The St. Louis Cardinals haven’t exactly been sitting quietly this offseason.
In fact, they’ve been one of the more active teams in baseball, reshaping their roster with a clear eye toward the future. They moved on from some big names - Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, and Nolan Arenado - in a flurry of trades designed to clear salary and, more importantly, bring in young, controllable talent.
But the centerpiece of their winter came in the form of a three-team deal that sent utility standout Brendan Donovan to Seattle. In return, the Cardinals landed two Competitive Balance draft picks and a prospect package headlined by left-handed pitching phenom Jurrangelo Cijntje. That move, more than any other, signaled the direction the Cardinals are heading: younger, cheaper, and full of upside.
With much of the heavy lifting seemingly done, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Cardinals might be finished wheeling and dealing for now. Most of their current roster is under team control for multiple years, and the front office has clearly made room for its next wave of talent to take the stage. But that doesn’t mean they’re completely done just yet.
One name still floating around the rumor mill is left-handed reliever JoJo Romero. The 27-year-old is coming off a strong 2025 in which he posted a 2.07 ERA over 61 innings - numbers that have naturally drawn interest from multiple teams, including the Mariners, Orioles, and Yankees. With the bullpen market in free agency drying up quickly this offseason, Romero stands out as one of the more attractive trade chips still available for clubs looking to shore up their relief corps.
Romero’s appeal is obvious. He’s a hard-throwing southpaw who’s shown he can handle high-leverage innings, and while his surface numbers were excellent in 2025, there’s reason to dig a little deeper.
His 4.10 SIERA suggests he may have outperformed his peripherals, thanks in part to a walk rate north of 11% and a strikeout rate that hovered around 21.6%. Still, that kind of production - especially from the left side - is valuable, and teams like the Yankees and Twins, who missed out on top-tier bullpen arms in free agency, may be willing to pay a premium for a full season of Romero’s services.
There’s also a strategic angle for the Cardinals to consider. They could opt to hold onto Romero, give him the closer role to start the season, and potentially boost his trade value by showcasing him in the ninth inning.
Come July, with contenders scrambling for bullpen help, a proven closer could command an even better return. But there’s a risk in waiting.
If Romero’s performance regresses toward his underlying metrics, his trade value could take a hit - and the Cardinals know it.
While Romero is the most likely Cardinal to be moved before Opening Day, he’s not the only name that’s come up in trade talks this winter. Outfielder Lars Nootbaar and infielder Nolan Gorman have both been mentioned as possible chips, though each comes with his own set of complications.
Nootbaar, who has just two years of team control left, would make sense as a trade candidate - especially with the Cardinals seemingly focused on long-term pieces. But he recently underwent surgery, and there’s a real chance he starts the 2026 season on the injured list. That kind of uncertainty makes it tough to strike a deal, at least right now.
Gorman, meanwhile, remains a bit of a puzzle. He’s still just 25 and has legitimate power - we saw that in 2023 when he slugged 27 homers and posted a 118 wRC+ in just 119 games.
But back-to-back seasons plagued by high strikeout rates (over 35%) have dimmed his shine. He’s at a crossroads: another strong season could re-establish his value, but if the struggles continue, the market for him could dry up quickly.
A Gorman trade would also have ripple effects on the Cardinals’ infield depth chart. It would open up more consistent playing time for Thomas Saggese and, eventually, top prospect JJ Wetherholt.
Wetherholt is expected to be an everyday player once he’s ready, but Saggese’s role is a little murkier. Without a move, he might find himself in a platoon or bench role - not ideal for a player the Cardinals are high on.
So where does that leave things? The Cardinals have already made significant changes to their roster, but there’s still a chance they make another move or two before the season begins. Romero is the most obvious candidate, but if the right offer comes along, Nootbaar or Gorman could be on the move as well.
Either way, the message from the front office is clear: this is a team in transition, willing to make tough calls now in order to build something sustainable - and competitive - for the future.