The St. Louis Cardinals may already have plenty of young arms to sort through, but that shouldn’t keep them out of the veteran starting-pitching market this winter. In fact, the case for adding a short-term starter looks pretty clear, especially after how well the club’s last pillow contract worked out.
Dustin May gave the Cardinals exactly what they hoped for when they brought him in last offseason. He stabilized the rotation for the first part of the year, then became part of a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers that brought No. 5 prospect Alexander Frias and No. 11 prospect Josiah Ragsdale to St.
Louis. That’s the model the Cardinals should be chasing again, and Shane Bieber fits the bill.
Bieber is the kind of starter who changes the feel of a staff when he’s healthy. He won the 2020 American League Cy Young Award, owns a career 3.31 ERA across nine seasons and has piled up a decorated résumé that includes two All-Star selections, a pitching Triple Crown, an ERA title, an All-Star MVP Award and a Gold Glove Award.
The catch, of course, is availability. He has not pitched more than 11 games in a season since 2023.
That injury history is exactly why Bieber should be reachable on a short deal this winter. In 2026, he threw just 55 2/3 innings for the Toronto Blue Jays, and his last outing came on Aug.
- With that kind of recent medical history, he’s the sort of pitcher who will likely have to take a brief contract and prove he can rebuild his value.
The Cardinals are also the kind of team that could help him do it. May had battled injuries for years too, but he still made 21 starts for St.
Louis before the Brewers came calling. The Cardinals have shown they can handle veteran starters carefully and keep them on the mound, and Bieber would seem to benefit from that approach as much as anyone.
Talent-wise, he’s ahead of May, which means there’s a real upside if St. Louis can get him right and later flip him again before the 2027 trade deadline.
There’s another reason this makes sense for the Cardinals: Bieber wouldn’t just be a rotation add, he’d be a presence in a room full of younger pitchers. Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy and Andre Pallante look like locks, while Quinn Mathews, Matthew Liberatore, Tanner Franklin, Liam Doyle and Jurrangelo Cijntje are among the options competing for innings.
A pitcher with Bieber’s track record - and the highs and lows that come with it - could be useful for that group even if his stay in St. Louis is short.
When free agency opens, the Cardinals’ first move should be clear: call Bieber.
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Cardinals Linked To A Power Bat Who Could Solve A Tricky Need
The Cardinals have spent enough time searching for offense that a name like Eugenio Suarez makes immediate sense. A veteran third baseman with proven power, Suarez is coming off a productive stretch and could fit as a relatively cost-effective way for St. Louis to add some much-needed punch to the middle of the lineup while they sort out an infield picture that has room for another impact bat.
Money and timing make the fit interesting, too. St. Louis is weighing roster needs against financial caution, and the broader uncertainty around MLBs next labor landscape only adds another layer to any offseason plan. Suarez would not solve every issue on his own, but for a club trying to stay competitive without overcommitting, he looks like the kind of target that could help bridge a tricky gap. [Read more 🡒]