photo: Kyle Gibson (Mitch Stringer/USA TODAY Sports)
The St. Louis Cardinals signed two rotation members last week, with more to come. Our history feature revisits the Cardinals during the golden years of 2005-2011.
Cardinals sign two pitchers on one-year deals
During the past week the St. Louis Cardinals signed two free agent pitchers, both expected to be additions to the 2024 rotation.
On Tuesday, the team announced the signing of former Cardinal Lance Lynn to a one-year contract, reported to be for $10 million plus a $1 million buyout of a 2025 team option. Lynn, 36, was the 39th round draft pick by St. Louis in 2008 and made his pitching debut on June 2, 2011, against the Giants. Lynn spent six seasons in St. Louis from 2011 through 2016, with a record of 72-47 with an ERA of 3.38. He made 161 starts with the Cardinals.
Since leaving for free agency after the 2016 season, Lynn pitched for the Twins, Yankees, Rangers, White Sox and Dodgers with mixed results. His best seasons were with Texas in 2019 and 2020. He finished third in the Cy Young Award voting in his first season with the White Sox in 2021. His stock has fallen since and his 2023 season was marked by giving up the most home runs in a single season across both leagues.
On the same day as the Lynn signing, the Cardinals also confirmed the addition of RHP Kyle Gibson. Gibson, also 36, is a Mizzou alum and offseason resident of St. Louis. Gibson’s one-year deal is reported to be for $12 million. The team also has a 2025 option on his services.
Gibson was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Twins in the 2009 draft. He spent seven seasons in Minnesota and became a free agent following the 2019 season. Gibson had a record of 67-68 with an ERA of 4.53 with the Twins. Next, the right hander signed with the Texas Rangers on a three-year deal. In the first half of the 2021 season in Texas, he pitched his way into the first All-Star Game selection of his career.
In July 2021, he was traded to the Phillies. Gibson remained with the Phillies through the 2022 season. He signed for the 2023 season with the Baltimore Orioles. In Baltimore, Gibson posted a record of 15-9 with an ERA of 4.73.
In a press conference to announce the Lynn and Gibson signings, Cardinals POBO John Mozeliak indicated that more moves were coming. St. Louis is in dire need of a top of the rotation pitcher since neither Lynn nor Gibson fit into that category. St. Louis has been linked to Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto as well as Sonny Gray. The 25-year-old Yamamoto is predicted to get a deal of $200 million or higher. As many as a dozen teams will be competing for Yamamoto along with the Cardinals.
News and Notes for the Cardinals offseason
This section features offseason news items each week that do not require extensive coverage.
- The Cardinals have hired former Cardinal Daniel Descalso to be the major league bench coach for the 2024 season. Joe McEwing, who became the bench coach in 2023 after Skip Schumacker became the manager of the Miami Marlins, was shifted to the position of Special Assistant to John Mozeliak to make room for the addition of Descalso.
As most fans know, Descalso was a member of the 2011 World Series Champion Cardinals and was also a key contributor to St. Louis’ Game 5 win over the Washington Nationals in the 2012 NLDS.
- Former Cardinal Matt Holliday is on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the 2024 class. The ballot was announced on November 20.
Holliday was acquired by St. Louis in a trade from the Oakland Athletics on July 24, 2009. Holliday signed a seven-year, $140 million contract in January 2010. After Holliday’s contract expired after the 2016 season, he played one year for the New York Yankees and finished his major league career on a one-year contract with the team that drafted him, the Colorado Rockies.
- RHP Wilking Rodriguez, who was acquired in the 2022 Rule 5 draft from the Yankees, and who had elected free agency after being outrighted off the 40-man roster, has re-signed with the Cardinals a minor league contract. The right hander had been offered back to the Yankees, but they declined their option. Rodriguez’ Rule 5 restrictions are now lifted.
Rodriguez suffered a right shoulder injury and missed all of the 2023 season. He briefly pitched late in the season on a rehab assignment but was shut down when the shoulder pain returned.
