St. Louis has whiffed on multiple big-name free agents this winter -- see: Jason Heyward, David Price -- but it appears the defending National League Central champions are leading the pursuit for popular South Korean reliever Seung-Hwan Oh.
According to Daniel Kim of KBSn, the Cardinals have shown serious interest in Oh “from the get go” and “all signs point to” them finalizing a deal with the 33-year-old right-hander at some point in the near future.
Oh boasts a 1.81 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 10.7 K/9 in 646 1/3 career innings between the Korea Baseball Organization and Japan’s Central League. He earned 41 saves last year for the Hanshin Tigers and has earned the nickname “Final Boss” for his prowess closing games around Asia.
Kim says Oh got on a plane Saturday bound for the United States.
He would work in a setup role for closer Trevor Rosenthal in St. Louis.
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UPDATE, 11:48 A.M. ET: Oh is scheduled to undergo a physical for the Cardinals on Monday, per Kim. If it goes smoothly, the agreement will be officially announced.