The Cardinals’ offseason checklist starts on the mound, and it’s not subtle. St.
Louis needs pitching help in multiple places, with both the rotation and the bullpen in play. Even if the organization treats 2026 as another rebuild season, the logic stays the same: add veteran arms, deepen the staff, and keep moving the reset forward.
That was the formula last winter, when the club brought in several relievers and Dustin May, and it makes sense again now.
With October baseball underway, there’s also a built-in scouting trip for the Cardinals. Four impending free agents are still alive in the postseason, and all four have traits that should put them on the team’s radar.
Kris Bubic is the most obvious starting-pitching name in the group. He was an All-Star and turned in a 2.55 ERA last season over 20 starts with the Kansas City Royals.
Injuries derailed his 2025 campaign, though, and he ended up appearing in just 14 regular-season games - nine for Kansas City and five for the Dodgers. Los Angeles has used him out of the bullpen, but the Cardinals would be looking at him with a starter’s role in mind.
Steven Newcomb brings a different kind of value. He’s worked both as a starter and a reliever, and this year he logged 60 regular-season appearances for the White Sox, including six starts.
In all, he posted a 3.09 ERA across 90 1/3 innings. For St.
Louis, the appeal is pretty clear: a multi-inning bullpen piece who can also make a spot start if needed.
Dustin May is already a familiar face. He gave the Cardinals solid work in the rotation, and with a mutual option for the 2027 season that is almost certainly going to be declined, he’s expected to hit free agency.
St. Louis has already seen what he can do there, which makes a reunion an easy idea to understand.
Then there’s Génesis Romero, another arm the Cardinals know well. He was excellent in St.
Louis before being packaged with May in the trade that sent both pitchers to Milwaukee. The Cardinals came out ahead in that deal, but the bullpen still needs help, and Romero would bring exactly what they’re lacking from the left side.
In Other News...
White Sox Turn To Sean Burke With Season On The Line
Sean Burke will take the ball for the White Sox in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Guardians, a nod to the right-hander who emerged as Chicagos most steady starter over the course of the regular season. Manager Will Venable confirmed the move, and it gives the White Sox a more conventional look after the first four games of the series were handled with bullpen days.
It is also a defining turn in a series that has gone all the way to the wire, with the winner moving on to face Tampa Bay in the ALCS. Chicago has leaned hard on matchup-based pitching to this point, but now the season comes down to Burke in a true starters assignment, with the White Sox needing him to carry the kind of workload that has been in short supply so far in this matchup. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Get One More Shot At A Guardians Gamble
One more win stands between the White Sox and a trip to the ALCS, and they will have to earn it on the road in Game 5 against Cleveland. Chicago is turning to right-hander Sean Burke, while the Guardians are handing the ball to right-hander Gavin Williams in a decisive game that grew out of a bullpen outing the night before, when he helped close out Game 4 and push the series to this point.
Williams has already been a problem for the White Sox in this matchup, and now he gets the rare task of coming back on short rest to start the biggest game of the season. For Chicago, the challenge is straightforward even if the path is not: solve a familiar arm, survive a hostile crowd and find a way to keep a season alive in a game where every pitch feels like it could swing the series. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Season Is On The Brink After One Crucial Choice
The White Sox head into a must-win spot in the ALDS down two games to the Guardians, with no margin left after dropping the first pair and now needing a response just to keep their postseason alive. A win would send Chicago on to the ALCS against the Rays, so every lineup card and pitching decision carries the kind of weight October usually reserves for the late innings.
Will Venable has leaned into some notable tweaks as he tries to spark a turnaround, with Tristan Peters getting the start in right field and Sean Newcomb part of the pitching mix the club is sorting through. Cleveland, meanwhile, has made its own adjustment by turning to Petey Halpin in center after sitting Angel Martnez, and the two clubs have laid out their starting lineups with the series hanging on every small edge. [Read more 🡒]