The St. Louis Cardinals won’t come close to being the biggest spenders in free agency this year, but it still wouldn’t be a surprise to see them sign at least one intriguing starting pitcher.
There are good pieces in the Cardinals’ current projected rotation, but with three-time All-Star Sonny traded to the Boston Red Sox, there probably won’t be enough depth to survive the beginning of the season, assuming St. Louis isn’t willing to promote its top prospects en masse for opening day.
Fortunately, this year’s free-agent pitching market has something for everyone, and one baseball expert foresees the Cardinals picking up a right-hander who dominated for the division-rival Chicago Cubs this season — but out of the bullpen.
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Cardinals tabbed to acquire Brad Keller
Oct 8, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Brad Keller (40) celebrates after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers in game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images
On Tuesday, Andy McCullough of The Athletic predicted that the Cardinals would sign 30-year-old Brad Keller, who put up a 2.07 ERA as the Cubs’ setup man for most of the season and even became the closer in October.
“The Cardinals should be active this winter, but that will mostly entail finding a new home for third baseman Nolan Arenado and seeing if there is a bonanza available in exchange for utility man Brendan Donovan,” McCullough wrote.
“Chaim Bloom spoke about ‘hard decisions and short-term sacrifices’ facing the club, so nine-figure expenditures sound unlikely. But Keller is an intriguing candidate to convert back to the starting rotation after an excellent season as a reliever for the Cubs in 2025.”
Keller won’t necessarily come cheap, as The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected him for a three-year, $30 million deal earlier this offseason. That’s probably as low an average annual value as the Cardinals are going to find on anyone who can legitimately contribute to the starting rotation next year, though.
The trade-off, of course, is that Keller’s track record of starting in the majors is mediocre at best (4.33 ERA in 117 starts). He clearly found something this season working out of the bullpen, though, and he’s coming from a pair of organizations that have good recent track records with pitching development in the Cubs and Boston Red Sox.
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