The Cardinals don’t look like a club ready to light up the winter meetings with a blockbuster, but that doesn’t mean the front office has to sit still. Under president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, St. Louis has already shown it can patch holes without breaking the bank, and the second offseason of the reset could call for a little more ambition.
Bullpen help sits near the top of the list, and the Cardinals could also use a veteran starter and maybe a seasoned infielder capable of handling third base. With those needs in mind, there are several free agents who make sense as targets for Bloom and his staff.
A return to St. Louis would make plenty of sense for Jack Flaherty, who spent the first six-plus seasons of his career with the Cardinals.
He’s still only 30 and is coming off a season in which he posted a 4.48 ERA across 20 total outings. Over 10 seasons, Flaherty owns a 3.85 career ERA, and a reunion could give him a chance to rebuild value where his big-league career started.
Jordan Montgomery is another familiar name for Cardinals fans. He had 13 appearances out of the Texas Rangers’ bullpen in 2026 after missing the entire 2025 season, and with a healthy offseason, he profiles as a bounce-back candidate for 2027.
If St. Louis wants some pop at the hot corner, Eugenio Suarez is one of the more intriguing names on the board.
He can handle third base and bring real power, even if he now looks more like a designated hitter than an everyday third baseman. The Cardinals could also view him as a potential deadline chip if things go right, since his bat could fetch a strong return.
Shane Bieber checks a lot of boxes for a one-year gamble. He’s 31, a two-time All-Star and a former Cy Young Award winner, but injuries have limited him to just 20 total starts over the last three seasons. That’s exactly the kind of profile teams bet on when they’re chasing a rebound and a possible midseason flip.
For bullpen help from the left side, A.J. Minter stands out.
He put up a 2.56 ERA in 48 outings last season between the New York Mets and Minnesota Twins, and after the Cardinals moved JoJo Romero ahead of the trade deadline, Minter fits the kind of role St. Louis needs to refill.
Romero himself is also on the list for a possible reunion. The Cardinals traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers this past summer, so they already know what he brings. If the price makes sense, he’s an easy fit.
Alec Bohm would be the biggest statement of the group. He’s one of the better bats available and would fill a need at third base, though a move like that would also signal that the Cardinals believe they’re closer to contention than many expect. It’s not the most likely swing, but it’s the kind that would upgrade the lineup in a meaningful way.
Then there are the buy-low names, starting with Matt Strahm. He had a rough 2026, finishing with a 7.32 ERA in 41 games for the Kansas City Royals, but the seasons before that were much stronger: a 2.74 ERA in 66 appearances for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2025 and an All-Star year in 2024, when he logged a 1.87 ERA in 66 appearances. That’s the kind of track record that keeps a reliever interesting.
Michael Lorenzen fits the same mold. He struggled in 2026 with a 7.21 ERA in 32 appearances for the Colorado Rockies and Toronto Blue Jays, but his career 4.44 ERA over 12 seasons and his All-Star past make him another rebound candidate worth kicking the tires on.
At the top of the bullpen wish list, though, is Jonathan Loaisiga. He posted a 2.42 ERA in 67 appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2026, and production like that would go a long way toward fixing what has been a brutal relief corps in St. Louis.
In Other News...
Cardinals Face One Rotation Decision Fans May Not Like
The Cardinals came up short of the postseason, but the season still felt like a step forward after last offseasons selloff and the rebuild it triggered. St. Louis got encouraging production from younger players on both sides of the ball, and the organization now has a better sense of what it has while trying to sort out the next layer of the roster.
The hardest call may come in the rotation, where the club still lacks a true ace and leans heavily on an inexperienced group. Rather than chase a splashy long-term answer, the Cardinals appear more likely to keep the focus on development and look for a shorter-term veteran presence to stabilize things, even if that approach is not the one many fans would prefer. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Just Quietly Secured Two Voices This Dugout Needed
The Cardinals have quietly taken care of two important pieces of their coaching staff, keeping Jon Jay and Pop Warner in place for the 2027 season after both were on expiring contracts. For a club that has long valued continuity in the dugout, the moves help preserve a pair of familiar voices around the players, with Jay expected to keep contributing to outfield defense, baserunning and broader development work while also serving as a steady presence in the clubhouse.
Pop Warners return carries its own weight, too. He is set to enter his 27th season coaching in the Cardinals organization and remains one of the most respected third-base coaches in the game, a reassuring fixture for a team that benefits from experience as much as instruction. Even without a splashy headline, retaining both men gives St. Louis a little more stability in the places where it can matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals May Get An Unexpected Shot At Royce Lewis
Third base is already on the Cardinals long-term radar as they look toward 2027, with Nolan Gorman, Thomas Saggese and Blaze Jordan all part of the internal conversation. But the position could also become a more interesting target if St. Louis decides to shop outside the organization, especially if a player with a much higher ceiling suddenly lands within reach.
Royce Lewis is the name to watch. The former No. 1 overall pick has the kind of power and positional flexibility that can change a lineup, and the Cardinals would have reason to keep tabs on him if Minnesota makes him available. His appeal is obvious enough: a talent with upside at a spot St. Louis wants to strengthen, even if the path to him opening up remains tied to a situation the Cardinals can only monitor for now. [Read more 🡒]