Star Closer Has Received Multiple Offers; Could Cardinals Make Sense As Landing Spot?

The St. Louis Cardinals have made a specific effort to improve pitching throughout the organization this offseason.

St. Louis began the offseason by improving the starting rotation and then turned its focus to the bullpen. The Cardinals have completely altered the rotation and bullpen and are in a much better spot on paper heading into the 2024 campaign.

The Cardinals had a disastrous 2023 season but many have speculated that the club could finish atop the National League Central standings in 2024. 

It could make sense for the club to continue adding to the roster, though. One player who is available and could make some sense to continue adding to the bullpen is three-time All-Star Liam Hendriks.

Hendriks reportedly has multiple offers on the table and will decide his next move by Thursday, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

"Reliever Liam Hendriks has multiple offers and has set a deadline of Thursday to sign with a team, sources tell ESPN," Passan said. "If Hendriks doesn't sign now, he would keep rehabbing from Tommy John surgery on his own and throw for teams in late July before signing for the stretch run."

Hendriks will miss the beginning of the 2024 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. If he's able to return around the trade deadline, he could be a massive pickup for a team looking to compete like the Cardinals.

The 35-year-old has developed into one of the top relievers in baseball. He missed most of the 2023 as he recovered from cancer treatments, but certainly can bounce-back when he returns to the hill in 2024.

Hendriks appeared in 226 games with the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox from 2019 through 2022 and had a 2.26 ERA and 359-to-47 strikeout-to-walk ratio.