Andrew Kittredge gives the St. Louis Cardinals a skilled and seasoned back-end reliever in the bullpen. He gives Oliver Marmol an additional option in the closing stages of games, and he improves the team even more for the following season.
But Kittredge by himself probably won’t cut it. The other day, Katie Woo (subscription required) hosted a mailbag. She started the conversation by revealing the Cardinals’ plans for pitching this offseason. John Mozeliak’s objective of adding “at least two bullpen arms” isn’t quite met unless he believes that Nick Robertson, Wilking Rodriguez, or Ryan Fernandez is good enough, which is hopefully not the case.
Even if the money might be constrained, Woo said there’s still room for one more reliever. This pitcher is not likely to come from the Jordan Hicks/Hector Neris bucket, nor will he likely come from the Josh Hader bucket. Rather, Katie provided a very precise monetary sum for this last relief.
Not bad for $5 million in the current free agent market. John Mozeliak’s options with his last deal are truly limited by Bill DeWitt and company due to the increase in pitchers’ fees of all kinds. The majority of the younger, elite relievers cost more than that.
Woo mentions two relievers in particular, Matt Moore and Phil Maton, who have previously been mentioned as possibilities by Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch and others. Moore was another player I mentioned in an October post as someone St. Louis ought to seek. I also mentioned pitchers like Matt Barnes, Joe Jimenez, and Keynan Middleton as possibilities, but considering these price limitations, Matt Barnes is probably the only one of them who will be within reach.
Matt Moore
First, let’s discuss relievers who have been specifically touted as potential additions to the 2024 bullpen. Matt Moore made a lot of moves in the last year. After playing with the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels for portions of the season, he concluded his career with the Miami Marlins. Thirty-four-year-old Moore throws southpaw and was quite successful last year against right-handed hitters.
Last year, he gave up right-handed batters a slash line of.218/.277/.345 along with a 34% strikeout rate. Reverse splits like these will help in a bullpen when righties hit.278 in 2023. Last year, he made the most of his appearances in high-leverage circumstances, and he was very good in those situations, giving opponents a pitiful batting average of.178.
Moore’s expertise coming into games late would be crucial for a bullpen that desperately needs more depth. He has mostly thrown in low- and mid-leverage situations throughout his career. FanGraphs indicates that the majority of his innings have been pitched in mid-leverage situations. Moore has only recorded five saves in his career, and two of those were with the Texas Rangers in 2022.
Matt Moore matches the budget constraints because his estimated cost would be $5 million or less. Both his career and 2023 figures are respectable (4.36 ERA, 1.387 WHIP, 20.6% K rate) and impressive (2.56 ERA, 1.158 WHIP, 27.5% K rate). In 2024 or 2025, Matt Moore probably won’t have many chances to close games, but he could certainly contribute in the seventh or eighth inning.