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Certainly, as a StL native who has been working in MLB almost his entire life, Bill DeWitt Jr. is very familiar with Caray. I have no idea about any personal relationship, though.
Interesting question. Since minor league players are now in the union, it won’t be them crossing the line. And even the former indy ball teams are now “MLB Partner Leagues”. So my first blush is that they would have serious trouble finding 780 interim players (26 players x 30 teams).
Because the minor league contract is not up in 2026, they will play in 2027 either way, excepting any 40-man roster players.
gscottar said:
I just wish it would translate more to our minor league pitchers.
Agree 1000%. But also, many of the top shelf minor league injured guys had “preexisting conditions”, but not all.
Kyle and I just finished recording tomorrow’s podcast and we talked about managing workloads in the minors as one factor.
Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. I’ve seen many frustrated that Crooks hasn’t been allowed to play to show what he can do (or not).
The Phils had the righty Rangel out there. They could have used Torres, who is ice cold and who lined out hitting for Prieto just after Crooks. The only other options were Pages, Jordan (who is most effective vs. LHP) and Pereira. If you use anyone other than Pages, then you burn two of your four bench spots because Pages would be needed to catch the ninth. And they burned the third when they used Torres right after. That told me they didn’t like Jordan in that situation. But if they used him there, then if you have to go into extras, you have no bench other than Pereira.
In other words, there were not good choices and there never is with such a weak bench.
As a reminder to those who subscribe, there is an article detailing all these moves and their implications on the front page. I don’t post these here every time, but I document most all player transactions via article. Of course, our team rosters and the Roster Matrix are current (and free).
KCB, that may be one of the positives of the May signing and tenure. A promising guy with a long history of injury stayed on the field for four months at least and started to show his potential.
Broadcasters are ownership selections. The committee does not have any say other than lobbying. I don’t know why Caray is not in, but my guess is their messy divorce, albeit decades ago, with the principals no longer alive.
My guess it is a part of modernization of pitching instruction. Like what the Cardinals are doing or not, but I am pretty sure that no other MLB team has had fewer pitching injuries at the MLB level than StL the last few years. It is not likely coincidence.
Breaking down the eight minor league transactions for the new week announced today by the #stlcards, which include two promotions and two releases. https://t.co/209FKbG44q pic.twitter.com/aCPZJ5awc0
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) August 11, 2026
The #stlcards Class-A Palm Beach Cardinals won two of six at Roger Dean vs. Jupiter. Shortstop Yairo Padilla posted a .950 OPS on four extra-base hits and drove in a team-high four. https://t.co/WHdNtdbReB pic.twitter.com/VBLHkW7xBR
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) August 11, 2026
This young Cardinals fan's reaction to catching a foul ball is why baseball is the absolute best pic.twitter.com/IBltugoSej
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 11, 2026
I spoke too soon with the GG praise. Walk, double, double and now it is 6-2 in the eighth and feels out of control.
Isn’t it weird Kyle Schwarber can hit 40 + HR and his team doesn’t automatically win 100 games? Cal Raleigh hit 60 and Seattle won 90 games in the regular season. Mark McGwire hit SEVENTY and the Cardinals went 83-79.
Almost like hitting HRs is only one way a baseball player…
— Inside the Ivy Sports (@Inside_The_Ivy) August 10, 2026
Analytics be damned
I call for the immediate return of the .300 hitter pic.twitter.com/sPqCjzwCT5
— OldTimeHardball (@OleTimeHardball) August 10, 2026
I hesitate to bring up more Dodgers discussion but I re-read the Ken Rosenthal “anti-Dodger hysteria” piece because I remember its focus differently from you. While he did mention the broader labor issue, that was almost an aside. The vast majority of the content in his article defended the Dodgers and their actions.
His closing sentence was this:
“The Dodgers are good at this. Better than everyone else.”
This is why Rosenthal was ripped by fans of the other 29 teams. The Skubal trade brought it to a head.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7486126/2026/08/02/tarik-skubal-dodgers-trade-reaction-mlb-lockout/
These issues could be solved with the help of professional arbitration, but with so much money at stake, the owners would never agree to giving up control.
Shame on him if losing a spot caused him to sulk and play poorly. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt as to his professionalism. He needed to put on his big boy pants and play the same way wearing the Memphis uniform. You never know if someone on the MLB roster will get hurt tonight and his turn would come up.
I get your concern, gscottar, but we don’t know what the Cardinals said to him, other than “You have a spring training camp invitation.” I highly doubt any promises were expressed or even implied to a 27-year-old minor league contract signee.
We also have no idea if disappointment over not making the team caused his poor play at Memphis to open the season. Just as likely, it could have been his fortune balancing out.
P.S. JJ Wetherholt made the team using the 40-man spot that Velazquez was competing for. I’d say that worked out well.
Here is the history of it, from MLB TR.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/jj-wetherholt-to-make-cardinals-opening-day-roster.html
Ozzie didn’t have his first 100 OPS season (MLB average hitter) until his eighth full season in MLB. However, by then, he had six Gold Gloves, five All-Star Games, three finishes in the Top 21 in the MVP vote and was second in the NL Rookie of the Year.
His offensive uptick occurred when he went to a new team and was encouraged to drastically change his approach at the plate after four years of futility with the bat for San Diego.
Now, in his third full season, Winn has a Gold Glove and declining offense. What will lead his change?
Yes, gscottar, thank you for repeating that post here. Perhaps it was in the back of my mind when I saw how low Winn’s comparative OPS is.
This isn’t about the Cardinals Hall of Fame, but as a committee member, I pay attention to what other teams are doing.
As folks remember, the Giants had an impressive run in the prior decade. Over the weekend, they added five players from that group to the team “Wall of Fame” – Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt and Joe Panik. They were the starting infield and the catcher.
Posey is running their baseball ops now, so I guess he added his buddies. But Joe Panik? It would be like if the Cardinals honored Daniel Descalso.
I know, it is their team and they can honor who they choose, but it seems a real stretch to me.
The #stlcards took both series last week behind Game 3 wins to return to .500. The big-league roster changed as four prospects joined the system via trade. Our history feature compares Alec Burleson’s three two-run home runs in a game to other “rare feats” in team history.… pic.twitter.com/lAjLoSoFIT
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) August 10, 2026
The MLBPA is absolutely NOT going to accept a salary cap in the new CBA, per @JeffPassan
(Via @allthesmokeprod) pic.twitter.com/N48fx833VE
— Punchoutpitch (@Punchoutpitch) August 9, 2026
An explanation by Bloom about getting Mathews ready for St. Louis.
Chaim Bloom responds to a fan’s question about a potential MLB lockout in 2027 and how it could affect opportunities for the Cardinals’ young prospects.#MLB #STLCARDS #Cardinals https://t.co/anDlkUrbk7 pic.twitter.com/uZILGAVm2o
— KMOX Sports (@KMOXSports) August 9, 2026