- The annual Cardinals Winter Warm-Up fan festival is scheduled for January 13- 15, 2024. Details can be found at com/WWU.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
- While the Cardinals have added two pitchers to the 2024 roster, POBO John Mozeliak told assembled media in a press conference early in the week that more moves are to come. It is expected that the Cardinals will add at least one more starter for the rotation.
The Cardinals have been linked to free agent Sonny Gray, and Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto was officially posted by his Japanese team on Tuesday, November 21, and is now available to be signed by any team.
Yamamoto’s agent is reported to have said from 11-14 teams have already made contact concerning the Japanese right hander. Whether the Cardinals are included on that list is unknown.
Transactions
- 11/21 The Cardinals signed free agent RHP Kyle Gibson to a one-year contract.
- 11/21 The Cardinals signed free agent RHP Lance Lynn to a one-year contract.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
The offseason is well underway. The rosters have been set for the Rule 5 draft, and all players who the team wished to keep on the roster have been tendered contracts.
The Winter Meetings are scheduled for December 3-6 in Nashville. The Winter Meetings are when many offseason transactions occur. The Rule 5 draft takes place on the final day of the Winter Meetings.
On December 5, the 2024 draft lottery will take place. The Cardinals finished the 2023 season with 91 losses. Based on lottery odds, the Cardinals have an 8.3% chance of getting the first pick, which is the fifth best odds. There are 17 teams eligible for the lottery, all non-playoff teams.
The Cardinals have never had the top pick in the draft. The highest they have picked is third.
The first important date in 2024 is January 12, the deadline for teams and arbitration eligible players to submit salary figures. The Cardinals have five players who are arbitration eligible. They are Tyler O’Neill (3rd year), Tommy Edman (2nd year), Dylan Carlson (1st year), Ryan Helsley (2nd year), and JoJo Romero (1st year).
Blast from the Past
The Cardinals did not make the postseason in 2023. The reasons for that have already been hashed over and the historically bad season analyzed in every quarter. Now that the offseason is underway, the Blast from the Past will make a U-turn, and rather than bemoan the lost season, will celebrate those seasons in which the Cardinals did play in October.
This series looks at the Cardinals in the postseason by decade. The period from 1900-1920 was a tough two decades for the St. Louis franchise. It wasn’t until Sam Breadon purchased the Cardinals in 1917 that they began the ascent into the successful franchise it is today.
From 1920 until the present, the Cardinals made the postseason 32 times. In only two decades since then they have not made a single postseason appearance, the 1950s and the 1970s. In all other decades but one they have gone to the postseason multiple times.
The eighth installment in this series looks at the period 2005-2011.
The Cardinals went to the postseason in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011. They made it to the World Series twice and won both.
The 2005 Cardinals were owned by Bill DeWitt Jr. The GM was Walt Jocketty. The manager was Tony La Russa.
The 2005 team finished in first place in the NL Central with a record of 100-62. They were 11 games ahead of the Houston Astros, who were the NL Wild Card team. Chris Carpenter won the 2005 Cy Young Award, the last Cardinal pitcher to have won the honor.
Future Hall of Famers on the 2005 squad were La Russa, Scott Rolen, and Larry Walker.
The Cardinals went to the Division Series against the San Diego Padres and swept the series 3-0. They faced the Astros in the NLCS and were defeated 4-2. The Cardinals won Games 1 and 5. Game 5 is notable for the infamous Albert Pujols home run off Brad Lidge in Minute Maid Park that sent the series to Game 6 at Busch Stadium, which the Cardinals lost, and were eliminated.
The Cardinals continued to have success, but the Astros went into a long decline and into an eventual rebuild. They moved to the American League in 2013.
The Cardinals returned to the postseason in 2006. The owner, GM and manager remained the same.
The 2006 team finished in first place in the NL Central but with a much worse record than previous seasons. Their record was 83-78 as they finished only 1.5 games ahead of the Astros.
