The St. Louis Cardinals are out of the hunt for a spot in the postseason and now must turn their focus to 2025.
The team was largely let down by its offense this year, but the starting pitching also left a lot to be desired. Perhaps they could look to add an arm in free agency.
St. Louis native Max Scherzer is set to be a free agent and was originally drafted by the Cardinals before committing to the University of Missouri in 2003.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report lists him as one of the top free agents on the market, and he is somebody the Cardinals could potentially target.
Scherzer is 40 years of age and is also somebody who has struggled with injuries in each of the last few seasons. In fact, he was limited to just nine starts this season, going 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA.
This is something the Cardinals will need to be cognizant of if they plan to pursue the St. Louis native. When healthy, he can still be one of Major League Baseball's most dominant pitchers, but he has struggled to stay off the injured list.
St. Louis does need a starting pitcher this coming offseason, and somebody of Scherzer's caliber would help them out as long as he can stay healthy.
Somebody that can go next to Sonny Gray and serve as a No. 2 starter would be ideal for St. Louis so that they can have a better chance of winning in the postseason should they qualify in 2025.
Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn both have club options for next year, but it looks as though St. Louis won't pick up those options, which could leave room for Scherzer.
It will be interesting to see if Scherzer ends up on the Cardinals' radar.
More MLB: Cardinals executive confirms front office changes are in store for team
