{"id":90946,"date":"2024-12-02T15:32:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T20:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=90946"},"modified":"2024-12-02T15:32:42","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T20:32:42","slug":"adam-kloffenstein-underrated-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/02\/adam-kloffenstein-underrated-value\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals Castoff Could Be a Steal for Another Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

The St. Louis Cardinals’ decision to non-tender right-hander Adam Kloffenstein<\/a> following the Rule 5 deadline has made the 24-year-old a fascinating addition to the free agent market. Originally drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Kloffenstein’s impressive frame and promising stuff had him ranked as high as the seventh prospect in the Blue Jays’ organization. After being traded to the Cardinals<\/a> at the 2023 deadline, Kloffenstein now finds himself at a crossroads, seeking a new team to help him realize his potential.<\/p>\n

Adam Kloffenstein’s Potential as a Non-Tendered Free Agent<\/h2>\n

Kloffenstein showed promise after joining the Cardinals in 2023. At Triple-A Memphis, he posted a 3.00 ERA over 39 innings, backed by a mid-90s sinking fastball and dominant slider. He became the Cardinals’ No. 23 prospect at the time of the trade. Hicks struggled with injuries and consistency, eventually signing<\/a> with the San Francisco Giants for the 2024 season. He found moderate success, starting 20 games with a 4.10 ERA.<\/p>\n

Kloffenstein made his MLB debut on June 20, 2024, throwing a scoreless inning in relief. His success at Triple-A suggests he can spot-start at the major league level. At his age, Kloffenstein could still bring value to his next team.<\/p>\n

Despite his potential as a cost-controlled starter, injuries derailed Kloffenstein’s 2024 season. A shoulder injury kept him out of the rotation after 17 starts, in which he posted a 4.74 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 89 1\/3 innings. He’s expected to return for the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

Potential Landing Spots<\/h3>\n

Minnesota Twins<\/h4>\n

The Twins have struggled to field a healthy roster over the past couple of years. Their starting rotation has been particularly hard hit, and the team’s lack of depth<\/a> in this area is a major concern. To compete in 2025, the Twins must address this issue. Despite stating that their payroll will remain steady, the Twins are unlikely to make major splashes in free agency. Instead, they may opt for a young, projectable pitcher with upside, rather than a more expensive, established arm.<\/p>\n

Washington Nationals<\/h4>\n

Although <\/span>the <\/span>Nationals <\/span>received <\/span>promising <\/span>performances <\/span>from <\/span>Mackenzie <\/span>Gore <\/span>and <\/span>Jake <\/span>Irvin <\/span>in <\/span>2024, <\/span>the <\/span>team <\/span>remains <\/span>focused <\/span>on <\/span>bolstering <\/span>its <\/span>rotation <\/span>and <\/span>bullpen <\/span>depth. <\/span>While <\/span>they <\/span>may <\/span>prioritize <\/span>bigger <\/span>names <\/span>like <\/span>Anthony <\/span>Santander, <\/span>don’t <\/span>be <\/span>surprised <\/span>if <\/span>they <\/span>also <\/span>target <\/span>a <\/span>durable, <\/span>innings-eating <\/span>pitcher <\/span>like <\/span>Kloffenstein. <\/span>His <\/span>ability <\/span>to <\/span>rebound <\/span>from <\/span>injury <\/span>and <\/span>provide <\/span>stability <\/span>could <\/span>be <\/span>an <\/span>attractive <\/span>asset <\/span>for <\/span>a <\/span>young <\/span>team <\/span>like <\/span>the <\/span>Nationals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Los Angeles Angels<\/h4>\n

The Angels are embarking on a significant roster overhaul this offseason, drawing inspiration from the Kansas City Royals’ successful rebuild. With Yusei Kikuchi<\/a> and Kyle Hendricks<\/a> already<\/a> on board<\/a>, the Angels will likely continue to add depth to support their young core. Expect the Angels to remain active in the market as they seek to build a more competitive roster.<\/p>\n

Market Value & Contract Projection<\/h3>\n

As the Cardinals look toward a “re-tool<\/a>” and aim to maximize internal flexibility, they added right-handers Tink Hence<\/a> and Tekoah Roby<\/a> to the 40-man roster on November 21. Both were eligible for the Rule 5 Draft and currently rank as the second and sixth prospects within the organization respectively.<\/p>\n

Kloffenstein will probably receive a minor-league contract from another organization with an opportunity to prove himself as a major-league-ready starter. A surprisingly comparable contract comes in the form of Milwaukee Brewers starter Tobias Myers<\/a>. Myers bounced around multiple organizations, eventually joining the Brewers on a minor-league deal of one-year, $740,000 in 2024. Myers, throughout the year, became a staple of their rotation as multiple starters went down to injury.<\/p>\n

If an organization sees similar potential in Kloffenstein, expect him to sign a contract in the $750,000 range.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The St. Louis Cardinals’ decision to non-tender right-hander Adam Kloffenstein following the Rule 5 deadline has made the 24-year-old a fascinating addition to the free agent market. Originally drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Kloffenstein’s impressive frame and promising stuff had him ranked as high as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5241,"featured_media":75901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1071],"tags":[2047,2601,75,156,174,28434,38,2298],"class_list":["post-90946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-adam-kloffenstein","tag-jordan-hicks","tag-kyle-hendricks","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-minnesota-twins","tag-tink-hence","tag-washington-nationals","tag-yusei-kikuchi"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5241"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90946"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90997,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90946\/revisions\/90997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}