Among 27 non-roster invitees to St. Louis Cardinals spring camp are 10 members of The Cardinal Nation’s Top 50 Prospect List for 2026, including two in the top four – infielder JJ Wetherholt and pitcher Quinn Mathews. The club also signed a veteran right-handed hitting outfielder.
St. Louis Cardinals release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced 27 non-roster invitees to 2026 Spring Training camp today (Monday, January 26).
Highlighting the list of those set to report to Jupiter the second week of February are 2025 Texas League MVP and Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year JJ Wetherholt and 2025 Texas League Pitcher of the Year Ixan Henderson.
Eight players who were acquired this offseason or after the start of last season will report with the big leaguers: RHP Scott Blewett, RHP Skylar Hales, 1B Blaze Jordan, RHP Gerson Moreno, LHP Jared Shuster, OF Nelson Velázquez, C Andy Yerzy and LHP Bruce Zimmermann.
Eleven non-roster invitees will take part in their first Major League camp including pitchers Luis Gastelum, Pete Hansen, Henderson, Austin Love, Hancel Rincón; catchers Graysen Tarlow and Yerzy; infielders Blaze Jordan, Ramon Mendoza, and Brody Moore; and outfielder Mike Antico.
2024 MiLB & Baseball America Minor League Pitcher of the Year Quinn Mathews returns to St. Louis’ spring roster along with other members who were in camp last season including pitchers Max Rajcic, Sem Robberse and Zack Thompson; catcher Carlos Linárez; infielders Jeremy Rivas and Wetherholt; and outfielders Chase Davis and Matt Koperniak.
Left-handed pitcher Packy Naughton, who pitched for St. Louis in 2022 and 2023 before being sidelined for most of the past two seasons with an arm injury, will also be in Major League camp. Four other non-roster invitees will enter Cardinals camp with Major League experience, including Blewett (Royals, Twins, Orioles, Braves), Shuster (Braves, White Sox), Velázquez (Cubs, Royals) and Zimmerman (Orioles, Brewers).
Following is a positional list of non-roster invite players:
PITCHERS (15): Scott Blewett (RHP), Luis Gastelum (RHP), Skylar Hales (RHP), Pete Hansen (LHP), Ixan Henderson (LHP), Austin Love (RHP), Quinn Mathews (LHP), Gerson Moreno (RHP), Packy Naughton (LHP), Max Rajcic (RHP), Hancel Rincón, (RHP), Sem Robberse* (RHP), Jared Shuster (LHP), Zack Thompson* (LHP), Bruce Zimmermann (LHP)
CATCHERS (3): Carlos Linárez, Graysen Tarlow, Andy Yerzy
INFIELDERS (5): Blaze Jordan, Ramon Mendoza, Brody Moore, Jeremy Rivas, JJ Wetherholt
OUTFIELDERS (4): Mike Antico, Chase Davis, Matt Koperniak, Nelson Velázquez
*Injured
Cardinals pitchers and catchers will hold their first practice at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex on Thursday, February 12, with the first full squad workout scheduled for Monday, February 16.
The 27 non-roster invitees brings the Cardinals’ Spring Training roster to 67 players. Attached is the Cardinals 40-player roster with invitees.
Note the new name among the NRI outfielders listed above. Nelson Velázquez is a 27-year-old Puerto Rican native who has played in the minor and major leagues since being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round in 2017.
In July 2023, the Cubs traded Velázquez to the Kansas City Royals.
The right-handed hitter played in 194 big league games for the Cubs and Royals in 2022-2024, with a slash line of .212/.286/.433/.719. He hit 31 home runs and plated 87 in 615 career plate appearances. His MLB strikeout rate is 28.8% and walk rate 8.5%.
Kansas City outrighted Velázquez to the minors in March 2025 and released him in May. He played in Mexico until September, when he was signed to a minor league contract by the Pirates. Following the season, he returned to minor league free agency.
In 221 career games at the Triple-A level, Velázquez slashed .234/.321/.456/.777, hit 40 home runs and drove in 123. His K rate at the highest level of the minors is 27.0% and walk rate is 10.9%.
This winter, Velázquez was a Puerto Rico Winter League All-Star and should be playing for Cangrejeros de Santurce in the Caribbean Series.
My personal hope is that Velázquez is not the only right-handed hitting outfielder to be added by the Cardinals this offseason.
For roster and player information
The team rosters here at The Cardinal Nation are kept up to date daily. To access them, click on “ROSTERS/PLAYERS/MOVES” located on the red menu bar on the left of the page beneath The Cardinal Nation site logo.
To see the Cardinals’ entire system by level and position on one page along with every player transaction for every club all year long, check out the always current Roster Matrix at The Cardinal Nation. It is kept updated during the offseason and spring training and is accessible from the same menu as team rosters.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its ninth year. It includes 275 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including over five dozen all-new player scouting reports by Kyle Reis.
Order your PDF or spiral-bound printed book copy today.
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system, including access to every article in our 2026 Top Cardinals Prospects series.
St. Louis Cardinals Assistant General Manager Moises Rodriguez discusses recent international signings by the organization, upcoming promotions, budgets, scouting strategies and much more.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
The three assistant general managers of the St. Louis Cardinals participated in a panel discussion at Winter Warm-Up. Brian Walton summarizes their remarks.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
photo: Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols (USA TODAY Sports)
What if you had to decide between two of the greatest players in St. Louis Cardinals history?
On Monday, January 19, the St. Louis Cardinals Red Ribbon Committee held its annual meeting. The objectives were two-fold:
Set the ballot for fan voting for Modern Era players.
Select a Veteran Era honoree (retired for 40 or more years).
The same process has been followed since 2014 with experienced committee members in place, so there should have been no surprises coming in.
Then again, maybe there would be.
What could have unfolded would have been as difficult as a parent being forced to select their favorite child.
Here is the potential rub.
Annually since 2020, just one Modern Era player has been voted into the Cardinals Hall. The reason the quantity was dropped from its initial two is that the backlog of most deserving Modern Era players had been worked down over the years since 2014.
However, for 2026, two franchise icons will be eligible for the Modern Era ballot for the first time, three years after their retirement as active players (following the 2022 season).
They are none other than future (likely first ballot Cooperstown) Hall of Famers Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. Or is it Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols?
The committee’s task is to evaluate the contributions of each candidate and cast an ordered, weighted ballot. Votes are secretly tallied and the top Modern Era scorers are then placed on the fan online ballot to select the annual honoree.
So, who should be first and who should be second?
What if you had to decide between Molina and Pujols? How could you? How would you?
The first question is to be considered is how to assess candidates who took different career paths.
Committee members often discuss how to take into consideration results players obtained while playing for other teams. The general answer is that this is the Cardinals Hall of Fame, so the feats achieved while wearing the Birds on the Bat are what should matter.
Without delving deeply into the numbers, let’s have some back-and-forth about each candidate’s qualifications.
Molina was a career-long Cardinal (for 19 years), while Pujols famously was not, though Albert came home for his 12th and final season with St. Louis.
Yet, while both were highly celebrated, Albert’s list of individual awards as a Cardinal is much longer.
Yet, the presence of Molina on defense literally changed opponents’ strategies on the bases.
Yet, Albert generated far better offensive stats, including WAR.
Yet, for almost two full decades, Molina made many of his teammates, especially pitchers, better.
So, I return to the primary question. How could you decide?
Before you even try to answer that, there is good news. Fans should not be forced to deal with this dilemma. Just as the quantity of Modern Era selections changed between 2019 to 2020, so can it revert for 2026. The rules are flexible enough such that Cardinal fans will not be forced to choose between the two greats to don the red jacket for the first time this summer.
Look for a spring training announcement of the ballot, voting procedures and details of an Induction Ceremony that should be the biggest, grandest and best attended ever!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system, including access to every article in our 2026 Top Cardinals Prospects series.
Selected press interviews from Day 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up on Sunday, January 18, 2026. You can read short synopses or listen to each individual in their entirety.
Sunday’s Day 2 of the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up charity event at Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village offered an increased blast of cold as a blustery welcome to the throngs of Cardinals fans attending.
Among the popular presentations on the main stage included a panel discussion with assistant general managers Moises Rodriguez, Rob Cerfolio and Randy Flores and an individual session with JJ Wetherholt.
Autograph sessions with these current Cardinals were scheduled on Sunday to conclude the two-day event: Dustin May, Leonardo Bernal, JJ Wetherholt, Brycen Mautz, Kyle Leahy, Alec Burleson, Michael McGreevy, Hunter Dobbins, Jose Fermin, Thomas Saggese, Andre Pallante, Masyn Winn, Yohel Pozo, Victor Scott II, Bill DeWitt III and Bill DeWitt Jr.
Cardinals alumni signing on Sunday included Aaron Miles, Randy Flores, Brad Thompson, Preston Wilson, Jeff Suppan, So Taguchi and others.
Typically, either before or after they sign for fans, the players meet with team physicians and are brought to the media area for a question and answer session. Some players also have fan and kids-only Q&A sessions.
Following are my notes from selected interviews held during the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up on Sunday, January 18, 2026. Following my summary is the audio for those who want to listen to the full content.
Content will be added at multiple points during the day and into the evening.
Dustin May (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Dustin May (10:16)
Already gained 20 pounds. Want to add a couple more before spring training. Then hold it during the season. Have to be mindful about food eaten. Watch weight and keep maintained.
Took eight months post-surgery to feel like a normal person again (Feb. 2025).
When joining the Cards, didn’t know he would be the oldest. Excited about new adventure.
Regaining fastball command would be huge. Pens have been going great.
It has been a grind over the last five years. Having his health this offseason was good for his body.
Comes in with clean slate. Show up and do job.
In precontract discussions, the Cardinals pushed their good injury track record (no arm-related injuries in 2025). Brought trainers on the first call.
Wants to get sweeper locked. Trying to get changeup there.
Since number 85 is retired, he picked #3. No reason other than it was available. His wife noted 8-5=3. Also three letters in M-a-y.
Absolutely hates the nickname “Gingergaard”.
Talked with Fitts a lot in Boston. Crossed paths with Dobbins.
His World Series experience also came up in StL calls. Will be fun to use experiences. Didn’t know any Cardinals when he signed.
Brycen Mautz (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Brycen Mautz (12:44)
Was doing right things, focused on several wrong things. Had been super upper half focused. Lost direction.
Changes enabled him to throw harder and with more consistent velo. Needed to log reps in new way to introduce new pattern. In game and in drills, used lower half better.
Going on 40-man roster was surreal. Had Pitcher of the Year call from LD (farm director Larry Day) before. This one surprised him. Very emotional moment.
The front office let them come to Busch late in the season and get on the mound.
Prior player development group had the right ideas, but did not talk about it enough. Now it is all laid out. Comes from (Director of Pitching Matt) Pierpont. Explains what they are doing and why.
Two changes for 2026.
Grip change on changeup. Hadn’t been consistent in past. Before it was off the four seam. Change to get more efficiency, more depth.
Consistency. Showed it at Double-A. Now can he do it 10 of 10 times instead of 8 of 10?
Got a bunch of Triple-A baseballs. Only using them this off-season.
