Arms race: Cardinals again have the pitching to loom as everyday threat in National League

For a second consecutive year, the pitching staff assembled by the St. Louis Cardinals could be a standard-setter.

St. Louis led all of baseball with a 2.94 ERA last season, and that was with ace Adam Wainwright pitching in just seven games. The Cardinals topped both the National League and American League in saves (62), allowed the fewest number of runs (525) in the game and surrendered the second-fewest number of home runs (123).

The Cardinals took a hit when Lance Lynn underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery and John Lackey signed a two-year free-agent deal with the Chicago Cubs.

But Wainwright returns after the torn Achilles’ tendon that limited him to four April starts, and St. Louis signed right-hander Mike Leake to a five-year, $80 million contract.

In essence, the Cardinals traded Lynn (12-11, 3.03 ERA) and Lackey (13-10, 2.77) for Wainwright (2-1, 1.61) and Leake (11-10, 3.70 with Cincinnati and San Francisco), a deal most clubs would probably make to strengthen their rotation.

The Cardinals also upgraded their bullpen, re-signing Jonathan Broxton to a two-year, $7.5 million contract and signing Korean closer Seung Hwan Oh to a one-year, $5 million deal. Broxton, Oh, holdovers Kevin Siegrist, Jordan Walden and Seth Maness all are capable of closing games in which Trevor Rosenthal is unavailable.

Starting rotation

Wainwright is ready to re-establish himself as one of the elite starters in the NL, and with enough offensive support, could record the third 20-win season in his career.

Wainwright, 34, will be joined in the rotation by Leake, Michael Wacha (17-7, 3.38), Carlos Martinez (14-7, 3.01) and Jaime Garcia (10-6, 2.43), the lone left-hander in the group.

“Our starting pitching really kind of set the bar last year,” Wainwright said. “I think there are some things we always have to realize. Baseball is a weird, funny game. You can make the same pitch one day and get a ‘doink’ ground ball to third, and you can make the same pitch the next day and get a line-drive base hit to left. It’s just a very funny game.

“What I do know is the talent in this room is the same or better than it was last year. The guys that had great years last year have the potential to be even better. And I think our bullpen is maybe the best it’s been since I’ve been here (2005). With all the arms down there, I don’t really see much of a weak spot. The pitching staff, as a whole, is very good.”

Leake has won 64 games in six years in the big leagues, including 14 with the Reds in 2013. Leake has averaged 194 innings the last four years and should benefit being in Busch Stadium, a pitcher’s park that produced just 119 homers last season.

Only three major-league stadiums, AT&T Park in San Francisco (109), Marlins Park in Miami (111) and Turner Field in Atlanta (113), yielded fewer home runs than Busch Stadium.

“We’re solid as long as we can stay healthy and be fresh,” said the 28-year-old Leake, a subdued man of few words. “Those are the biggest question marks for us.”

Garcia, 29, managed to remain healthy last season and the result was his best season since 2011 when he won 13 games. The Cardinals exercised his option for $11.5 million option.

“I’m very confident in our rotation,” Garcia said. “We get Adam Wainwright back, our ace. And we signed a guy (Leake) who has been very durable and has been really good against us. Our two young guys (Wacha and Martinez, both 24) are two of the most talented guys around the league.

“Me, myself, I’m preparing to be the guy they want me to be and expect me to be. I’m definitely confident. I feel like we are going to be good this year.”

Bullpen

Rosenthal set a franchise record with 48 saves last season, breaking the former mark of 47 shared by Jason Isringhausen (2004) and Lee Smith (1991).

Rosenthal, with 96 career saves, isn’t focused on setting another record.

“Overall command is always nice to focus on,” said Rosenthal, who reduced his walks rate from 5.4 to 3.3 per nine innings. “I’m getting comfortable with all my pitches and throwing them for strikes, then translating that into throwing them on any count. Quality pitches are something you’re always focused on.

“Going into last year, we talked about cutting down the walks and getting ahead of batters. That’s something I think helped a lot. It’s a new year. I’m not going to necessarily try to repeat everything from last year. I’ll have to work on some new stuff to have a good year.”

Rosenthal, like Wainwright, likes what he sees from the bullpen.

“I would say, on paper, it’s one of the strongest since I’ve been here (2012),” Rosenthal said. “It’s pretty special and I’m excited to see how it all plays out, especially if everybody’s healthy.”

Oh, 33, was 2-3 with a 2.73 ERA and 41 saves last season for the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan Central League. And he has two nicknames: “The Final Boss” and “Stone Buddha.”

“I’m adapting fine,” Oh said through translator Eugene Koo, who will be with the Cardinals during the entire season. “Everyone has been great. It’s still spring training, so it’s too early to say (how I will do). We’ll see how it goes. I’m going step by step.”

Siegrist and Tyler Lyons are the lefties out of the bullpen. Joining Rosenthal, Maness and Oh from the right side will be some combination of Walden, Sam Tuivailala, Miguel Socolovich and Mitch Harris. Walden was injured most of last season. Five years ago, he posted 32 saves for the Los Angeles Angels.

“On paper, it looks good,” said Maness, worked in 76 games last season. “Competition is always good. You see a guy go out there and get it done and you feed off that. It sets a tone down the chain to just try to continue that process. We’ve got like five closers on this team and one of the best in the game right now with ‘Rosey.’”

Siegrist pitched in 81 games last season and was 7-1 with a 2.17 ERA while setting a Cardinals record for a left-handed reliever with 90 strikeouts. Socolovich had three stints with the team and posted a 1.82 ERA in 28 games. Tuivailala struck out 20 in 14 2/3 innings and may be ready for a larger role with the emergence of a cutter.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Arms race: Cardinals again have the pitching to loom as everyday threat in National League."