Coming off a disappointing 71-91 season, the St. Louis Cardinals looked to reverse their fortunes in 2024. The club rehauled its starting rotation, adding Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Sonny Gray in free agency to highlight a busy offseason.

The results have been mixed so far. STL is 4-4 with an even run difference through eight games and no real standout performers to speak of. Though it is still early in the year, here are two moves the Cardinals should make to boost themselves from the NL Central cellar.

Re-evaluate the distribution of high-leverage bullpen innings, look to add a veteran relief pitcher

One of the Cardinals' main weaknesses last season was their bullpen. St. Louis relievers finished with an ERA of 4.47 — 23rd among MLB clubs — while converting just 56% of save opportunities (25th in MLB). The team let go of Drew VerHagen after his best MLB season and let the hard-throwing Jordan Hicks join the San Francisco Giants. To offset these losses, STL brought in Tampa Bay Rays reliever Andrew Kittredge, who had a 2.26 ERA for the Rays over the last four years.

Yet Andrew Kittredge is currently fifth on the team in relief appearances, throwing just 2.2 innings across eight games. He does have a pair of eighth-inning holds, but he has also seen Andre Pallante and Matthew Liberatore give up six earned runs in 10 innings pitched. Liberatore and Pallante are the leaders in innings pitched in the Cardinals bullpen even though Liberatore had an ERA of 5.25 last year while Pallante's ERA was 4.76. This duo has allowed runs in half of its appearances so far. Meanwhile, Giovany Gallegos — arguably the most consistent Cardinals reliever over the last five years — has rarely been used outside of the seventh inning.

Bullpen usage is changing as managers look to put their best relievers in high-leverage situations regardless of the inning rather than automatically saving their best pitchers for the end of the game, but Oliver Marmol's bullpen usage still leaves a lot to be desired.

If Pallante and Liberatore continue to struggle, the club could look to add a free-agent reliever. Anthony Bass is a 12-year veteran who has not pitched since June 2023 yet could be a quality addition to the Cardinals pen. Between 2018 and 2022, Anthony Bass posted a 2.94 ERA, using his sinker-slider combo to baffle MLB hitters.

Shakeup the outfield by adding a veteran free agent like Tommy Pham 

While St. Louis' offensive output has been solid thus far, it has lacked efficiency. The Cardinals lead MLB in strikeouts, K-ing 83 times in eight games, while posting an OPS of just .635. The outfield trio of Victor Scott II, Jordan Walker, and Alec Burleson has been especially vulnerable to the swing-and-miss, with 25 strikeouts in 75 at-bats. They are also batting just .146 with no homers and two RBI. Backup outfielder Michael Siani has provided little as well, with no hits and one walk in nine plate appearances.

Tommy Pham is the top available outfield free agent and is surprisingly unsigned. Playing last year for the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks, Pham had 16 homers, 68 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. He ranked in the 93rd percentile among MLB players in average exit velocity, plus his expected slugging and expected batting average were both nearly 30 points above his actual values. Scott and Walker are both youngsters looking to establish themselves at the MLB level. Until then, a proven hitter like Tommy Pham is worth investing in for STL.