Bernal is awesome. So young (21). Growth. Became more of a student of the game. Already had the talent. At Palm Beach, if a pitch was working, he would stay with it. At Springfield, he considered the strategy of the situation, prior at-bats, etc.
Going to Jupiter on February 8.
Had a huge issue with righties in 2024. Worked on cutter in off-season. But it affected his slider and curveball negatively. This fifth pitch upside was outweighed by decline in other pitches so he stopped using it.
Close with fellow lefties Pete Hansen and Ixan Henderson. Lived with Hansen last couple of years. All lefties are different. Ixan weirdest of the three.
MM: Looking to build something long term. Want a clear defined clubhouse and to make the new guys comfortable. Lead by example.
TS: Happy to play wherever they ask. Not said anything to him about the outfield, but it is something to think about in spring training.
TS: Aware of the moving roster pieces, but try to stay out of it Just get ready for the season.
MM: Sticks to routine. When going up and down to Memphis, it was tougher. Parents, girl friend, Memphis coaches great help.
MM: Happy with weight at 230 now. Last two off-seasons have been good.
TS: Number one is to be comfortable. Not chase results so much. Be consistent. Trust process. Not chase pitches as much.
TS: Young position player group is super fun. Everyone same age, helpful. Similar goals bring us together.
MM: On ABS, gotten accustomed to it. Only challenged once. Won’t do it again. Seen it work at Triple-A. Doesn’t take human access away. Only two calls allowed per game.
TS: Really likes ABS. Consistency. Helps umps learn strike zone. Black and white.
MM: Will miss Sonny Gray a lot. When gave up runs in first inning, Gray told him to throw his first inning in the pen. Great advice. Tries to keep loose before game and not get exhausted before the game.
MM: Tries to help Quinn Mathews. Too hard on himself. Needs to give himself some grace.
TS: Offseason focus on pitch selection. Doing it in cage helps. No nitty-gritty changes being made. Honing in on being more selective while still being aggressive. Making it a priority. Challenge system will help. Taking pitches if not what he wants.
Bill DeWitt Jr. (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)Bill DeWitt III (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Bill DeWitt Jr. and Bill DeWitt III (26:47)
Jr.: Excited about 2026. Chaim and group did good job. Good young players.
III: FanDuel situation internally disruptive. Two options – either renegotiate with FD or go with MLB Media. Shouldn’t be disruptive for fans. Just on a different channel. Would also love to be on YouTube TV, for example, but that is a step away from them.
Jr.: Hard to quantify success in 2026. Winning season. If core is doing well.
Jr.: On labor situation, many teams prefer less disparity. Will be addressed in labor agreement.
III: Competitive balance is commissioner’s no. 1 role. Multiple ways to address. Disparity exacerbated in recent years.
Jr.: Oli has done good job, excellent job. Defer contract to Chaim. On Chaim vs. Mo, own styles. No two are the same. So far, so good with Bloom. We are optimistic that he can do a good job.
Jr.: Send out more money in trades to get young players back. Could have saved money by not doing that.
Jr.: Not a rebuild, but a build. Chaim is a draft and develop exec. On same page with the plan. Don’t give up draft choices. Hopefully won’t take long. Said (incorrectly) that Baseball America ranks the Cardinals farm system no. 1.
III: Fans are smart, glad strategy clarified. Challenged the last few years because of roster construction. Maybe more moves this offseason.
III: Less revenue makes job more difficult. 31st season. Bucked trends. Will look back on his experience as growth.
III: 20-year-old stadium needs multifaceted changes in near future. See how Royals situation plays out.
Jr.: His succession plan. III is perfect age to continue. We’re third generation baseball people.
III: 2028 is last year of national TV package. MLB will do like NBA which will help all teams. Local media is the question. It will be different. Cautiously optimistic it will come around. Didn’t know it would be so volatile. Can roll with the punches separately from ticket sales.
Andre Pallante (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Andre Pallante (14:21)
Three goals:
Throw strikes with all pitches that are not 4-seam.
Kick change. Different look
Carry fastball. Cuts it now. Stay behind it better.
Has been trying to throw change since college. Still inconsistent. Tough to grab. Solid offering. Changeup works best against left-handers but can also be effective against right-handed bats.
Making 31 starts and throwing 163 innings, they know about you. So come up with different ways of getting outs.
Limited home runs two years ago, but they were way up in 2025. Due to predictability, familiarity.
Regarding new competition in rotation. If you belong in big leagues, you will be there. Can’t control anything but his prep.
Need to limit home runs, get more strikeouts. Limit damage when behind in count.
Struggling does not instill confidence, but am a different pitcher now, with confidence.
Working with same guy in offseason as McGreevy, but they are different. McG throws a lot of different pitches. Pallante has small arsenal.
Has to pre-grip his kick change. Get shapes with it he can’t get otherwise. Learned about it on social media.
Last year, didn’t hit velo until Game 1 of the season. This year, starting throwing 1 1/2 months early. Have thrown 6-10 pens already. Up to 92 mph (against 90 last year).
Jose Fermin (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Jose Fermin (4:18)
Usually played winter ball, but not this year.
Versatility is main thing. Am taking reps in outfield. More value as player.
Trying to get bat speed up on off side. Add more power. Already makes good contact.
At same facility in Tampa. Doing a lot of weighted bat work.
Lost great leaders from team. Young guys need to step up and play to best of abilities.
Last year a little shocked not to make the team but didn’t put head down. Kept working.
Masyn Winn (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Masyn Winn (19:55)
Off-season focus getting knee back right.
Retired glove with gold patch. Signed and gave to his mom.
Bought engagement ring for fiancé.
Take pride in leadership but team has Noot, Donny, Burly.
Looking forward to playing with JJ Wetherholt. Want him to come in comfortable and play his game. Both were at Cressey this winter.
Am very vocal and emotional but in the right way. Also Nootbaar. Be a good example.
Felt great a week after surgery. Affected him more last season than he thought.
Grow up fast. Doesn’t feel like rebuild. Still good young core. 4-5 guys could have a crazy year.
Will not be a longball team. Will be scrappy.
Put trust in Mr. Bloom. Wants to stay here for career.
Saw name on wall at Busch with other Gold Glovers. Didn’t expect it yet. Feels great. Ozzie presented him the award.
Offense is always his focus. Had down year but don’t want to do it again.
On Walker, we all know his potential. Has higher ceiling than all of us.
Winn got too HR happy in 2025. Wants to be annoying at plate, wasting pitches.
On stealing, got thrown out early last season, lost confidence. Will run more in 2026. No competition with Victor Scott. He has track speed, not baseball speed. Would like to be within five steals of Scott in 2026.
On only three errors all last season. Only had 2-3 days all year without taking grounders pre-game.
Don’t know JJ on defensive side yet. Can’t let rookie outhit us! The dude rakes.
On Donovan. This is a business. He is still working. Will show up at spring training wherever prepared.
Joked with Arenado that if he takes a hit away, I will slide into him cleats first.
Sad they will never let him pitch again after one inning rookie year.
Victor Scott II (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Victor Scott II (16:48)
When 14 years old, told his mom he would get her a new car after his first year in MLB. Did it. Both cried.
Want to come back as complete player. Add offense to speed and defense. Went to West Virginia for motion testing. Learned movements were inefficient. Set biomechanics plan. Hip movement, shin angle, ankles, etc.
Started swinging in December. Facing live pitching now. Has shorter swing. Get on front side more. Can adjust to breaking balls better, which he saw a lot of last year. Grounders to second are bad because he cannot run them out.
Casey Chenoweth was his coach in 2023. Understands swing. Provides help.
Wetherholt has very good hit tool. Very humble.
Want to get on base more in 2026. Steal and get in scoring position. Drive ball in gaps. Home runs are not me. Hit ball the other way. Been bunting every day in off-season.
Center field is more process oriented. Gain 1% more doing drills one hour, four days a week.
Double stolen bases from 30-35 last year. Winn will get within five if he steals 65.
Still uses baby glove all the time in training.
Last season was process, system, but didn’t have enough to carry beyond good spring into the season.
Players he’s looking forward to are Jordan Walker and Andre Pallante. Walker says he is shorter to the ball like old self. Pallante’s arsenal.
Yohel Pozo (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Yohel Pozo (7:50)
Getting ready for spring competition.
Was surprised to stay with St. Louis all year. Was a great year, especially first half. Less chance to play in 2H.
Ready for pinch hitting, DH, catching, first base backup.
2 big moments in 2025. HR in Chicago. HR vs. Yankees with bat from hospital visit. Likes to spend moments with fans. It is who he is.
Told agent he didn’t want to leave StL. Non-tendered, then offered split contract two days later. Communications better here than his other teams.
Pedro, Ivan and I are all together. Healthy competition. All are friends.
Have been doing own scouting on new pitchers to learn what they throw. More in spring training.
Note:
In order to attend the aforementioned AGM Roundtable discussion, I had to leave the media room for an hour. During that time, I missed the interviews with Leonardo Bernal, JJ Wetherholt, Kyle Leahy and part of Alec Burleson.
Thanks to my podcast partner Kyle Reis, these recordings follow. However, I was not there to summarize them.
Working on solidifying offensive routine so can reel it in more quickly if things go awry.
Arriving at spring training on February 14. Will be ready, but can use the time to ramp up. Doesn’t have to prove to people that he can hit at this level. Takes some pressure off mentally.
First two seasons, knew he was doing the right thing. Didn’t let results bother him. Always made adjustments. It was good to see a few balls drop in 2025 that didn’t before.
What Donovan brings is on the field. Never takes a day off. Played through things that others wouldn’t. Process/routine is always good. Will show others how it should be done. When JJ Wetherholt comes up, tell him to do what Donny does.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
Press interviews from Day 1 of the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up on Saturday, January 17, 2026. You can read short synopses or listen to Cardinals players in their own words.
Day 1 of the two-day 2026 St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up opened on Saturday morning, January 17 at Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village. The assembled fans were greeted by cold, flurries and windy conditions typical for January.
The most popular presentation on Day 1 had to be Chaim Bloom’s main stage event, following a Q&A session with the media. The president of baseball operations also signed autographs. Manager Oliver Marmol did the same.
Signing sessions, one or two hours each, with these current and future Cardinals players, were scheduled on Saturday: Liam Doyle, Jimmy Crooks, Gordon Graceffo, Jordan Walker, Nathan Church, Joshua Baez, Blaze Jordan, Richard Fitts, Ivan Herrera, Quinn Mathews, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Granillo and Riley O’Brien.
Also signing for fans are Cardinals alumni including Al Hrabosky, David Eckstein, Matt Adams, David Freese, Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay. The latter two are also current Cardinals coaches.
Before or after they sign for fans and in some cases take questions and answers from fans, players meet with team physicians and are also brought to the media room for individual Q&A sessions.
Following are selected interviews held during the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up on Saturday, January 17, 2026. I summarize them and follow with the audio for those who want to listen to the full content.
Check back this afternoon and evening as additional content is added throughout the day.
JB: Just getting on 40-man roster is amazing. Gives him more reassurance.
JB: Attributes his 2025 breakout to more mental cues and that he did not do too much different physically.
NC: Focusing on getting better in areas he did not do so well. Fastballs at top of zone. Working with Brant Brown on keeping his swing short.
