The St. Louis Cardinals are heading into the offseason with a pretty clear task: figure out how to get better for 2027 without diving into the top end of the free-agent market. After missing the postseason for the fourth straight year, the club still has reasons to feel encouraged, but any outside help is likely going to come from the mid-to-lower tiers.
That makes free agency a natural place to shop, and it also means the Cardinals have to be a little more selective about where they spend. If they’re looking for the best fits, the list starts with a familiar name: JoJo Romero.
The Cardinals traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers at the deadline along with Dustin May, and both pitchers are now playing important roles for a Brewers team that is two wins away from its first World Series title. Without Romero, St.
Louis is missing a high-leverage left-handed arm in the bullpen, and getting him back would go a long way toward addressing one of the biggest issues from the 2026 season.
There are also a few starting-pitching options who could make sense on shorter deals. Shane Bieber is one of them.
The former Cy Young winner is trying to rebuild his value after injuries have slowed him down in recent seasons, and a one-year contract could fit both sides. He’s still only 31, which keeps some upside in play.
If the Cardinals end up competing, he could become a steady presence in the rotation. If they don’t, he’d still be a trade candidate.
Jack Flaherty belongs in that same bucket of upside with risk attached. He began his career in St.
Louis and picked up Cy Young votes in 2019, but he hasn’t been the same since. Even so, the swing-and-miss stuff is still there, and that’s enough to make him interesting.
The injury history is part of the package, which is exactly why a reunion would come with some danger.
Tyler Mahle is another starter who has done the rounds with contending teams. He pitched well for the Atlanta Braves after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants and helped them get back to the postseason after missing in 2025.
As long as the contract is for one year and not something longer, St. Louis could be a strong landing spot for him in 2027.
Kris Bubic also fits the theme of a pitcher trying to reset his value. He was an All-Star for the Kansas City Royals in 2025 before an arm injury ended his season, and he posted a 3.76 ERA this year between Kansas City and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The catch is workload: he was limited to just nine starts and five relief outings. Still, he could be a candidate to bet on himself with a one-year deal and potentially slide into the Cardinals’ rotation.
The bullpen offers another straightforward option in Robert Stephenson. He pitched for St.
Louis in 2026, carries a club option for 2027, and the Cardinals could choose the easy route by bringing him back that way. Stephenson posted a 4.02 ERA in 70 appearances and settled in after a slow start.
He also brings velocity, which never hurts in relief.
At third base, the Cardinals are trying to balance present need with future planning. They need help at the position, but they also don’t want to block prospects like Jesus Baez.
That’s why Luis Arraez is an interesting fit. He can play third, gives you contact and on-base ability, and does it without offering much power.
The defense isn’t ideal, but Busch Stadium doesn’t reward empty pop anyway, and Arraez would give St. Louis a different kind of offensive profile than another power bat.
Gleyber Torres brings a little more thump from the right side, while still hitting for a respectable average. He hit .260/.364/.363 with eight home runs and a .727 OPS in the regular season.
The complication is where he plays. He’s more naturally a second baseman or shortstop, so adding him could mean moving pieces around.
Third base is one possibility, and another is giving JJ Wetherholt a chance there.
The Cardinals could also just circle back to Dustin May, who spent part of 2026 in St. Louis before being dealt to Milwaukee.
He stayed healthy for the full season, but the Brewers may pass on his mutual option for 2027 after he struggled there. Mutual options rarely get picked up anyway, and a short-term deal could help him rebuild value again.
His numbers with the Cardinals were solid, as he posted a 4.38 ERA before the trade.
That leaves one more name with a real Cardinals connection: JoJo Romero, the left-handed reliever they know well and currently miss. In a market where St. Louis is unlikely to chase the biggest names, familiar faces and short-term value plays may be the smartest path forward.
In Other News...
Matthew Liberatore Put The Cardinals In A Tough Offseason Spot
Matthew Liberatore gave the Cardinals a heavy workload in 2026, taking the ball for 31 starts and logging 155 innings, but the season did not leave St. Louis with an easy read on where he fits next. His run prevention slipped, his opponent OPS climbed and the numbers pointed to a pitcher who had a harder time as games went deeper, especially when hitters saw him multiple times.
The bigger concern is what happened when his secondary pitches lost their bite, because that opened the door for right-handed hitters and made the rest of his profile look far less stable. St. Louis now has to decide whether that means a move to the bullpen, a trade possibility or simply a different role inside the organization, even though Liberatore is expected to be around next season in some capacity. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Could Revisit A Familiar Rotation Fix This Winter
The Cardinals offseason search for rotation help may lead them back to a name they moved on from earlier this year. Dustin May, who was traded to Milwaukee in 2026 as part of a deal that sent St. Louis prospects Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale the other way, is now expected to hit free agency with a mutual option likely to be declined.
For a club that needs a veteran starting pitcher, the fit is obvious enough to keep the idea alive. St. Louis has already seen enough of May to know what he can bring, and with the winter market taking shape, a reunion would give the Cardinals a familiar route to stabilizing the rotation without having to start entirely from scratch. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals May Have Found A Faster Path For Rainiel Rodriguez
Rainiel Rodriguez turned enough heads with a breakout 2026 season to push himself all the way to Double-A, and now the Cardinals are looking at an even more aggressive way to move their top prospect along. Rodriguez is still a catcher by trade, but St. Louis has been willing to test him at third base, a spot that could give his bat a clearer route to the majors and address an area where the organization has less depth.
Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom confirmed Rodriguez has taken reps there, which is enough to show this is more than idle speculation. The appeal is obvious: if Rodriguez can handle a new position, the Cardinals may be able to keep his offensive momentum moving while removing some of the traffic jam that often slows a young catchers climb. The real question is whether the organization pushes that experiment far enough to change his long-term path. [Read more 🡒]