The St. Louis Cardinals are in the market for a free agent setup reliever. This is according to a report from the St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Derrick Goold. The Cardinals have yet to make an MLB level free agency signing this offseason. It will likely not be for one of the top names available if they do.

Replacing Elite Setup Man

Andrew Kittredge was the Cardinals main setup man in 2024, and he is now a free agent. He led the National League in holds with 37 in 2024, one behind the MLB leader Bryan Abreu. His stability in the eighth inning helped Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley lead the MLB in saves in 2024.

Kittredge pitched in more games this season than any other season of his career. The right-hander pitched in 74 games and posted a 2.80 ERA. The ERA was better than his career average of 3.44. Kittredge pitched 70.2 innings and struck out 67 batters. He struck out more batters than he allowed hits, giving up just 60 base hits all year.

This is the first time in Kittredge’s career he will be a free agent. He will likely command more money than the Cardinals will be willing to pay. However, if the market is slow on him, the Cardinals have not ruled out having him back.

Looking For Low-Cost Help

Goold reported that the Cardinals are “In the market for a setup reliever.” However, they’ve been shopping slowly, if they’ve been shopping at all. The Cardinals have only made three signings this offseason, all at a minor league level. In comparison, they have let several players go to free agency. Paul Goldschmidt, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, Keynan Middleton, Matt Carpenter, and Kittredge all have entered free agency from the 2024 roster.

On top of that, the Cardinals are actively shopping high-cost players like Nolan Arenado and Steven Matz. The Cardinals are likely to wait until they have more clarity on players; they are trying to trade to see how low they can get their payroll before making a signing. While the organization resists the “rebuilding” label, it focuses on cutting payroll and developing young talent.

Expect the Cardinals to mop up after the free agent market runs more of its course. When they finally do make moves, it will be for the players passed over by the aggressive teams this offseason.

Hoping to Maintain Bullpen Success

The Cardinals 2024 bullpen featured the most prolific closer in baseball with Helsley. Helsley has been rumored as a trade piece as he enters his final year of club control, though his preference is to stay with the team. It also featured two closers with 30 or more holds with Kittredge and JoJo Romero.

The bullpen ERA for the Cardinals in 2024 was 3.64. That was good for seventh-best in the League. The success was in large part due to the success of the starting rotation. The Cardinals bullpen threw the eighth fewest innings in the League last season. Their key relievers didn’t have to face overuse very often, and the team didn’t have to turn to unproven relievers on a regular basis.

In addition to Helsley and Romero, the Cardinals are bringing back five other bullpen pitchers who threw at least 30 innings in 2024. They have a solid bullpen in place and can continue its success with a free agent addition or two. Otherwise, they will hope that young talent coming up through the minors can contribute in a meaningful way to the 2025 campaign.

Main Photo Credits: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images