St. Louis Post-Dispatch Subscriber Services: A Look at Pallante's Offseason Adjustments

As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, Cardinals right-hander Andre Pallante has already begun working on his pitch shapes and mechanics this offseason after spending time at a sports performance facility in North Carolina. The 25-year-old Pallante had an impressive rookie season in 2022, posting a 3.17 ERA and 3.98 FIP in 108 innings split between the rotation and bullpen.

However, things didn't go as smoothly for Pallante in 2023. His ERA soared to 4.76, which is 8% worse than league average by measure of ERA+. Despite an even stronger 77.8% groundball rate in 68 innings of work as a full-time reliever, Pallante's strikeout rate dropped to a below-average 16%. He made up for it with a fantastic 63.9% groundball rate.

The Twins figure to consider a variety of avenues to trimming salary off the major league roster this offseason, perhaps including a trade of glove-first catcher Christian Vazquez. The club also parted ways with director of Latin American scouting Fred Guerrero, who has since joined the Royals, but Guerrero's position will be filled by external hire Ramon Barinas going forward.

Among the scouts who have parted ways with the Twins this offseason are Bill Milos, Rafael Yanez, and Mike Larson, all of whom will be replaced internally. The club's scouting department has seen a number of departures thanks to both a desire to trim payroll and 'streamline' the club's scouting apparatus with an emphasis on analytics.

As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, Pallante's offseason adjustments could lead to improved performance in 2024. With his strong groundball rate and potential improvements in pitch shapes and mechanics, Pallante has the potential to be a valuable asset for the Cardinals' bullpen.

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