The Cardinals are heading into a winter where pitching sits at the center of everything, and the front office appears likely to use free agency to patch a few specific holes rather than make a splash.
With the league set to shut down for labor negotiations in about a month, St. Louis has a limited window to get its business done. The club is not expected to be a major spender, but there are still a couple of moves it can make to strengthen the roster before the long offseason settles in.
The clearest priority is another starter. This time, though, the Cardinals are approaching that market from a place of depth instead of panic.
Their rotation finished with the 12th-best ERA, FIP, and fWAR in baseball, and it did so with one of the youngest groups in the sport. Kyle Leahy, Quinn Mathews, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, and Matthew Liberatore are all slated to return, while Tekoah Roby, Cooper Hjerpe, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Richard Fitts, Tanner Franklin, and Liam Doyle are among the names expected to surface at some point.
Even with that group in place, there’s still a case for adding a veteran with upside. Replacing the Dustin May vacancy would give the Cardinals more ceiling in the rotation, while also preserving the depth they’ve built. It could also create a path for Bloom to move one of Pallante, McGreevy, or Leahy in a trade for more prospects without weakening the major-league staff.
The list of possible fits is broad. Kris Bubic, Casey Mize, Shota Imanaga, Jack Flaherty, Michael Sorota, Shane Bieber, and Zac Gallen are all mentioned as potential options, though the price tags would vary.
Still, it would be a surprise if St. Louis came away from the winter without adding a starter.
The bullpen is another area that should get attention, though probably not in the way many fans might want. There’s a louder push outside the organization for a major overhaul there than there seems to be inside Busch Stadium, and the reasons are pretty clear. The Cardinals know they have more than one problem to solve, with an offense that finished bottom five in baseball and a rotation that, while solid, still lacks the kind of upside needed to truly contend at a high level.
There’s also the matter of the younger arms already in the system. Relievers like Gordon Graceffo, Luis Gastelum, Cade Winquest, and Brycen Matuz could all be factors if given a chance, and Randel Clemente and Sandro Santana may not be far behind.
On top of that, a long list of pitching prospects could push toward the majors in 2027, whether as starters or as bullpen options. That group includes Roby, Hjerpe, Doyle, Franklin, Cijntje, Fitts, Jacob Odle, Mason Molina, Daniel Eagen, Brandon Clarke, Ixan Henderson, Yhoiker Fajardo, Brian Curley, and more.
Still, the Cardinals are expected to at least fill Ryne Stanek’s spot, and they could add another veteran reliever too. A reunion with JoJo Romero is one possibility.
So is a low-cost bounce-back bet or a slightly pricier one-year deal. But a long-term bullpen commitment does not sound like the plan.
What seems least likely is a real push into the position-player market. St.
Louis could look at a third baseman or center fielder, but neither path appears especially probable right now. In center field, the options are thin for what the Cardinals would want, which makes a mix of Nathan Church, Everson Pereira, possibly Victor Scott, and spot appearances from Thomas Saggese, Jose Fermin, and Bryan Torres look more practical.
Colton Ledbetter or Chase Davis could also enter the picture.
Third base offers more names, but the fit still feels questionable. The Alec Bohm buzz is viewed as overstated, and the better move may be to see what Saggese or Blaze Jordan can do.
Jordan was over 20% above-league average against lefties last year, and with Jesus Baez and Rainiel Rodriguez also on the way, there’s not an obvious need to bring in another right-handed third baseman. J.P.
Crawford or Nicky Lopez could make sense as left-handed platoon options, but that would also mean cutting into the playing time of Saggese or Jordan.
So while the Cardinals may check in on those markets, the expectation is that they walk away without making a move there. If they end up addressing third base or center field, it may be more likely to come through a trade than free agency.
In Other News...
Cardinals Could Have A Rare Shot At A Superstar Bat
A financial cloud hanging over San Diego has opened the door to an unusual kind of Cardinals speculation, and Fernando Tatis Jr. sits at the center of it. The Padres star has already built a resume that makes him one of the sports most recognizable bats, and his long-term contract only adds to the complexity of any possible move. For St. Louis, the idea is less about rumor for rumors sake and more about whether a rare superstar opportunity could ever align with a club that has been searching for a jolt.
There are plenty of hurdles before anything like that becomes real, starting with Tatis no-trade protection and the sheer difficulty of prying a player of his stature loose. Still, the new collective bargaining agreement and the Cardinals roster situation make this one worth keeping on the radar, even if it remains only a possibility for now. For a team that could use impact talent, the mere fact that this conversation exists says plenty about how unusual the market might become if San Diegos uncertainty deepens. [Read more 🡒]
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The Cardinals search for help at third base has opened the door to an interesting possibility in J.P. Crawford, whose bat against right-handed pitching makes him a plausible platoon fit. On paper, he would give St. Louis a more established option at a spot where the club has been weighing short-term stability against long-term development.
But any move in that direction would come with a familiar cost: fewer reps for Blaze Jordan and Thomas Saggese, two young players the organization seems intent on evaluating. Crawford could make the lineup look cleaner in the moment, yet the Cardinals may decide the bigger priority is keeping those at-bats available for the younger group rather than narrowing the path with another veteran stopgap. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals May Reunion Could Be Tougher Than Fans Expected
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Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has pointed out the catch, though, and it is a significant one: May is looking for a multi-year contract, and that is not the kind of commitment the Cardinals appear ready to make right now. So while the reunion idea is easy to understand from a baseball and emotional standpoint, the market may be pushing it into tougher territory than some expected. For a club trying to balance present needs with future payroll flexibility, that could be the difference between a nice fit and a deal that never gets close. [Read more 🡒]