JB: Organization involved more every year. More personalized plan. Trying to make in season changes same night doesn’t work well. Get to reset/play around if off-season.
NC: Not trying to put up power numbers. Focus on sync, training room, cage. Understanding body better.
JB: Stole more bases by getting to know pitchers better. Identify patterns, tendencies. Know count, score, situation.
Blaze Jordan (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Blaze Jordan (12:55)
Super excited to have family and friends at first game with Memphis. Bloom was one of first calls after trade. Feels wanted.
More pressure coming home for the first couple of weeks of games.
Pujols is one of his favorites. Went to World Series game in Texas when he hit three home runs. Met him a few years later.
Needs to work on getting power numbers up, more athleticism, quickness, mobility. Work in gym, bat speed. Working hard on defense at first base and third base. Already improved. Wants to do more. No one has mentioned outfield.
Wetherholt is a special player. Learned from how he works day in and out.
Also talked about fishing, past connections with Walker and Winn and his High School Home Run Derby success.
Oliver Marmol (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Oliver Marmol (31:06)
Changes bittersweet but some really good conversations. Transactions done right. Will remember Arenado comments.
Chaim did good job connecting. Coaches have made trips to meet with guys.
Changes = opportunity. Players fired up. Their time is now. Ton of enthusiasm. Compete to win together. Learning how to win together. Guys below needed playing opportunity.
Excited for Masyn Winn and Victor Scott to get to next level.
Burleson to hone in on strike zone. He does leadership differently, Not loudest, but has credibility. Very confident of him playing at first base.
Still some moving pieces at third base. Gorman can get at-bats.
Herrera in good spot. Taking catching seriously, bought into curriculum. Starting throwing one week ago. Will be hitting in a few days. Elbow chips were a problem for his throwing. Will be hard to evaluate in spring. Acknowledges catching roster questions.
Left field – hard to answer today. Nootbaar making good progress, but it is still early. Moving parts.
Will not be announcing all jobs are open. Wouldn’t be smart. Will clearly define guys they believe in.
Wetherholt mindset is special. Carries himself well. Definitely has a chance of making roster out of spring camp. He would be comfortable at second base (if Burleson is gone).
Will be different ways to construct lineup. Will be creative. Optimize daily. Balanced lineup.
On rotation. May. McGreevy and Liberatore to take next stop. Will see what Leahy can do. Lay eyes on new guys.
Last year, tried to be smart about building guys up because a lot of injuries occur early. Used six-man last April.
Mentioned without a question now excited he is about Scott.
Winn feels better than he has for a long time. Feeling hungry. Will be more aggressive. Offensive ceiling high.
Scott didn’t have season he wanted. Very process focused on getting better.
Noticed huge line outside stadium before opening. Cool to see excitement in young group,
Have talked about his contract, but asked that Bloom speak about it.
Gordon Graceffo (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Gordon Graceffo (9:28)
Fine tuning his new kick change. Strange grip. Wants to even his splits out. Was fastball usage heavy in 2025. Threw changeup in past, but lost it with changing mechanics.
Make money pitching out of stretch with guys on base in close games. Pens focused on stretch.
Look at movement on Trackman and iPad of kick change. But hitters will tell him all he needs to know. 2021 was first time using Trackman. Data is awesome.
Fun to have new pitch in spring training, which is tough because hitters know him.
More velo last year was a confidence thing. Make it more consistent.
His role may depend on what they need.
Looking forward to pitching in Yankee Stadium. Family had season tickets. Mariano Rivera was his favorite.
Corralled his emotions early, but let it show when more comfortable.
Quinn Mathews (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Quinn Mathews (14:14)
Offseason focus outside of baseball. Preparation for season same.
Lot of things didn’t pan out in 2025. Focus strayed. Should have paid more attention to advice given early on by Sonny Gray. Keeping details private for now. He was Gray’s “dog” in camp last year. Gray is his own machine.
2026 is new year.
Never dealt with lingering injury before. First time in career he could not take health for granted. Never had to sit out before. Tyler Glasnow uses term “mound traumas”. Wants high expectations.
Hopefully more strong minded and handling failure better.
Was first guy sent down last spring. Joked that he hoped to stick until second cuts this year.
Striking out Vlad Guerrero was awesome opportunity, but swinging and missing in spring training likely not important to him.
Not thinking about StL rotation today, Just day to day, Not thinking that far ahead.
100% arm health. Feeling good about mechanics right now. Didn’t know where baseball was going last year.
Liam Doyle (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Liam Doyle (11:17)
Main focus is getting body ready for spring. Stay in shape, maintain body mass, muscle.
Matt Pierpont (director of pitching) gave him schedule. Throwing 4-5x per week. Already threw a bullpen.
Going to Jupiter tomorrow.
Has fun playing villain role. Likes to think he has different mound personality.
From Southern New Hampshire. Went to Red Sox games. Liked to watch Chris Sale. Likes to emulate Max Scherzer. Adam Sandler went to his high school one year.
No inning target in 2026 that he knows of.
Cards made it clear he will be a part of their future. Says he will beat Tanner Franklin to MLB. TF also going to FL this week.
Jimmy Crooks (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Jimmy Crooks (9:05)
Taste of MLB in 2025 was fun. Added more fuel to fire in offseason. Get stronger, quicker, work on hitting. Joked he is going to get a couple of bags (steals).
In past, just went out and played. Now working on mental side, slowing game down.
Focusing on lower half, core. Throwing and hitting all start from there.
Want to take more walks and not go after everything.
Good core catching group. Help each other. Has been a sponge.
Bond with pitchers starts in spring. Mathews working on confidence. Love him to death. Worked his butt off. Dog on mound. Both learned to handle mental side. Wants Mathews to not overuse the heater and use his mix of pitches more.
This spring will be quicker and easier.
Jordan Walker (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Jordan Walker (15:57)
Returned to Jupiter a week and a half ago. Adapted Driveline program and worked at Cressey.
Basestealing confidence via studying pitchers better. Learned from Jon Jay and Scott.
Goal to get to spring training at 260 pounds. Was 265-267 last year. Feel better lighter.
When hitting off backside, has better results. Not roll over pitches with top spin. Org. has asked for more consistency.
Can’t anticipate MLB struggles. Tough to deal with. Good family and teammates.
Wetherholt also hit a few times at Cressey. Level headed, not fazed. Learn from him to relax at-bat. Looks so easy.
Haven’t thought about where he will hit in the lineup.
Offseason Facetime sessions with Brant Brown where he hits live and goes through drills while the coach watches. Brown does not sugar coat. Knows body movements well.
Feels he is moving a lot better on defense. Been throwing. Will work off machine in Jupiter with Jon Jay.
Was not surprised Masyn Winn won the Gold Glove.
Was down a week with the flu – fever, etc.
Matthew Liberatore (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Matthew Liberatore (13:38)
Always tried to prep as starter. Less stressful to prepare that way if switched later.
Happy how he finished 2025. Wish he had an extra month. Started throwing better last two starts. Had mid-season lull which was foreign to him. Led to trial and error. Learned he could compete when not at best physically.
Put on a few extra pounds to help endurance.
Spent three hours with Kyle Leahy recently talking mechanics and pitch grips. Most similarly-minded pitcher on the team.
Focus most on execution especially in two-strike counts. More swing and miss will result. Hitters smell blood in water if confidence is lacking.
Gray recommended moving hitters feet and make them uncomfortable.
Valuable lessons learned through different pitching roles.
Goal in 2026 is to throw 170-180 innings but no ERA, K, win goals. More process oriented. Has execution measures by pitch with goal of 70% or better.
As seven year old, wore #32. Dad linked to Josh Hamilton (hitter) and Sandy Koufax (pitcher). Asked for number after Matz traded.
Would be super cool to start Opening Day. Who wouldn’t want that?
Chaim Bloom (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Chaim Bloom (39:29)
Fanbase expects need to change and have gotten behind it.
Never stop trying to win. Can’t let that distract us. Wants to see core progress in front and behind curtain. Wants to see moving down path.
Offseason calendar is pretty late. Spring training is close. Ideally, the club would be set by the start of spring training. May be moves around margins of club, waivers, guys with no options, etc. later.
Donovan’s impact on the club adds layers (of complexity?).
Expects Jupiter to be spring training-ready. Though not everything will be done, will have everything we need. Roll with punches.
Player development trying try to do a lot at once while also moving too slowly. Needs to be a little uncomfortable.
If we are only catching up, not trying to find the next thing, will never be #1. On its way to happening culturally. Everyone pushed out of comfort zone. Meet, get best experiences of others and put together more than the others individually had.
Will have to be a part of AI, or in five years, we will get beat.
On Jordan Walker, will find out more soon. Monitoring, Better and more engaged offseason. Encouraged where he is at. Upside is worth staying with him. Both patience and urgency. Hopes he gets 500 at-bats, but not going to give it to anyone. The lane is open for him.
On Ivan Herrera, early steps of throwing. Get better equipped to throw out guys.
Identify best guys and go get them. Added exec under Randy Flores to do this.
On Doyle modeling after Scherzer, would like that outcome. Glad he set high bar. Help him get there. Good match in intensity. Would be disruptive for him to be in big league camp this spring.
On Marmol, he keeps main thing the main thing. Hope they can work together for a long time. Thinks Oli can navigate.
On Triple-A to MLB promotions, want to feel they did not skip steps. Will still be tough up there.
On Victor Scott, offensive discussions about how to get back there and stay there. A lot of optimism.
On Masyn Winn, growing pains and success. Grow and take steps in other ways. Not in rehab mode. Ready.
In his seat, values what can be done to bring people together. Need to direct more clearly to ensure alignment. Clarity where to go and why. Targets.
On Lars Nootbaar, longer process. Doing well, no timetable. He will say ready for Opening Day.
On potential 2027 labor problems affecting 2026 decisions, don’t get too cute.
On Brendan Donovan, he has been awesome, total pro. Ideally, not (traded) during camp, but never say absolute. But this is a people business. Can’t give answer today.
On Hunter Dobbins, fielding, etc. is last step. Highest risk of reinjury. Arm-wise, he should be ready.
On big contracts elsewhere, it is MLB action above my paygrade. Landscape is different from team-to-team. Never allow it to be an excuse. Don’t get more focused on obstacle vs. goal.
RF: Organization has been great. Drove from Boston to St. Louis this week in two days.
RF: On arm numbness, has been throwing bullpens.
AG: Struggles last season gave him plan for off-season. Fell into a lot of patterns. Kept throwing sliders.
RF: Already met entire staff over the phone. Working on a changeup and pitch usage. Going to Jupiter on the first.
AG: Players discussed fact that no Cardinal had an arm injury in 2025. Staff wants to care for you. Felt great all year.
AG: When came up, gave some hitters too much credit. Shied away. Needs to attack and get ahead. Needs changeup to complement offerings.
RF: Watching Pedro Pages catching a lot. Having conversations via text. Likes the way he moves behind the plate as I miss a lot in the middle.
RF: Had no issue with ABS at Triple-A. Umpires are very good. Misses that appear larger are only a half-inch off.
RF: Wants to be a guy who fans cheer for.
