ST. LOUIS _ Free agent pitcher Dallas Keuchel would've solved the problem.
Fifth starter, secured in December, rotation set, boom.
Instead, the Cardinals made a safer move, albeit a way more affordable move. But now they go into camp with two "ifs" vying for that fifth spot in their rotation.
The Cardinals are banking on their brains instead of breaking the bank.
They could've signed former Cy Young winner Keuchel, a lefty who probably will go for an average annual value of $14 million. Instead, meet the $4 million man, Kwang Hyun Kim.
"We had robust scouting reports on him _ a lot of analytical support that backed up the success he was having in the KBL (Korean Baseball League)," said John Mozeliak, the Cardinals president of baseball operations.
This isn't a bad signing _ it's a sensible one, because of the lefty Kim's flexibility to pitch out of the bullpen. But it's hard to be elated about Kim possibly starting 25-30 games for the defending National League Central Division champions. There are just so many "ifs," as in Kim could be pretty effective ...
_ if his "swing-and-miss" slider can miss bats in this league.
_ if his body, which turns 32 in July, is ready to carry him through the rigors of this new league.
_ if his mouth-watering walk-rate and strikeout-rate both can translate to this league.
The best-case scenario for the Cardinals is that Kim motivates his fellow "if" pitcher. That man is Carlos Martinez, a former All-Star as a starter. Twice, in fact. This offseason, the onus, yet again, is on Martinez to shoulder the responsibility of strengthening his pitching shoulder. The Cards won't get a clear answer until early 2020.
Now, if there were a choice between a healthy Martinez, Keuchel or Kim, a healthy Martinez is the most-enticing talent to be the Cardinals' fifth starter. So, yes, if the Cardinals did sign Keuchel, they would've basically said that Martinez would be a reliever.
"Obviously, there are some pitchers out there who had no interest in us if they weren't the starter," Mozeliak said, without naming names. "So there's a little bit of that that plays into it. Whereas, we have a little more flexibility here (with Kim). And the fact that he understands that it's not a guarantee (to start), but appreciates the opportunity. It was very helpful."
Perhaps Kim's existence motivates Martinez to maximize the offseason. The better Martinez is, the better the Cardinals will be. If he is a starter then Kim is a reliever and that gives you two lefties (Andrew Miller being the other) with the ability to pitch multiple relief innings. That also lessens the "ifs" on Kim _ he'd face fewer batters as a reliever and wouldn't have as much wear-and-tear.
"We certainly think he's capable of eating a lot of innings for the St. Louis Cardinals," an optimistic Mozeliak said. "We certainty think he has the talent to do that. That's why you add depth, to make sure you have that protection, whether it's him or anybody else that we're talking about."
As for innings, Kim threw 190 1/3 last season, with a 1.24 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched). The previous season, he threw 136 innings with a 1.14 WHIP. It's hard to believe he'll have a WHIP that low in the majors. But then again, if teams thought he could, he would've gone for more than $8 million for two years, as the Post-Dispatch reported Monday the Cards gave Kim.
The Kim signing does fill a need. OK, perhaps it's more of a want. The Cardinals won their division this year _ and a playoff round against Keuchel's Braves _ with only righthanded starters. And the Cardinals starters last year were sturdy, third in the National League in ERA (3.78). But having a quality lefty on the mound is not a negative. We know how many big boppers in the National League (and National League Central) are lefthanded. So if Kim is a starter, that will give Cardinals opponents a different look against them.
"We felt like having someone from the left side who could start had a lot of value to us," Mozeliak said. "I think the most-important thing is, in (Kim's) case, is he can be in either role. But right now, he's going to come to camp and get stretched out and get every opportunity to be used as a starter. He does give you a lot of protection on either end ... . He throws a plus-fastball, slider, complementary pitches. When you look at how he's used, he has, really, a swing-and-miss slider. So taking advantage of that, along with the plus-fastball, is just a great combination. Working with our staff, we feel he can have a lot of success here ... .
"The combination of what he was doing the last few years, we felt confident that coming over here, he'll have success. Clearly, time will tell, right? But you look at the success he had over there _ historically, that seems to play here."
The signing of Kim was a relatively low-cost move. Not a lot of risk and the opportunity for reward. In a vacuum, it's a quality signing. But the Kim signing also signifies there won't be a Keuchel signing. And that means the defending division champs have to find a starter out of two guys, Kim and Martinez, who didn't start a game in the major leagues this year.
