St. Louis Cardinals 2025-2026 Offseason Wish List
The St. Louis Cardinals should have a busy offseason ahead of them. Let's try and sift through their to-do list ahead of the 2026 campaign.
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The St. Louis Cardinals have been one of baseball’s best organizations for the past two plus decades. Consistently competitive, superb player development, and a willingness to land the big name when it made sense lifted St. Louis to a golden standard.
However, the last couple of years have not been up to par. The Cardinals Way is seeing their first true shift in some time as front office changes are starting to lead to changes on the roster.
The first of what I expect to be many moves happened this week when Sonny Gray was dealt to the Red Sox in exchange for two pitching prospects. An expensive, yet productive, arm nearing the end of his career was not going to be much help to the Cardinals, who are likely to get worse before getting better.
Now, before we dive into the potential moves and highlight the biggest needs, we must establish where the Cardinals team currently stands. We know they are not a contender, but I also don’t see them as a true tear down candidate.
With enough young talent on the roster and coming in 2026, I think we see more of a soft sell. Rolling out essentially the same team as last season does no one any favors. Shake up on the roster, keep a number of the young pieces in place, but also be honest with yourself about which free agents make sense.
Top Offseason Priorities for the St. Louis Cardinals
Trade Nolan Arenado, With Cash
I struggle to define Nolan Arenado‘s stint in St. Louis. On one hand, the two 30-home run seasons and plus defense with his remarkable 2022 season will leave fans with great memories when they reflect back in a few years.
On the other hand, the consistency wasn’t great and the last three seasons were not exactly what you would have hoped for. I mean, there’s a reason we are talking about shedding him for whatever the Cardinals can get.
The Cards need to get younger and turn the page to a new era of while also allowing Arenado a chance at a ring. This is not a sour situation with a fuming player, but a necessary divorce for each side to prosper in their own ways.
Although the defense is no longer at a Platinum Glove level, it’s still plus. The contact rates are elite, but the power has dwindled. He can no longer rely on his pull heavy approach and might need to transition into more of a put the ball in play hitter, which wouldn’t be all that bad.
The third base free agent market is top heavy and lacks depth. If the Cardinals eat some money, more teams will be in play. A situation like this opens the door for smaller markets to play in the sandbox and add a proven veteran to help a young team solidify their lineup.
The Cardinals should not be too concerned about a return. Get the typically relief pitching prospect and consider any money you are able to push onto another team a win. Obviously, Arrenado’s movement clause has implication on the deal, but I think he’d be more open to a move now compared to last winter.
Replace Sonny Gray’s Spot with a Veteran
St. Louis has a number of young arms that will make starts in 2026. Michael McGreevy, Tink Hence, Quinn Mathews, Cooper Hjerpe, and others should all gain valuable experience, but it would be irresponsible to fill a rotation with mostly rookies paired with two guys who should be in the bullpen.
You need at least one, preferably two, veterans who can not only eat innings but also provide leadership to this young rotation. Adding a veteran or two would allow the younger arms to dictate when they are truly ready to make the jump to the majors without forcing them due to a lack of options.
No, you don’t need Dylan Cease or Framber Valdez. Hell, you don’t even need Lucas Giolito. All you need is a one-year deal, perhaps with a bounce-back candidate, in hopes of filling innings until the deadline when you could move them for more prospects.
Potential Free Agent Options: Jordan Montgomery, John Means, Michael Lorenzen, Dustin May
Can I interest you in an old friend? Jordan Montgomery has had one of the more bizarre career paths. From a consistent and reliable starter to getting left out off the 2023/2024 offseason only to settle on a short term deal, which went array.
I’m still convinced there’s talent left in his arm and considering he’s coming off Tommy John, another short-term, prove-it type deal should be in the works. If not Montgomery, Means is another lefty with previous success coming off major injury. See if one is willing to rebound in St. Louis.
Lorenzen has been the kind of short-term deals and deadline trades. He’s plugged into rotations that need innings and predictable veterans for the past few seasons and St. Louis could be his next stop. Or, you go more upside with Dustin May.
I think the top prospect, next Dodgers great version of Dustin May is long gone. Injuries have sucked the high velocity out of his arm but trying to remake himself requires a long runway. The type of runway the Cardinals can afford to give him.
