Chris Perez Might Take the Cardinals Out of the K-Rod Sweepstakes

The Cardinals lead the majors with 30 blown saves and have had to rely on no fewer than eight different pitchers to close out a game. Needless to say, it's not hard to see why they're rumored to have interest in free-agent-to-be Francisco Rodriguez. Sure, K-Rod would be expensive, but the Cards will have an extra $8.5 million to re-invest into their bullpen, thanks to Jason Isringhausen's expiring contract.

But do the Cardinals need to spend big to find stability? Maybe not. Rookie Chris Perez has quietly excelled in the closer role since taking over in August, saving seven games and allowing four earned runs in 16 innings (2.25 ERA). Plus, he has the prototypical power arm you like to see in the ninth inning with a strikeout rate (8.87 K/9) that ranks second on the team among pitchers with more the five innings.

So what's the hold up? As effective as Perez's fastball is, they want to see more polish on the rest of his pitches. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

They believe his slider needs to be more reliable. He has dusted off his curve to give himself a third, slower pitch. Overall improvement of his command is needed, coaches said. But if the Cardinals consider him close to ready, it would mean not delving into the pricey free-agent closer market.

"Going into spring, hopefully I'm considered for that spot (the closer)," Perez said. "That will drive me all offseason."

Perez still needs work, but he's close enough not to spend $15 million a year (or more) paying K-Rod. For that price, the Cards could sign a couple of relievers to fortify the rest of the bullpen and still have enough left over to replace the blackhole at short that is Cesar Izturis.