Braves Veteran Could Be Exactly What Cardinals Need in the Rotation

The St. Louis Cardinals are in a surprisingly good place for a team that won 77 games in 2026.

Now, of course, you'd obviously love to see more wins if you're a Cardinals fan. But the Cardinals had one of the youngest rosters in baseball and they should just get better in 2027 as this young core gets more and more comfortable in the majors. While this is the case, this also doesn't mean that St. Louis should be done adding. This winter, the Cardinals specifically need to add a veteran starter to the rotation if they want any chance of being better in 2027. MLB.com's Will Leitch made an intriguing suggestion the Cardinals' front office should actually take into account: 10-year big league veteran Tyler Mahle.

"It would be strange if Mahle just turned into that guy out of nowhere — the key was the emergence of his splitter, which Braves coaches encouraged him to throw more — but if a team believes those changes are permanent, the 32-year-old could get a longer deal than the Cardinals are interested in providing. On the other hand, if he has to prove it one more year, St. Louis would be a great place to try," Leitch wrote.

Should The Cardinals Target Tyler Mahle?

Now, Mahle may not be a guy who jumps off the page for Cardinals fans. But he's coming off a season that would've been an upgrade for the back of St. Louis' rotation. He had a 3.99 ERA in 149 innings pitched in 27 starts with the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves. He was at his best down the stretch with Atlanta. He made nine starts with the Braves and had a 1.99 ERA in 54 1/3 innings pitched. The second he joined the Braves, a switch flipped. The talent is there.

Again, he is a 10-year veteran. That in itself would be great for St. Louis. The Cardinals have a lot of talent, but you need veterans in the organization to show the young guys how to get through a full big league season. It's not a coincidence that each of the last two years, the Cardinals started strong and then really struggled in the second half. There's a lot of talent in St. Louis, but it's a young team that hasn't been quite ready to contend yet.

Adding someone like Mahle would give the Cardinals a significant boost in the rotation, while also giving the team another potential summer trade candidate if things don't go well in 2027. At the end of the day, this is the exact type of move St. Louis should absolutely make this winter.