Even with their record, the Cardinals went into the postseason and surprised everyone. They beat the Padres again in the NLDS, three games to one.
The team advanced to the NLCS against the Mets. The series went the full seven games, but it was capped off by the outstanding performance of Adam Wainwright in Game 7. Wainwright became the closer after an injury to Jason Isringhausen. 2006 was Wainwright’s first full season after he debuted in late 2005.
Wainwright dazzled the crowd at Shea Stadium in that final game by striking out Carlos Beltran with a flawless curve ball to end the game and the series.
The Cardinals then went on to defeat the heavily favored Detroit Tigers in the World Series. Their four games to one win over the Tigers is considered the most unlikely World Series win in the team’s franchise history. It didn’t hurt that the Tigers played badly, making many defensive errors during the five-game set.
The 2006 World Series title was the Cardinals’ 10th.
The Cardinals did not make the postseason in 2007 or 2008. They did however manage to make the postseason in 2009 but did not go far.
The 2009 team was owned by Bill DeWitt Jr. The GM had changed however, as the Cardinals parted ways with Walt Jocketty after the 2007 season and promoted assistant general manager John Mozeliak into the position. The manager continued to be La Russa.
The 2009 Cardinals finished the season in first place in the NL Central with a record of 91-71. They were 7.5 games ahead of the Cubs.
Future Hall of famers were La Russa and John Smoltz. Smoltz was in the final season of his career, having been released by the Red Sox in August 2009 and signed by the Cardinals.
The 2009 squad was led by outstanding starting pitching from Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Carpenter was 17-4 with an ERA of 2.24. Wainwright was one game shy of being a 20-game winner, going 19-8 with an ERA of 2.63. Carpenter and Wainwright finished second and third in the Cy Young Award balloting. The two split the vote, allowing Tim Lincecum of the Giants to take the honor.
The Cardinals did not fare well in the 2009 postseason. They played the Los Angeles Dodgers and were swept in three games. One notable moment in the series was when left fielder Matt Holliday misplayed a fly ball in Game 2 that led to a ninth inning rally and win for the Dodgers. The event spoiled a fantastic pitching performance by Wainwright.
The final trip to the postseason during this period was in 2011. The owner, GM and manager were the same.
2011 was another season like 2006, during which the Cardinals did not play well, but rallied late in the season to make the playoffs. The Cardinals were 10.5 games back late in August but played out of their minds in September to win the NL Wild Card spot. They clinched on the last day of the season, when the Phillies beat the Braves in extra innings, giving the Wild Card spot to the Cardinals.
The Cardinals finished with a record of 90-72, six games back of the Brewers.
The only future Hall of Famer on the 2011 team was La Russa (as of now, but that will likely change in the next five or six years).
The Cardinals thanked the Phillies for their help getting them into the postseason by beating them in five games in the NLDS. Game 5 was a pitching matchup for the ages, Chris Carpenter against best friend Roy Halladay. The Cardinals won the game 1-0, as Carpenter pitched arguably the best game of his career.
The Cardinals then went on to play, and defeat, the NL Central winning Brewers in six games in the NLCS.
The World Series began on October 19, with the St. Louis Cardinals against the Texas Rangers. This World Series was won by the Cardinals in seven games, but it was essentially over after Game 6.
Game 6 could be argued to be the one of the best, if not the best World Series game in MLB history. The Rangers looked to be the winner multiple times in this 11-inning marathon, but the Cardinals came back from at the brink of elimination both in the ninth and 10th innings. David Freese, who was the NLCS MVP, topped his performance in Game 6 and was named the World Series MVP by hitting the game-tying triple in the ninth inning and the game winning home run in the 11th inning.
The Cardinals won Game 6 and easily took Game 7 to win their 11th World Series Championship.
The next installment of this series will cover the period 2012-2015. This period included four trips to the postseason and one World Series appearance.
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