AG: Remembers well day of first win, first strikeout and first save. Only MLB player in history to do all three on same day.
Ivan Herrera (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Ivan Herrera (16:22)
Elbow coming along. Couldn’t straighten before surgery. Rehabbing in Jupiter. A week after pitchers and catchers report, should be good to go.
If he plays in World Baseball Classic for Panama, it will only be as DH.
Plan is for first hitting 10 days after first throwing, which is next week.
Was signing (autographs today) with Jordan, then he was done. Then Liberatore came, signed them all, and went and he (Herrera) was still signing. Fans care a lot about what he is doing with the team.
Never had surgery before. Usually starts working out the week after the prior season ends. Feels lazy sometimes because of limitations with arm. Took months before he could lift weights.
Reason he wants to keep catching. Already above average blocking and above average in receiving. Couldn’t throw because of elbow.
Designated hitter was hard. 20 minutes between action. Being in the game keeps him warm.
Show up early and work hard. Mentality 2-3 years ago was to hang around. Now wants to win with family.
Believes in himself. Told Oli last year that goal was to bat .300 and hit 20 home runs. Won’t share goals, but will be higher this year.
One of best MLB hitters vs, LHP. Wasn’t the case two years ago. So made it extra focus.
Body feels good now, but not so at end of season.
Can tell his kids he hit a home run off Justin Verlander. Other targets are Skenes, Skubal and Chapman.
Riley O’Brien (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Riley O’Brien (9:20)
Still feels like young guy, but realizes he is one of only a few Cardinals over 30. Building muscle, working on timing. Had more confidence in off-season.
Feels like he thrives late in games and hopes to get more opportunities.
Will pitch for Team Korea in WBC. Getting game ready earlier than usual as a result. Mom’s side of family very proud. Making plans to see him. He has never been in Korea or Japan. Reached out to Tommy Edman, who was on Team Korea before and he recommended it.
2026 team is like 2025 bullpen in second half. Guys had to step up. Helsley was perfect role model (before he left).
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
Completing the analysis phase of this year’s The Cardinal Nation Top 50 Prospect List series covering the St. Louis Cardinals, we compare the levels of all 52 ranked prospects on a year-to-year basis and project when they will reach the majors.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
Eight position players and four pitchers representing the Dominican Republic and Venezuela are among the St. Louis Cardinals’ first-day 2026 international signees. In the process, the organization reportedly committed more than $5 million.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
photo: Jack Martinez (Arizona State University Athletics)
The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez from the Arizona Diamondbacks for third baseman Nolan Arenado and cash considerations.
St. Louis Cardinals release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Tuesday, January 13) that they have completed a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks, acquiring minor league right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez in exchange for third baseman Nolan Arenado and cash considerations.
“We are grateful for Nolan’s five years as a Cardinal, on and off the field — for his drive, his competitiveness, and for all of the memories he gave us,” stated Cardinals President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom. “We wish Nolan and his family the very best as he continues with the next chapter of his great career.”
“As we continue to move forward, we are pleased to add another intriguing pitching prospect to our organization, and excited for the opportunity this move creates for a number of our players to step up and further establish themselves at the big league level.”
Martinez, 22, was the Diamondbacks 8th round selection in the 2025 MLB Draft out of Arizona State University.
The 6-4, 215-pound Martinez (pronounced Martin-ez), who also pitched collegiately at Trinity University (Texas) and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, was 6-4 with a 5.94 ERA in 15 starts for the Sun Devils in 2025, striking out 110 batters over 77.1 innings pitched.
Martinez, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, was a combined 20-8 with a 4.76 ERA in 75 career games (28 starts) as a collegian. He will be making his professional debut in 2026 with the Cardinals.
Just your casual five strikeouts through six batters.
Arenado, 34, spent five seasons with St. Louis from 2021-25, appearing in three All-Star games. He finished third in the National League Most Valuable Player voting in 2022, helping the Cardinals to an N.L. Central Division title.
Thank you, Nolan, for countless unbelievable plays and your leadership on and off the field. Best of luck in Arizona! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/H6w4kkSitv
The long saga to resolve Arenado’s future is finally over, more than a year after it began. For the trade to be completed, the veteran had to waive his no-trade protection.
The Cardinals are paying $31 million of Arenado’s remaining $42 million contract commitment for 2026 and 2027 plus deferrals, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Arenado’s desire to play on a winner may not be satisfied via this trade. He joins a team that won just two more games than the Cardinals in 2025 as both clubs finished in fourth place in their respective divisions. The Diamondbacks made the playoffs just once in the last eight years and won their division last in 2011.
It will be interesting beginning in training camp to see if the Cardinals start Nolan Gorman at the hot corner or insert rookie JJ Wetherholt there.
Martinez, who did not pitch after signing in 2025, is initially assigned to the Florida Complex League Cardinals roster, but will likely begin his professional career at Low-A Palm Beach in April. He will join a plethora of starting pitching candidates.
The 40-man roster spot cleared by Arenado will likely be filled by pitching signee Ryne Stanek when that deal is announced by the team.
Update
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Cardinals made the Stanek signing official.
The team rosters here at The Cardinal Nation are kept up to date daily. To access them, click on “ROSTERS/PLAYERS/MOVES” located on the red menu bar on the left of the page beneath The Cardinal Nation site logo.
To see the Cardinals’ entire system by level and position on one page along with every player transaction for every club all year long, check out the always current Roster Matrix at The Cardinal Nation. It is kept updated during the offseason and is accessible from the same menu as team rosters.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its eighth year. It includes 256 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or spiral-bound printed book copy today, with the latter on closeout for 20% off!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
In this installment of our annual series, we dive into the numbers behind the The Cardinal Nation Top 50 Prospect List for 2026 in terms of sourcing and ages of players by position with comparisons to recent years and implications for the future.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
The annual The Cardinal Nation St. Louis Cardinals All-Prospect Team is the top prospect at each position and includes 12 players – eight position players plus four pitchers – left and right-handed starters and relievers. In an indication of the level of change across the organization, nine of the 12 spots turned over from 2025 with no. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt team captain. FREE article!
The next subject in our Top 50 St. Louis Cardinals Prospects for 2026 series is to recognize the organization’s best minor league prospects at each position. At the end, all Top 50 members are shown by their position groupings in an organizational prospect depth chart.
The selection process is very straightforward. We have already unveiled our Top 50 prospects in the system. Putting together this year’s All-Prospect Team is as simple as culling the top-ranked player at each position from that Top 50.
The annual The Cardinal Nation St. Louis Cardinals All-Prospect Team consists of 12 players – eight position players, including two corner outfielders, plus four pitchers – left and right-handed starters and relievers.
Listed are each player’s ranking in our 2026 Top 50, age and highest level played in 2025. (The exception in 2025 first-rounder Liam Doyle, who made one appearance at Double-A Springfield at the end of the season. For this exercise, the lefty was placed at his prior level, Low-A.)
The Cardinal Nation St. Louis Cardinals 2026 All-Prospect Team
All-Prospect Team 2026
Player
Rank
Age
2025 Lvl
Catcher
Rainiel Rodriguez
3
18
A+
First Base
Deniel Ortiz
15
21
A+
Second Base
Cesar Prieto #
39
26
MLB
Shortstop
JJ Wetherholt C *
1
22
AAA
Third Base
Jesus Baez
14
20
A+
Corner Outfield
Joshua Baez
8
22
AA
Corner Outfield
Ryan Mitchell
19
18
Rk
Center field
Nathan Church
20
24
MLB
LH Starter
Liam Doyle
2
22
A
RH Starter
Tink Hence *
10
23
AA
LH Reliever
Michael Watson
36
23
AA
RH Reliever
Luis Gastelum
21
24
AA
* returning member
C unofficial captain
# position change
For the second time in three years, there is an unusually high level of turnover on our All-Prospect Team with nine new members, same as in 2024. Coming into 2025, after a year in which the Cardinals did not trade extensively, the total fell to a more typical five.
With nine new members, that means that only three of the 12 are holdovers, denoted by an asterisk (*) and hash sign (#) above.
Right-handed starting pitcher Tink Hence is the only All-Prospect Team member remaining from either 2022 or 2023. Back for his fifth year, Hence is the senior member of the All-Prospect Team. However, the top-ranked right-handed pitcher has dropped from second to 10th in our rankings.
For that reason, the two-time no. 1 prospect in the system, shortstop JJ Wetherholt is our captain in his second year on the All-Prospect Team.
The other repeater from 2025, infielder Cesar Prieto, has been shifted from third base to second for 2026.
The nine new members of the team come from four different sources, including five players drafted by the Cardinals and two signed as international free agents.
From the group of prospects joining the organization via trade in July 2025 is third baseman Jesus Baez. The final member is domestic free agent signing Michael Watson, our left-handed reliever.
Of the seven new homegrown prospects, two came from the 2025 Draft, Doyle and outfielder Ryan Mitchell. Earlier Cardinals draft picks are first baseman Deniel Ortiz (2024) plus outfielders Nathan Church (2022) and Joshua Baez (2021).
The two international free agents among the 12 team members are catcher Raniel Rodriguez and right-handed reliever Luis Gastelum.
TCN St. Louis Cardinals All-Prospect Teams – 2022 through 2025
All-Prospect Team members from the previous four seasons are included for comparison purposes.
All-Prospects
2025
2024
2023
2022
C
Jimmy Crooks
Leonardo Bernal
Ivan Herrera
Ivan Herrera
1B
Josh Kross
Chandler Redmond
Luken Baker
Juan Yepez
2B
Thomas Saggese
Thomas Saggese
Anyelo Encarnacion
Nolan Gorman
SS
JJ Wetherholt
Masyn Winn
Masyn Winn
Masyn Winn
3B
César Prieto
Noah Mendlinger
Samil De La Rosa
Jordan Walker
COF
Won-Bin Cho
Won-Bin Cho
Jordan Walker
Lars Nootbaar
COF
Chase Davis
Chase Davis
Alec Burleson
Alec Burleson
CF
Victor Scott
Victor Scott
Joshua Baez
Joshua Baez
LHS
Quinn Mathews
Cooper Hjerpe
Matthew Liberatore
M. Liberatore
RHS
Tink Hence
Tink Hence
Tink Hence
Michael McGreevy
LHR
none
none
Zack Thompson
none
RHR
Zack Showalter
Edwin Nuñez
Freddy Pacheco
Tink Hence
Eight players left the 2025 All-Prospect Team, not nine, because there was no left-handed reliever on last year’s Top 50. Those eight departed in just two ways. Two, Thomas Saggese and Victor Scott, graduated to the majors, the year after just one All-Prospect Team member moved up, Masyn Winn.
The other five were simply passed by better prospects at their respective positions.
At catcher, there is the fourth name in four years. For 2026, Rodriguez replaces Jimmy Crooks, though the latter is still a Top 10 prospect. The same thing happened the year before, as Crooks took the place held by Leonardo Bernal. For the three years prior to that, Ivan Herrera was the top-ranked backstop.
At first base, Ortiz replaced Josh Kross, who is still in the 2026 Top 50.
2025 team members in the outfield, Chase Davis and Won-Bin Cho, did not repeat in 2026. Davis remains on the new Top 50, though ranked much lower, but Cho dropped off completely.
