The Cardinals have a clear kind of arm in mind this offseason, and Drew Rasmussen fits it almost too neatly.
St. Louis already saw the value of betting on an injury-prone starter when it signed Dustin May last year.
That move paid off in a big way: the Cardinals got three months of quality pitching from May, then dealt him with JoJo Romero to the Milwaukee Brewers for two high-end prospects. May also showed he could handle a starter’s workload while staying healthy.
If the Cardinals want to chase that same formula again, Rasmussen gives them a very similar profile.
The Rays right-hander has spent much of his career fighting through elbow surgery after elbow surgery after elbow surgery. Since being drafted in 2018, he has played parts of seven seasons and averaged only 22.6 appearances per year.
But the version of Rasmussen on the mound right now is about as attractive as it gets. He’s in the middle of a legitimate Cy Young-caliber season, with a career-high 160.1 innings over 28 starts, a 2.81 ERA, and a 5.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio that leads the American League.
And it’s not just one hot year. Rasmussen has been dominant across the last two seasons, going 24-10 with a 2.78 ERA between the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Over that stretch, he ranks 10th among pitchers with at least 300 innings in fWAR at 7.1.
That production is part of why his name is already surfacing as a possible trade piece. He’s entering the final year of team control with Tampa Bay and has a club option for 2027 worth $20 million, with escalators tied to innings and starts this year.
The Rays will probably pick it up, but that kind of commitment would still be the largest salary the franchise has ever taken on. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com listed Rasmussen as a potential offseason trade candidate for that reason.
If Tampa Bay does decide to move him, the Cardinals should be ready.
At $20 million, Rasmussen would sit in the range of a mid-level free-agent starter, the kind of price tag that usually comes with a veteran who has real upside but obvious risk. In his case, the concern is health. The upside is that he has now put together back-to-back excellent seasons, and there’s a strong case that what he’s done over the last two years points to more good pitching ahead.
There’s also a roster-building angle here that matters. If a salary cap and salary floor arrive next year after Collective Bargaining Agreement talks, St.
Louis may need to add meaningful payroll just to reach the floor. Rasmussen’s deal would help fill a sizable chunk of that space, and his recent performance would justify it.
He’d also make sense in the rotation itself. Rasmussen would fit alongside Quinn Mathews, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, and Kyle Leahy next year.
If the Cardinals chose to flip him later, he could serve as a bridge starter until prospects like Liam Doyle, Jurrangelo Cijntje, and others are ready. Or St.
Louis could extend him and keep him in place for the next several years, lining him up with the club’s preferred contention window in 2028 and beyond.
That’s the appeal here for the Cardinals: a pitcher with premium recent results, a reasonable path to value, and enough flexibility to help in more than one way. The Rays have made a habit of moving players before the price gets too steep.
Rasmussen may be next, and St. Louis should be ready to pounce.
In Other News...
Cardinals Just Cleared The Way For A Third Base Battle
The Cardinals trimmed their infield picture by releasing Ramon Urias after he had been designated for assignment, a move that further reshapes the clubs options at third base heading into the offseason. Urias was limited to 43 games this season because of elbow injuries, and his time in St. Louis never really got on track offensively, as he hit .151 with four home runs in 100 plate appearances.
His departure leaves the Cardinals with a clearer runway to sort out the hot corner from within, and it adds another layer to a position that already figures to draw plenty of attention in camp. St. Louis has several internal candidates to consider, so the release does not settle the spot so much as it opens the door wider for a competition that will be worth watching when the roster starts taking shape for next season. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Lose Joshua Baez As Another Roster Shift Begins
Joshua Baezs season ended before it ever really got going in St. Louis, with the young outfielder landing on the 10-day injured list because of a left oblique strain. The Cardinals have been juggling their roster as the year winds down, and this move fits into a larger stretch of housekeeping that also included the release of infielder Ramon Urias and the activation of JJ Wetherholt from the injured list.
Cesar Prieto has been brought up as part of the reshuffle, and the Cardinals now have two open spots on their 40-man roster as the offseason picture starts to take shape. With more changes expected to come, the Baez injury is only one piece of a broader roster reset that could continue to unfold in the coming weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Just Got A New Reason To Trust The Plan
Oliver Marmols upbeat view of the Cardinals direction adds another layer to a fan base that has spent the last stretch waiting for the club to get back to its standard. Even with the recent playoff absences hanging over the conversation, the message out of the dugout is that the organization believes it has a workable system and a clearer path forward than it did a year or two ago.
For Cardinals followers, the appeal is less about a quick fix than the sense that the front office is trying to assemble something sustainable. The longer view points toward a roster that could be in the postseason mix by 2027, which is still more projection than promise, but it is enough to keep the conversation centered on progress instead of frustration. [Read more 🡒]