ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - If it wasn't hammered to Cardinals Nations' heads by now, pitching has been a priority for the ballclub this off-season.
Cardinals fans don't need to hear the 2023 stats of how poorly the staff was overall, from the rotation posting one of the lowest ERA's in the National League last year, to the bullpen blowing plenty of saves too.
The Cardinals, to their credit, has brought in players to fix both parts of the pitching staff. On the starters end, they brought in three starters, including reuniting with former Cardinal Lance Lynn and signing AL Cy Young Runner-Up Sonny Gray.
On the bullpen side, they have brought in five pitchers, two of which had Major League experience. The Cardinals have continue to add to the bullpen, adding another pitcher who has major league experience and also has plenty of postseason experience with the Houston Astros.
No it's not the one you're thinking of.
On Friday, the Cardinals announced that they have signed former Astros reliever Josh James to a minor league deal.
James, who pitched for the Astros from 2018 to 2021, hasn't pitched in the majors for the past two seasons, and did not pitch last season due to recovering from a right-flexor tendon surgery. James was non tendered by the Astros at the end of the 2022 season.
James has had an arsenal where he can generate swing and misses, with James posting a very good 34.3% strikeout rate, but he has had issues with command, walking a very ugly 13.2% of batters he's faced.
James is a low-risk, high reward deal where his previous major league experience will make him a candidate under consideration for the 2024 bullpen.
As the bullpen currently stands, Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos, and JoJo Romero are locks for the bullpen. Along that, the pen will likely include Andrew Kittredge, who was acquired through trade from the Rays, and Ryan Fernandez, who was acquired in the Major League Portion of the Rule 5 Draft. That's leaves about three or four spots left depending on the roster construction. One spot is likely being a competition between Zack Thompson and Matthew Liberatore. That could leave only two or three spots in the pen to be fought in Spring Training between James, Riley O'Brien, Nick Robertson, Cardinals 2022 Rule 5 Draft Pick Wilking Rodriguez and John King.