The St. Louis Cardinals signed Kwang-Hyun Kim. Are we supposed to be impressed?

The St. Louis Cardinals finally made a move on the winter free agent market. But, in typical John Mozeliak fashion, it was to sign a player that few fans had even heard of before Sunday.

Korean baseball veteran Kwang-Hyun Kim signed a two-year deal worth $8 million to pitch at Busch Stadium. While Cardinals fans dreamed of seeing Madison Bumgarner, David Price or another veteran major league ace join the rotation, instead they’ll get a guy who required a promise that he wouldn’t be demoted to the minor leagues be written into his contract.

Only time will tell if it’s a good move. While Kim had good numbers in Korea, even after returning last year from Tommy John surgery, he was facing batters who generously might be equivalent to Class AA hitters in American baseball. He reportedly has a strong slider. But he’ll need more than one pitch to retire the best batters in the world — at least as a starting pitcher who has to work through the lineup three times in a game.

What does this mean for the rest of the winter? By adding Kim’s money into the St. Louis payroll, the Cardinals find themselves only $1 million short of their 2019 commitment to salaries. So, either they’re done spending or else they’re going to have to trade a player or two to create some financial flexibility.

That’s an intriguing possibility because the Cardinals now find themselves with at least six starting pitchers: Kim, Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson, Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martinez and the team’s previous refugee from Far East baseball, Miles Mikolas. The two most questionable people on that list, Kim and Martinez, both want to be in the rotation, not the bullpen. So, might a trade of pitching depth in exchange for a much-needed middle of the order bat make sense?

It doesn’t seem likely that the Cardinals thought Martinez, who was forced to the bullpen last year because of a weak shoulder, was likely to make a successful return to the starting five or else they wouldn’t have gone out for help. So perhaps they’re gearing up for a move.

The one thing thought to still be on the Cardinals’ shopping list is a left-handed bat, perhaps in the outfield. If the team traded Martinez, it might have enough to get the bat it needs while keeping the payroll in check. Otherwise, the team might have to dig deeper and consider selling high on second baseman Kolten Wong,who is coming off a career year. Wong’s salary has started to escalate as he nears the end of his current contract and the Cardinals have Tommy Edman at a bargain basement price for the next couple of years at least.

The only other choice besides making a deal seems to be to subtract cleanup hitter Marcell Ozuna from one of the most inconsistent offenses in the National League and hope the team can get by with a mix of young players trying to replace his production. That doesn’t seem like a great option to me.

Scott Wuerz

Belleville News-Democrat

Scott Wuerz has written “Cheap Seats,” a St. Louis Cardinals fan blog for the Belleville News-Democrat, since 2007. He is a former BND reporter who covered breaking news and education.