Answers in the Outfield
The Cardinals outfield comes with more questions than answers. Will Lars Nootbaar be back? Can Victor Scott hit enough to cement his spot in center? Would Alec Burleson be better off at first/DH? Is Nathan Church worthy of more playing time?
Oh yeah, what do you do with Jordan Walker? Questions that mostly will not get answers before Opening Day.
As much as I like Joshua Baez and think he could factor into the equation at some point, he’s not yet ready to start the season in the majors. The need is large enough that finding a solution can come in a number of different ways.
One-year deals, multi-years deals, and trades all are on the table.
Potential Free Agent Fits: Austin Hays, Christopher Morel, Randal Grichuk
Randal Grichuk, a former Cardinal, and Austin Hays are both righties that have historically hit lefties well. Both could be starters in the outfield with the fallback plan being the platoon option to Burleson, if young options emerge.
Morel wearing a Cardinals jersey would be a weird sight to see, but one of the few upside plays. The swing decisions will likely always be a problem but the raw power will always give you some variation of hope that he could become a productive player.
I’d say Hays and Grichuk are the safer options that could net a return at the deadline while Morel is the dart throw you hope could be part of a longer term solution.
Potential Trade Options: Wenceel Perez, Heston Kjerstad
Two young players, each with flaws, who could struggle to cement themselves on their own teams depth charts. Perez is a switch-hitter that can all three spots and is good at a lot of things, but not great at many.
The Tigers are competing and need to fill some holes with veteran players and the Cardinals have a few. Getting Perez would allow the Cardinals to have a back up to Scott in center who could also take over the starting role if Scott cannot hit enough. You could also plug him in right with Burelson playing elsewhere.
The Orioles recently added Taylor Ward to an already crowded outfield which speaks volumes to what they think about Kjerstad. A lefty platoon bat with a lot of swing and miss and power that has not yet shown it can translate to the majors. You’d essentially swap lineup spots with one former top prospect (Walker) with Kjerstad in hopes of something clicking.
Trade Donowan and Romero While Holding Firm Elsewhere
Brendan Donovan is the exact player every team would make room for. A lefty bat who can play all over, delivers high quality at-bats, and comes with multiple years of control. He’s not an All-Star-caliber player but a damn good piece that solidifies lineups.
Even with the years of control I think his market is at peak value. Multiple seasons of above average production combined with a weaker free agent market should make the Cardinals cash in. Do you see a scenario where his value really changes drastically? He’s not going to start launching home runs or win gold gloves, so why not cash in when it makes the most sense?
I also think JoJo Romero should be on the move. The 29 year-old lefty has been a fixture in the Cardinals bullpe the past few seasons but does not lineup with where the team is heading. Teams are always looking for bullpen lefties and coming off a 2.07 ERA and 3.40 FIP would be a good time to move one.
The other names you might have in mind – Nootbaar, Contreras, Walker, and so on – should not be moved for just anything. Sure, if a deal comes across the table that brings in a higher than expected level of prospect, go for it.
But, the Cardinals still need to fill out a roster. Nootbaar had a terrible season and has not lived up to what some thought he could be, but selling low when your outfield is already thin seems irresponsible. If you want to simply move on you better add multiple outfielders when doing so.
As much as I’d love for Jordan Walker to have a change of scenery, I cannot convince myself that he will be given that. At 24 years old, and heading into a year without many team expectations, I think the Cardinals give him one more shot.
As for Contreras, move him if you get the right deal and he agrees. There have been reports that Contreras wanted to stay but I wonder how other moves this winter might change his mind.
His catching days are likely over, which does hurt his value a bit, but the bat still plays. It’s not the worst idea to hold until the trade deadline and see if he’s willing to leave in hopes of another ring.
Final Thoughts
Times surely are changing in St. Louis. The latest version of Cardinals baseball produced a number of average, to above average, players but did not erect a star. We saw “the best fans in baseball” watch from home as Busch Stadium was as empty as we have ever seen it.
Luckily, the Cardinals are not void of all talent. In fact, if they get lucky with a couple of fliers this winter the offense might even look formattable. But, the rotation was a ways to go with the highest end talent still facing a learning curve.
While we do not know what the roster will exactly look like in 2026, I think we do know that it will not be what Cardinals fans are used to.
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