as candidates," Feinsand said. "VerHagen was a disappointment in the first season of his two-year, $5.5 million deal, but he posted a 3.98 ERA in 60 appearances last season, pitching to a 2.25 ERA from Aug. 1 through the end of the season."

Feinsand compiled a list of free agent reunion candidates for each Major League Baseball club and mentioned VerHagen as a fit for the Cardinals. He struggled in 2022 but appeared in just 19 games. VerHagen was healthy in 2023 and appeared in 60 games and impressed. He finished the season with a 3.98 ERA in 61 innings pitched and struck out 60 batters. 

He was a solid piece for the Cardinals in 2023 and likely wouldn't cost too much, so it would make sense to bring him back into the fold. St. Louis will need to add more to the bullpen, but it wouldn't hurt to bring VerHagen back.