Among pitchers, Doyle replaced Quinn Mathews as the top left-handed starter and right-handed reliever Gastelum passed Zack Showalter, with the latter no longer ranked.
The annual highest turnover position is third base with Jesus Baez the sixth new choice in the last six years.
Age and experience – 2022-2026
All-Prospect Team
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
Average age
21.9
22.4
21.7
21.4
20.9
Average experience
AA
AA
AA
AA
AA
At an average age of 21.9 years on January 1, 2026, the 2026 All-Prospect Team is half a year younger than the 2025 group. However, it is still the second oldest group since 2020 (22.3).
This is the fourth All-Prospect Team in the last five to average under 22 years of age after eight straight years of averaging older than 22.
Though this is nothing against them, the 26-year-old second baseman Prieto and the pair of 24-year-olds Church and Gastelum pulled up the All-Prospect Team average age for 2026. At the other end of the age spectrum are Mitchell and Rodriguez at 18.
The level of play reached by the average All-Prospect Team member is Double-A, same as last four years. However, the 2026 group is below the Double-A line, and just a bit less experienced than the 2025 group.
Depth at the full season levels is showing with both rookie ball teams shut out of the All-Prospect Team for the third straight season. However, this is done with an asterisk, as though Mitchell has yet to play, his likely 2026 professional debut will be in the Florida Complex League.
For more
As always, our top prospect lists and associated analysis articles from each of the last 20 years can be accessed via “PROSPECT RANKINGS” permanently displayed on the red menu bar on the left side of The Cardinal Nation homepage, just underneath the site logo.
To reference our entire list of Top 50 Cardinals prospects for 2026 and read about each individual player, see the article below.
In upcoming articles in this series, we dig into the top prospects by level of play and their expected MLB debuts. Also coming are the players who just missed the personal Top 50s of Brian Walton and Kyle Reis, plus their 2026 deep sleeper picks.
As always, join the daily discussion about each article at The Cardinal Nation’s message boards.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
On January 5, the Cardinals signed pitcher Bruce Zimmermann to a minor league contract. The 30-year-old left-hander has been assigned to Triple-A Memphis, per MiLB.com.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
In our annual self-audit, we revisit our best and worst calls from The Cardinal Nation’s St. Louis Cardinals Top Prospect rankings for 2025, completed last January.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
In this installment of The Cardinal Nation 2026 Top 50 Prospect List series of analysis articles, we delve into the various reasons 22 players dropped off our rankings of the best and brightest St. Louis Cardinals prospects from last year to this.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
The Cardinal Nation’s annual series breaking down the Top 50 prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals system continues with those who entered the rankings for 2026. A variety of routes were taken by the 25 new members with the trade market tied with the draft as the top supplier.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
Since 2008, I have tracked St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up autograph prices. The just-for-fun exercise looks at the comparative fan popularity of the various players, currently and in the past, as gauged by the organization.
January 9 updates
In the four weeks since this initial post on December 12, the Cardinals have added five individuals to the paid autograph group. They are three newly acquired pitchers, Dustin May, Hunter Dobbins and Richard Fitts, plus two alums, Matt Adams and Jeff Suppan. According to my records, this may be Suppan’s first trip back since he was an active player.
(Update to the update: On X, reader Greg Beckman reports that Suppan signed at WWU two years ago. I missed that. Sorry for the oversight.)
At this point, the only autographs sold out are Liam Doyle, JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn.
Team additions
Autograph
Dustin May
$35
Hunter Dobbins
$25
Richard Fitts
$25
Alumni additions
Autograph
Last
Matt Adams
$20
2025
Jeff Suppan
$30
?
In addition, the free autograph subjects have been announced, with tickets to be made available at noon on Friday, January 9. They are as follows:
Greg Amsinger
Polo Ascensio
Alan and Andy Benes
Chaim Bloom
Chip Caray
Mike Claiborne
John Costello
Bernard Gilkey
Ricky Horton
Bengie Molina
Kerry Robinson
John Rooney
Todd Worrell
This count of individuals is consistent with recent years, but with some changes. For the first time since 2016, neither of the DeWitts will be signing for fans. Of course, Chaim Bloom replaces John Mozeliak for the first time.
Another change is that the free autograph group is much less former player-centric and much more team broadcaster centric.
Ideally, all signings will sell out at the highest prices the market will bear. After all, the annual event is a fund-raiser for Cardinals Care, which does so much to help the community, so the needy are the winners.
The Winter Warm-Up fan event is held each January over Martin Luther King weekend. New for 2026 is the event being condensed from three days to two. The 2026 dates are Saturday, January 17 and Sunday, January 18 with the event being held at Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village.
Winter Warm-Up fan lineup pre-opening (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
At the time of the initial announcement, on Wednesday, December 10, 34 individuals from the team’s past and present were scheduled to sign for a fee, plus photos of two others will be available for purchase. Signers include 2006 World Series Champions including So Taguchi, David Eckstein, Aaron Miles and Scott Spiezio.
Also available for the first time are photo sessions with Alec Burleson and his 2025 Silver Slugger Award, and Masyn Winn with his Gold Glove Award.
Autograph tickets will go on sale Monday, December 15 at noon CT at cardinals.com/wwu.
The groupings below are mine, but the prices come from the Cardinals. The “Change” column represents a general comparison to those individuals who had listed prices in 2025 or prior as well.
As you will see below, prices have been tightened toward the middle. The high end is lower in price than before but there are also no more $10 or $15 bargains. The sweet spot is a very reasonable $25, with plenty of relatively inexpensive autographs available.
The top dog
Top dog (1)
Autograph
Change
Masyn Winn
$75 or GG photo
A year after four players’ photos topped the price list at $75, the “group” is down to one – Winn. Jordan Walker’s price dropped for 2026, while neither Lars Nootbaar nor Brendan Donovan are on the initial list to attend.
No one else has ascended to this top price tier.
Mid-tier picks
Mid-tier picks (6)
Autograph
Change
Alec Burleson
$50 or SS photo
up from $40
Jordan Walker
$40
down from $75
Ivan Herrera
$40
up from $15
Victor Scott
$40
up from $20
Matthew Liberatore
$35
up from $25
Michael McGreevy
$30
up from $15
After Winn, prices for autographs from current Cardinals drop off quickly to Burleson at $50, then to just three players at $40 and one each at $35 and $30.
Year-to-year prices are up for five of the six in this grouping, though given they are younger players, that is not surprising. Only Ivan Herrera ($15 to $40) has a major increase.
Value picks
With 13 individuals – players and coaches – in this group, all at $25, there are plenty of diverse choices.
Value picks (13)
Autograph
Change
Nathan Church
$25
Jimmy Crooks
$25
up from $10
Daniel Descalso
$25
Jose Fermin
$25
up from $15
Gordon Graceffo
$25
up from $10 in 2024
Andre Granillo
$25
Jon Jay
$25
Kyle Leahy
$25
up from $15
Oliver Marmol
$25
down from $30
Riley O’Brien
$25
up from $15
Andre Pallante
$25
up from $20
Yohel Pozo
$25
Thomas Saggese
$25
up from $20
As members of the 40-man roster (except coaches Daniel Descalso, Jon Jay and Oliver Marmol), these players all have some MLB experience and are looking for more.
Top prospects
Top prospects (7)
Autograph
Change/note
Leonardo Bernal
$30
40-man roster
Liam Doyle
$30
JJ Wetherholt
$30
Joshua Baez
$20
40-man roster
Blaze Jordan
$20
Quinn Mathews
$20
up from $10
Brycen Mautz
$20
40-man roster
Three in this group of seven yet to make their MLB debuts have secured a 40-man roster spot and you can bet the other four want the same thing.
Signatures from several, including the Cardinals’ last two first-round draft picks, JJ Wetherholt and Liam Doyle, cost $30, which is more than the manager and all the other value picks above. Wetherholt and lefty Brycen Mautz are the organization’s Player and Pitcher of the Year for 2025.
Former Cardinals
Hall of Famers (1)
Autograph
Last
Ozzie Smith
$50 photo
2025
Alumni (8)
Autograph
Last
So Taguchi
$75
?
David Eckstein
$60
2024
David Freese
$60
2024
Aaron Miles
$30
2008
Scott Spiezio
$30
2008
Randy Flores
$25, free sign prior
2024
Al Hrabosky
$25 photo, free sign prior
2025
Brad Thompson
$25, free sign prior
2025
As of now, no MLB Hall of Famers will attend, though Ozzie Smith signed photographs will be on sale.
As noted above, several of the 2006 Cardinals returning spice up this list. Scott Spiezio and Aaron Miles may not have been back since 2008 and I have no records of a So Taguchi sighting since I started tracking these prices. Apparently, scarcity let to his $75 price, tied for Winn for the highest at the 2026 event.
Among the missing
40-man missing (20)
2025
Note
Nolan Arenado
$150 in 2023
missed 2024/5
Willson Contreras
$75
Brendan Donovan
$75
Lars Nootbaar
$75
rehab?
Nolan Gorman
$50 in 2024
missed 2025
Pedro Pages
$25
JoJo Romero
$15 in 2024
missed 2025
Ryan Fernandez
$15
Tink Hence
$15
Matt Koperniak
$15
Chris Roycroft
$15
Cesar Prieto
winter ball?
Nick Raquet
Matt Svanson
missed 2025
Bryan Torres
winter ball?
Tekoah Roby
rehab?
Cooper Hjerpe
rehab?
Richard Fitts
new acquisition
Zak Kent
new acquisition
Matt Pushard
new acquisition
I think this may be the first time ever that half of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster are not planning to attend, at least at this time. Some of the names are new additions to the team, so their names not being listed is understandable.
On the other hand, a half-dozen of the team’s most prominent players are among the missing. Not coincidentally, in an offseason during which significant roster changes are expected, trade rumors swirl around many of them. Whether all this is resolved by January 17 is anyone’s guess.
Some or all could still join the 2026 WWU roster later. The most obvious players missing are Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman.
Moved on
Nine members of the 40-man roster in January 2025 who signed autographs at WWU last year are no longer in the organization.
Moved on (9)
2025
Ryan Helsley
$50
Sonny Gray
$40
Eric Fedde
$30
Miles Mikolas
$30
Luken Baker
$25
Steven Matz
$20
Michael Siani
$20
Ryan Loutos
$15
Drew Rom
$15
In addition, the quantity of Cardinals alumni signing for a fee has dropped, with seven names absent from 2025.
StL HOFers (1)
2025
Tony La Russa
$50
Alumni not back (6)
2025
Jason Isringhausen
$35 photo
Ray Lankford
$35 photo
Vince Coleman
$20 photo
Matt Adams
$20
Trevor Rosenthal
$20
Todd Stottlemyre
$20
Freebies
Typically, up to two dozen former players and notables sign for free during WWU. When those names are announced, this article will be updated with that information. These tickets will be made available after the New Year.
In conclusion
The 29th annual Winter Warm-Up, now a two-day event, will take place on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend; Saturday and Sunday, January 17-18, 2026. Two-day event passes are already on sale for $52.
