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The St. Louis Cardinals are "checking out" Detroit Tigers right-hander Rick Porcello, according to Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Porcello is not the first high-profile pitcher that St. Louis has been tied to this offseason. After it was announced that veteran starter Chris Carpenter would likely miss the entire 2013 season due to injury, the Cardinals were connected to free agent Kyle Lohse.
But St. Louis maintained that they would move forward with a pitcher already on its roster. The Cardinals have several young arms continuing to compete for the No. 5 rotation spot -- including Shelby Miller and Joe Kelly.
Pads interested in Porcello
The Padres are eyeing Tigers right-hander Rick Porcello.
While they weren't interested in bringing back Lohse -- a 34-year-old with a hefty price tag -- they could be more intrigued by Porcello. Detroit is reportedly asking for a significant return for the 24-year-old, but his considerable upside and youth should make him appealing to almost every MLB club.
Beyond the Cardinals, it's recently been reported that the Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres are the teams most actively discussing Porcello. The Baltimore Orioles were tied to the right-hander earlier this offseason, but it's since been reported that they will stick with their in-house rotation candidates.
