Cardinals Insider Grills Team For Lackluster Offseason

Recently on The Athletic, baseball writers gave each MLB team a grade based on what took place over the course of the offseason.

Granted, there is still a little time for things to change and more moves to be made, but the free agent market is pretty picked over after a spree of spending in December.

The St. Louis Cardinals were fortunate to sign the best available catcher on the free agent market in Willson Contreras.

Unfortunately, that is all they have done this winter.

On Twitter, a Cardinals fan quoted an excerpt from team insider Katie Woo, who acknowledged that the Contreras signing was a good move, but that it isn’t enough to earn them a top offseason grade.

St. Louis does deserve some credit for acquiring the best free-agent backstop available and addressing two birds with one stone, but you don’t get a top grade for doing the minimum. — @katiejwoo #STLCards https://t.co/dtmGHPZg6D

— Cardinal Nation (@CardNationFans) January 31, 2023

More than likely, you’ll be hard pressed to find a Cardinals fan that disagrees with Woo’s assessment.

By signing Contreras, the Cardinals essentially killed two birds with one stone, replacing Yadier Molina behind the plate while also adding a middle-of-the-order bat to replace the production of Albert Pujols.

But the team still has needs that have not yet been addressed.

A supplemental bat for the bench could still be added, with options such as Tyler Naquin and David Peralta available.

A more obvious need is starting pitching.

The team somewhat addressed this by signing veteran lefty Andrew Suarez to a minor league deal, but former Cardinal Michael Wacha remains unsigned and could give the rotation a much-needed boost and mitigate the need to acquire a starter at the deadline.

But until those needs are addressed, fans won’t be satisfied.