Each individual typically signs for just one or two hours on one of the two days only, so check the detailed event schedule and any restrictions and limits carefully before buying your tickets.
Those who purchase Winter Warm-Up tickets may also receive a tour of the Cardinals Clubhouse and admission to the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, plus many other perks.
For full WWU information, including signing schedules and ticket ordering, follow this link.
Related event
Many of the event participants also appear at the 66th annual St. Louis Baseball Writers’ Dinner, traditionally held on WWU Sunday night, which is January 18 this year. Tickets are $300 and $200. Details here.
Now 20% off – 2025 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its eighth year. It includes 256 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or spiral-bound printed book copy today, with the latter on closeout for 20% off!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
Subscribe to The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
On Thursday, January 8, the St. Louis Cardinals came to terms with all seven arbitration eligible players. They are Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore, Lars Nootbaar, Andrew Pallante and JoJo Romero. As a result, they avoid the hearing process to set their 2026 salaries.
Earlier, the team non-tendered two other eligibles, John King and Jorge Alcala, making them free agents.
The following table provides all relevant details, including 2025 salaries, current service time, 2026 salary estimates per MLB Trade Rumors, filing amounts for player and club if they two sides could not agree (not applicable this year), 2026 actual salaries (with the source identified) and the percentage of year-to-year salary increase for the player.
The players are listed from most to least service time. Romero is in his third and final year of arbitration. Nootbaar, Donovan and Pallante are in year two and the other three are first timers.
Service
25-26
Player
2025
(yr.days)
2026 est.
Plyr file
Club file
2026 actual
incr. %
Romero
$2.26 MM
5.045
$4.40 MM
$4.26 MM*
188%
Nootbaar
$2.95 MM
4.076
$5.70 MM
$5.25 MM#
178%
Donovan
$2.85 MM
4.000
$5.40 MM
$5.80 MM*
204%
Pallante
$2.10 MM
3.145
$3.40 MM
$4.00 MM#
190%
Gorman
$0.79 MM
3.114
$2.90 MM
$2.655 MM%
336%
Burleson
$0.78 MM
3.029
$3.50 MM
$3.30 MM%
423%
Liberatore
$0.78 MM
2.144 (Super 2)
$2.80 MM
$2.26 MM*
290%
Total
$12.51 MM
$28.10 MM
$27.53 MM
259%
Source
* Derrick Goold
average
# Robert Murray
% Katie Woo
As one would expect, the least experienced players received the largest year-to-year percentage increases, since they entered the program for the first time. Burleson was tops at 423%, followed by Gorman at 336%. The lowest percentage increase was Nootbaar at 178% with the average increase across the seven a robust 259%.
It sure beats the inflation rate!
For the team, the cost of keeping the seven grew from $12.5 million in 2025 to $27.5 million in 2026.
For roster and player information
The team rosters here at The Cardinal Nation are kept up to date daily. To access them, click on “ROSTERS/PLAYERS/MOVES” located on the red menu bar on the left of the page beneath The Cardinal Nation site logo.
To see the Cardinals’ entire system by level and position on one page along with every player transaction for every club all year long, check out the always current Roster Matrix at The Cardinal Nation. It is kept updated during the offseason and is accessible from the same menu as team rosters.
Now 20% off – 2025 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its eighth year. It includes 256 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or spiral-bound printed book copy today, with the latter on closeout for 20% off!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system, including access to every article in our 2026 Top Cardinals Prospects series.
Continuing the analysis phase of The Cardinal Nation’s St. Louis Cardinals Top 50 Prospects series is a look at some of the most notable ranking changes from 2025 to 2026 – up and down, on and off.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
Recapping The Cardinal Nation’s St. Louis Cardinals Top 50 prospects for 2026, with Kyle Reis’s and Brian Walton’s individual votes, how each prospect ranked in prior years and how the list’s positional mix has shifted sharply toward pitching.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
photo: Walt Jocketty (Frank Victores/USA TODAY Sports)
In our 20th annual feature, we remember 14 former St. Louis Cardinals who passed away during the last year as well as the last three St. Louis Browns.
The calendar change to the New Year means it is time to once again remember members of the St. Louis Cardinals community who passed away during the prior 12 months.
Among those to have left us during 2025 are well known names including Cardinals Hall of Fame general manager Walt Jocketty and Ford Frick Award winner Bob Uecker. Others are so obscure they played in just a handful of games, but all 14 are former St. Louis Cardinals who passed away this past year.
The many former Cardinals still with us include 1954 pitcher Bill Greason, the team’s oldest living former player. The right-hander celebrated his 101st birthday on September 3rd and as of March 2025 is also MLB’s oldest living former player.
In our 20th annual feature, a short memory of each of the 14 follows. We conclude with a final look at the St. Louis Browns, unfortunately.
2025 Cardinals deaths
Bob Uecker
January 16, Bob Uecker, age 90
Fairly anonymous as a player, the catcher was a reserve on the 1964 World Champion Cardinals.
The Milwaukee native returned home and became a legendary broadcaster/comedian/actor beloved across the country. Honored with the nickname “Mr. Baseball”, Uecker received the Ford Frick Award for broadcasting from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
The right-handed knuckleballer concluded his 15-year Major League career with six games in relief for the 1973 Cardinals, posting a 1.29 ERA. Fisher was an All-Star with the 1965 White Sox, and at the time of his retirement, led the American League in career relief appearances with 593.
Carl Warwick
April 5, Carl Warwick, age 88
Warwick was a hero off the bench in the 1964 World Series with a record-tying three pinch hits that were key in two of the Cardinals’ victories over the New York Yankees in seven games.
Though the outfielder first came up with the 1961 Dodgers, Warwick appeared in parts of four seasons in two stints with the Cardinals – 1961, 1962, 1964 and 1965. The Dallas, Texas native also played for Houston, Baltimore and the Cubs.
April 8, Octavio Dotel, age 41
The 15-year MLB journeyman was part of St. Louis 2011 World Series championship team after his acquisition at the trade deadline. In 29 games out of St. Louis’ bullpen, Dotel logged a 3.65 ERA with 32 strikeouts, three wins and two saves.
He lost his life at the young age of 41 due to a tragic roof collapse at a Dominican Republic nightclub.
April 25, Walt Jocketty, age 74
As the first general manager of the DeWitt era Cardinals, Jocketty’s front office drafted future Hall of Famers Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, acquired Adam Wainwright in trade and hired future Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa. Jocketty also brought Cardinal Hall of Famers Mark McGwire, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, Jason Isringhausen and Chris Carpenter to St. Louis.
Jocketty’s resume includes one World Series title, two NL Pennants and six NL Central Division titles. He also was named Executive of the Year three times, with St. Louis in 2000 and 2004, and again with the Cincinnati Reds, his post-Cardinals employer. He was with St. Louis from 1994 through 2007.
Jocketty left us after a long illness in his Arizona home. It was prior to his induction into the Cardinals Hall of Fame last summer, but he was aware of the honor before his passing.
The utilityman from Los Angeles joined St. Louis in 1973, batting .228 and appearing at six different defensive positions.
Over his six-year MLB career, Harris played in 579 games with a .217 average. After a stint in Japan, Harris concluded his playing days with the 1984 Triple-A Louisville Redbirds.
Johnny O’Brien
June 13, Johnny O’Brien, age 94
A middle infielder who also pitched in relief upon occasion, O’Brien and his twin brother Eddie were bonus babies signed by Branch Rickey and the Pirates in 1953. Johnny joined the Cardinals in a 1958 mid-season trade but after being dropped from the roster, he was claimed by the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft. Mostly used as a pinch runner by St. Louis, O’Brien appeared in 12 games and scored three runs but went 0-for-3 with a walk at the plate.
In an interesting sideline, O’Brien’s grandson, Riley, currently pitches for the Cardinals.
Ron Taylor
June 16, Ron Taylor, age 87
Taylor was a two-time World Series-winning reliever, first with the 1964 Cardinals, saving a game in the Series. He was a hero for the 1969 Mets and received his second ring. The left-hander made 491 career appearances over 11 seasons for five teams.
Following his playing days, Taylor became a doctor, serving as the team physician of the Toronto Blue Jays starting in 1979 and continuing for more than 30 years. He passed away after a long illness.
June 24, Diego Segui, age 87
Segui, a native of Cuba, played 15 seasons in the majors. That included 1972 and 1973 with the Cardinals, during which he made 98 appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 2.88 ERA.
Segui’s MLB career record is 92-111 with 71 saves, a 3.81 ERA, 786 walks and 1,298 strikeouts in 1,807 2/3 innings in 639 regular-season games, including 171 starts.
Ed Mickelson
June 27, Ed Mickelson, age 98
A former Washington University standout, Mickelson’s big-league career consisted of just 18 games from 1950-57 — five for the Cardinals, seven for the Browns, and six for the Chicago Cubs. He was perhaps best known for driving in the final run in Browns history in September 1953.
At the time of his passing, Mickelson was the third oldest living major leaguer and the last living person to play for both St. Louis teams.
June 28, Dave Parker, age 74
“The Cobra” was arguably the most feared hitter in baseball in the 1970s for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2025, Parker was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but he passed away a month before the ceremony.
Parker is listed here because he served as the hitting coach of the 1998 Cardinals under Tony La Russa.
August 24, Marc Hill, age 73
The Cardinals drafted Hill out of his Ellsbury, Missouri high school in 1970. Working his way through the system, he made his St. Louis debut in September 1973. Hill split his 1974 between the Cardinals and Triple-A Tulsa before being traded that winter to the Giants, where he enjoyed his greatest MLB success. With St. Louis, he batted .208 in 11 games. Hill later backed up Carlton Fisk with the White Sox and managed in the minor leagues for several organizations.
August 28, Daryl Patterson, age 81
The right-handed pitcher and five-year MLB veteran made two starts and 11 relief appearances in 1971’s second half after joining the Cardinals in a cash deal with Oakland. Patterson had a 4.39 ERA in his only partial season with St. Louis.
George Altman
November 24, George Altman, age 92
The outfielder played in the Negro Leagues in 1955 before spending nine years in the majors and another eight in Japan, where he swatted 205 home runs before retiring at the age of 42.
Altman was a two-time National League All-Star (1961 and 1962) with the Cubs before he was traded to St. Louis prior to the 1963 season. In his one season as a Cardinal which was partially slowed by injuries, Altman hit .274 with nine home runs and 47 RBI in 135 games.
Altman died peacefully in his sleep just eight days after his wife passed.
The final memory of the Browns
A total of 764 men once played for the team that has been the Baltimore Orioles since 1954.
The count of living former St. Louis Browns is down to zero with the 2025 deaths of the final three. On March 5, 98-year-old Frank Saucier passed, followed by the June 27 death of Ed Mickelson, age 98, noted above.
The last of the Browns passed on July 3, 97-year-old Billy Hunter. He was an All-Star as a rookie with the Browns in 1953, their final season in St. Louis. RIP to Billy, who went on to be a longtime coach for the Orioles, and to the other 16 men remembered in this article.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
photo: Bill DeWitt III, Bill DeWitt Jr., John Mozeliak, Chaim Bloom (FanDuel Sports Midwest)
The Cardinal Nation’s annual review of the top stories affecting the St. Louis Cardinals during the prior calendar year is back for 2025, its 21st year. The Top Stories of the Year are based on my view of the importance of the key events surrounding the team during the prior 12 months.
As a refresher, a link to the top stories of each year from 2005 through 2024 can always be found via “STORIES OF THE YEAR”, located on the red bar on the left side of the page, in the list directly underneath the site logo.
Also, join the discussion about this series at The Cardinal Nation’s free forum.
The Cardinal Nation’s Top 10 Stories of 2025
Many of the top stories of 2025 are about change, specifically people leaving the organization and others coming in, which is an understandable by-product from a team that has uncharacteristically missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
Because 2025’s outcome on the field was not a surprise, I am breaking with tradition and not making it the number one story. Sadly, it seemed clear from the start that the 2025 Cardinals were not a division title contender.
Aftershocks from St. Louis’ continuing struggles appear throughout our 2025 Top 10 Cardinals stories, but not all are negative.
No trifecta in the draft lottery
The team’s recent poor on-field results in positives in several areas, one of which is helping to restock the farm system. St. Louis’ ugly 71-win 2023 season put the Cardinals squarely in the 2024 Draft Lottery, from which they received the seventh overall selection. The club used the pick on University of West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt.
In 2025, with the fifth overall pick gained via the lottery, the Cardinals chose University of Tennessee left-hander Liam Doyle. Wetherholt and Doyle are currently the top two prospects in the system.
However, for 2026, the Cardinals’ good fortune ran out. Back in the lottery, held in December 2025, the Cardinals fared poorly this time, having to settle with the number 13 selection.
It wasn’t all bad, though. Due to their declining economic status relatively, St. Louis received another Competitive Balance pick for 2026, this time between the first and second rounds. The Cardinals are certainly not expected to sign a qualifying offer free agent this winter, so they should again have 21 selections in the 2026 draft’s 20 rounds, including four picks in the first 90 overall.
Rob Cerfolio (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Player development investment continues
The Cardinals have reaffirmed their intent to increase investment in player development and performance as their primary vehicle to regain prominence. In late 2024, an entirely new player development senior leadership group took over, led by Assistant General Manager Rob Cerfolio, Farm Director Larry Day and Director of Performance Carl Kochan. At least eight new positions were created.
With the announcement of the 2026 coaches and staff, Cerfolio’s group is expanding by more than a dozen additional new positions, including new coordinators and additional coaching positions at the affiliate level.
Many spots were filled by outside hires though some internal promotions occurred, as well. Some positions will be higher profile than others, but each will play a role in developing the next wave of major leaguers.
The latter is the most important objective, but takes time. However, an interim measure indicates progress is being made. Geoff Pontes of Baseball America grades the Cardinals farm system as the “Most Improved” in baseball during 2025. This is attributed to multiple factors including high potential players newly drafted and acquired, breakouts by returning players and an improved development structure.
BA has not yet released its initial 2026 farm system rankings, but at midseason 2025, the Cardinals were in the middle of the pack, at 14th, improved from 18th last February.
More money trouble on the TV side
After an earlier bankruptcy, Main Street Sports Group is in trouble again. The rightsholder for Cardinals television broadcasts under the FanDuel Sports Network branding, along with 28 other professional teams in three major sports, is trying to sell a majority stake in the business. Without an influx of new funds, a shutdown is likely by spring.
The new problems came to light in part as Main Street missed a scheduled payment to the Cardinals in late December, per media reports. Prior to that, FanDuel Sports Midwest disclosed Cardinals coverage changes planned for 2026 that appeared to be focused on cost-cutting.
If Main Street is unable to sell and instead ceases operations, broadcast rights would revert to the teams and leagues. After an earlier round by Main Street to cut less profitable team rights in 2023, MLB established infrastructure to produce telecasts on behalf of teams. This has moved to ESPN for 2026, which could also pick up the Cardinals and five other MLB clubs whose rights are currently held by Main Street. The Cardinals are also exploring self-production options.
Though the situation is uncertain, it is expected that fans will be able to watch the Cardinals in 2026. Where and at what price are still unknowns, however.
Herrera to catch again
The twisted post-Yadier Molina journey for Cardinals catching plans are aimed in yet another direction. As 25-year-old Ivan Herrera has solidified his offensive value, his defensive home is being re-evaluated.
After Herrera’s difficulties throwing out basestealers were taken advantage of by opponents, the Cardinals stopped playing him behind the plate in mid-June. Other than a strange four-game dalliance in left field, Herrera was restricted to designated hitter duties for the remainder of the 2025 season.
It did not hurt his offense as Herrera’s 136 OPS+ was highest on the team and his 19 home runs were the most by a Cardinal returning for 2026.
Following the season, Herrera underwent surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow. The Cardinals say they intend to play him behind the plate at least part-time in 2026. Those competing for playing time are expected to include Pedro Pages, Jimmy Crooks and Yohel Pozo.
Herrera’s ability (or inability) to catch regularly will be crucial to enabling the Cardinals to clear up a catching logjam that currently includes five backstops on the 40-man roster. It has been an ok problem to have short-term, but clarity is needed for the long haul.
Oliver Marmol (Steve Mitchell/Imagn)
Marmol’s lame duck status may change
The facts state that in his last three years as the manager of the Cardinals, Oliver Marmol’s team missed the playoffs all three times. Trying to draw a cause-and-effect relationship is where fans differ.
Supporters point to the 93-win division title 2022 season as proof that the now-39-year-old can get the job done. Detractors blame the manager in varying degrees for the more difficult recent history. Supporters point to a decline in player talent levels, and so on.
In the spring of year three of his initial three-year contract (2024), Marmol signed a two-year extension covering 2025 and 2026.
The combination of the recent downturn of the team and Marmol again heading into his final year under contract in 2026 has led to speculation about his future.
Upon taking over in October, new President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom quickly confirmed that Marmol will return in 2026. Bloom also said that though the two sides had not yet begun talks about an extension, he expected they would do so during the current off-season.
With the team shedding salary and refocusing on player development, a return to the old glory days is not likely for the next few seasons. Marmol may remain at the helm at least through this phase.
(Baseball Reference)
Another losing year in 2025
As revenues dipped with the team fortunes on the field and their television contract fell in value, the Cardinals disclosed plans to cut their big-league player payroll. The new plan for 2025 was to focus on their younger players. However, they got caught in the middle, unable to unload the costly contract of veteran Nolan Arenado. Other expensive Cardinals, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, chose to stay and their no-trade protection confirmed their preference.
Further, a pair of former first-round selections who initially experienced major league success only to backslide in 2024 did not substantially rebound in 2025. Of course, I am referring to infielder Nolan Gorman and outfielder Jordan Walker.
At the deadline, with the season heading nowhere, the Cardinals traded away impending free agents Steven Matz, Phil Maton and Ryan Helsley for prospects.
Others stepped up, including Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson and Michael McGreevy, but there wasn’t enough pitching or offense to get the 2025 Cardinals past 78 wins. That was five fewer victories than in 2024, but it kept them out of last place.
The 2025 team finished 19 games out of first, but only seven out of the division cellar. Fan apathy reached depths not experienced in the DeWitt decades.
At 2.25 million in announced attendance, averaging less than 28,000 per game, the 2025 Cardinals ranked a dismal and disappointing 11th in the National League and 19th in MLB. The actual buns in seats were considerably less, which accelerated the next few stories – clearing out expensive contracts, remaking the roster and restocking the farm system.
Trades not made – yet
Though the calendar year is almost over, the off-season baseball calendar is not.
So far, this winter, second baseman Brendan Donovan has been the subject of some of the most frequent trade rumors in the Hot Stove League. To a bit of a lesser extent, reliever and second half 2025 closer JoJo Romero is also in demand, according to the rumor mill.
Nolan Arenado probably wishes there were more rumors about him, and momentum for trading Lars Nootbaar was quashed when it was disclosed that his post-surgery rehab from heel surgery may continue into the 2026 regular season.
The common thread is that these players have one or more seasons of team cost control ahead (though in Arenado’s case, the cost outweighs his likely production). That makes them more appealing to potential buyers. It also makes the asking price higher. Bloom has never said they aren’t available, but that the offer would have to be exceptional.
Reportedly over half the MLB teams have reached out to Bloom, just about Donovan. That had to facilitate further conversations about others, as well.
It won’t make or break the Cardinals finances either way, so perhaps none of the players in the rumor mill will be traded, with Arenado both the most urgent and most difficult to move. But if they are, the return may help rebuild the pitching pipeline.
Willson to Boston
I rank this story third after Sonny Gray only because it came later and as such, was slightly less surprising. By the time December 21st came around, it was clear that the Cardinals were in full sell mode. It was only a matter of time before other shoes dropped.
So, the fact that Willson Contreras was traded for three pitchers seemed to be the next page in Bloom’s playbook. But what was unexpected is that his destination was the same as Gray’s – Bloom’s former employer, the Boston Red Sox.
Contreras was three years into his five-year contract signed as a catcher to replace future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina. Early on, some pitchers did not like his work behind the plate, leading to public embarrassment for the team and the player. An aborted move to left field (that they later clumsily tried again with Herrera) added to the confusion before Contreras settled in at first base following the departure of Paul Goldschmidt.
Being a consistent force with the bat meant Contreras was desirable to other teams, even more so after former Mets star Pete Alonso came off the market. Still, the perceived value of Contreras’ remaining contract (plus their desire to maximize the player return) meant the Cardinals had to include $8 million in the trade.
From Boston, the Cardinals again received pitching. One is an MLB-experienced starter in Hunter Dobbins plus a pair of prospects, Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita. Dobbins has five years of team control before free agency.
2025 standout Alec Burleson seems most likely to assume Contreras’ former job at first base. However, it is unclear where Contreras’ offensive replacement will come from as he averaged a consistent 2.8 bWAR per season as a Cardinal.
End of the Gray Era
Like with Contreras, Sonny Gray’s contract gave him no-trade protection. Also, like Contreras, prior to the 2025 season, Gray said he preferred to remain a Cardinal.
That stance changed after another year of no-playoff baseball and dwindling crowds in St. Louis, not to mention the likelihood that the 35-year-old Gray could see the end of his career down the road.
Bloom struck quickly. In a trade that was formalized two days before Thanksgiving, Gray and $20 million cash headed to Boston for MLB starting pitcher Richard Fitts and prospect Brandon Clarke plus cash or a player to be named later.
Bloom’s version of the rebuild of the Cardinals started with a bang as he traded his best pitcher, the team’s ace. For ownership, this was primarily about clearing payroll, most of which will not be redeployed in the next year or two. But at least Bloom was able to secure useful players in return. Fitts should step into the rotation, but he will not provide similar results to Gray.
Mozeliak retires, Bloom takes over
After the 2024 season, Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak confirmed his intention to step down following the 2025 season. And that is what he did. The transition indicated that after focusing on player development in 2025, special assistant Chaim Bloom would take over for Mozeliak, on a five-year contract.
Chaim Bloom (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The general manager position will remain open for the second consecutive year, with Bloom’s hands firmly on the controls heading into 2026.
The need for change had been brewing for multiple years. As homegrown stars Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols and Adam Wainwright reached the end of their long and productive MLB careers and retired as Cardinals, replacements with that kind of potential impact were nowhere to be found in the system.
In recent years, the Cardinals acquired a pair of celebrated corner infielders to anchor the lineup, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. They were joined by free agent pitcher Sonny Gray and catcher Willson Contreras as the club tried to keep up by acquiring expensive veterans.
In the background, the minor league system fell behind as spending and focus was diverted upward and important draft picks and international spending power were forfeited to sign the MLB free agents. The farm system was no longer producing the necessary pitching while several high-profile prospect hitters did not produce as hoped.
Mozeliak’s approach only delayed the inevitable as the Cardinals learned the roster was no longer deep enough to support consistent contention to win the division, let alone contend for the World Series. Fans grew weary of “be patient” messaging, staying home in increasing numbers.
Hence, the addition of Bloom to refocus on building a stronger farm system. The goal is to always have a supply of MLB-ready (and cost-effective) players to call upon. This new-old path is intended to restore the Cardinals player pipeline to prominence and therefore the big-league team, as well.
The organization is betting its future on it.
John Mozeliak (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
But before we move the Mozeliak era to a chapter in the history books, let’s give the man his due.
Since 2007, Mozeliak served as the Cardinals general manager and president of baseball operations. He first joined the organization in 1995, hired by his GM predecessor, Walt Jocketty and held various jobs including scouting director and assistant GM.
Mozeliak’s tenure on top included 10 postseason berths, two National League pennants, and the 2011 World Series championship. The Cardinals posted a franchise-record 15 consecutive winning seasons from 2008 through 2022, and St. Louis was the winningest team in the NL during that decade and a half heyday. Mozeliak is sure to become a Cardinals team Hall of Famer one day.
But all good things come to an end as Mozeliak walked out the front door following the 2025 season. Best wishes wherever his future takes him.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
photo: Jared Shuster (Tommy Gilligan/Imagn Images)
The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a minor league contract with pitcher Jared Shuster, as first reported by national writer Jon Morosi on Monday morning. The deal includes a non-roster invitation to big-league spring training camp.
Source: LHP Jared Shuster has agreed to a minor league contract with the Cardinals that includes an invitation to @MLB spring training.
With the Cardinals listening to trade offers for multiple veterans, Shuster has a good chance to make the Opening Day roster.
Atlanta’s first-round draft pick in 2020, taken 25th overall from Wake Forest, made the Braves’ major league rotation coming out of 2023 spring camp. However, the 6-foot-3 lefty was sent down and recalled five times that season. In between, he made 11 starts for Atlanta with a 5.81 ERA.
That November, Shuster was sent to the White Sox in a multi-player trade, headlined by Aaron Bummer and Mike Soroka.
In 2024, Shuster was optioned out three more times but also made 39 appearances for Chicago, primarily in relief. He posted a 4.30 ERA.
2025 brought many more up to Chicago and down to Triple-A moves for Shuster. He threw in just 12 games for the Pale Hose, with an ERA of 8.04, but a FIP of 2.94. The latter didn’t save him, as in mid-August, he was placed on outright waivers.
The A’s claimed him, but he did not return to the majors with them. That was likely due to his 8.53 ERA (5.55 FIP) in 12 2/3 innings over 10 appearances with their Triple-A affiliate. Shuster walked seven, same as his strikeout total.
Over parts of three MLB seasons, the 27-year-old has appeared in 62 games with a 5.27 ERA. Shuster is a pitch-to-contact guy with a low-90’s fastball with a slider and changeup that leave little margin for error. His career strikeout rate is just 15.5% against a walk rate of 10.1%.
Brian Walton’s take
As the Cardinals roster is currently constructed, Jo Jo Romero, rumored to be a trade candidate, is the only dependable left-hander in the bullpen. The only other 40-man lefty is unproven Nick Raquet.
Hence, it makes sense to take a shot at Shuster with a low-risk minor league contract.
Having said that, I would stop short of projecting him to make the Cardinals Opening Day roster in 2026 as Morosi suggested. Many more transactions are likely ahead for Chaim Bloom and company in this busy offseason, hopefully to build additional pitching depth.
In fact, later on Monday, during a Zoom call to discuss the Willson Contreras trade, Bloom restated that “adding experience to the bullpen” is one of his remaining offseason priorities.
If anyone is expecting miracles from Shuster because he is a former first-rounder, his recent history suggests you should your dial down your expectations.
Despite having a thin left-handed relief corps like the Cardinals, the Athletics removed Shuster from their 40-man in November. This time through outright waivers, he went unclaimed by the other 29 organizations. With Shuster off the roster, the A’s could have kept him in Triple-A for 2026 if they chose. Instead, they turned around and released him earlier this month.
Shuster used his three minor league options in 2023, 2024 and 2025, so even if he makes his way onto St. Louis’ 40-man roster, he won’t be able to ride the I-55 Shuttle in 2026.
Just think of this as one of many depth moves and not as a Romero replacement and all should be good.
For roster and player information
The team rosters here at The Cardinal Nation are kept up to date daily. To access them, click on “ROSTERS/PLAYERS/MOVES” located on the red menu bar on the left of the page beneath The Cardinal Nation site logo.
To see the Cardinals’ entire system by level and position on one page along with every player transaction for every club all year long, check out the always current Roster Matrix at The Cardinal Nation. It is kept updated during the offseason and is accessible from the same menu as team rosters.
Now 20% off – 2025 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its eighth year. It includes 256 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or spiral-bound printed book copy today, with the latter on closeout for 20% off!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system, including access to every article in our 2026 Top Cardinals Prospects series.
Brian Walton goes far beyond Thursday’s announcement by the St. Louis Cardinals of their Player Development and Performance personnel to quantify and explain key changes from 2025 to 2026 – not only in people, but also in how many roles are created and new investments being made.
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
Brian Walton recaps the St. Louis Cardinals’ year in international signings that officially ends on December 15. Who signed, how much did they receive and who has the best chance at an MLB future?
This content is for paid members only. Join The Cardinal Nation today! Register
photo: Dustin May (Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports)
Free agent right-handed starting pitcher agrees to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2027. Outfielder Matt Koperniak has been designated for assignment.
St. Louis Cardinals release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Wednesday, December 17) that they have signed free-agent right-handed pitcher Dustin May to a one-year contract for 2026 that also includes a mutual option for 2027. Financial terms of the deal were not announced.
“It’s exciting to add someone with Dustin’s talent and upside to our rotation,” said Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operation Chaim Bloom. “He’s already experienced pitching in and winning the World Series, as well as persevering through difficult injuries to return to health on a big league mound. We are happy that he will write the next chapter of his career here in St. Louis.”
May, 28, posted career highs in wins (7), games pitched (25), games started (23), innings pitched (132.1) and strikeouts (123) in 2025, as he split time between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.
The 6-6, 180-pound May owns a career mark of 19-20 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 71 games pitched, including 57 starts. He finished the 2025 campaign with a 7-11 mark and 4.96 ERA, making 18 starts for the Dodgers before being traded to Boston on July 31. He made five starts in six appearances for the Red Sox following the trade.
Nicknamed “Big Red”, May was a 3rd round draft selection by the Dodgers in 2016 out of Northwest High School in Justin, Texas. He debuted with Los Angeles on August 2, 2019, and in 2020 finished 5th in National League Rookie of the Year voting after going 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 12 games pitched for the World Series Champion Dodgers. He was tabbed as the Dodgers Opening Day starter in 2020, becoming the youngest pitcher to do so for Los Angeles since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.
May compiled a 12-9 mark with a 3.10 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 46 games pitched (34 starts) between 2019 and May of 2023 before he was felled by ailments that forced him to miss the remainer of 2023 and the entire 2024 season.
His career postseason history includes nine appearances with Los Angeles between 2019-2020. May was credited with the win in relief in Game 1 of the Dodgers 2020 Division Series win over San Diego. He appeared twice in relief during the 2020 World Series vs. Tampa Bay.
In a corresponding move, the team announced that outfielder Matt Koperniak has been designated for assignment to make room on the team’s 40-player Major League roster.
Brian Walton’s take
The agreement was disclosed in the media over the weekend, but it was contingent on May passing a physical. Hence the delay of several days before it was formalized.
May is expected to step into the 2026 Cardinals rotation that is missing Miles Mikolas (free agent) and Sonny Gray (traded) from the 2025 starting five.
Media reports have Gray’s 2026 salary at $12 million plus either a $500,000 buyout or a $20 million mutual option for 2027.
First signed in 2020, Koperniak was added to the 40-man roster in November 2024. After an International League All-Star 2024 season, the outfielder’s performance declined at the same level in 2025. He did not receive a call-up to St. Louis.
In the next week, one of three things will happen with Koperniak, who lost his 40-man spot. He will be claimed by another organization that wants him on their 40-man, or he will be released or he will be assigned to Memphis (without his prior 40-man roster spot). The latter seems most likely.
Koperniak is The Cardinal Nation’s 47th-ranked prospect for 2026.
Following these two transactions, the Cardinals 40-man roster remains full.
Update
On Thursday morning, Chaim Bloom hosted a media session with May via Zoom. Following are my summaries of selected comments.
Bloom praised May’s experience having started on Opening Day and pitching in the World Series.
May said St. Louis offered him the best chance to take the ball every fifth day. He will enjoy helping the young pitching staff and sharing his experiences with the Dodgers.
Regarding his 2025 season-ending nerve problem, May said he had never had it before and after it calmed down, he could have pitched in the AL Division Series had the Red Sox advanced. He says he is back to normal health-wise.
May said he felt lucky to be able to pitch in 2025 with his goal to put weight back on and build strength. When he left the hospital following his esophageal tear, he did not know if he could ever pitch again. May said his weight is up to 220 from 198-202 last season. His goal for spring is 225-plus.
Both parties said they hope this will turn into a longer term commitment.
Bloom confirmed the Cardinals are still on the lookout for more starting pitching depth, specifically young talent. He is unsure if it will be via trade or free agency.
For roster and player information
The team rosters here at The Cardinal Nation are kept up to date daily. To access them, click on “ROSTERS/PLAYERS/MOVES” located on the red menu bar on the left of the page beneath The Cardinal Nation site logo.
To see the Cardinals’ entire system by level and position on one page along with every player transaction for every club all year long, check out the always current Roster Matrix at The Cardinal Nation. It is kept updated during the offseason and is accessible from the same menu as team rosters.
Now 20% off – 2025 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its eighth year. It includes 256 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or spiral-bound printed book copy today, with the latter on closeout for 20% off!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining The Cardinal Nation to receive the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system, including access to every article in our 2026 Top Cardinals Prospects series.
The St. Louis Cardinals announced 27 non-roster invitees to 2026 Spring Training camp today (Monday, January 26).
Now available – 2026 Cardinals Prospect Guide 
Not yet a member?
AGM Moises Rodriguez on Cardinals 2026 International Signings and More
Now 20% off – 2025 Cardinals Prospect Guide 
The final memory of the Browns 
No trifecta in the draft lottery
More money trouble on the TV side
On Thursday morning, Chaim Bloom hosted a media session with May via Zoom. Following are my summaries of selected comments.