photo: Ramón Urías (Frank Ramirez/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals were close to signing free agent infielder Ramón Urías, reported Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat on Friday evening.
On Saturday, the team confirmed the transaction, which is a contract for 2026 and a mutual option for 2027. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports the contract is for $1.5 million plus a $500,000 buyout for 2027. Urías also can earn $2 million in plate appearance incentives.
Urías, 31, was originally acquired by the Cardinals from a Mexican League team in January 2018. He progressed through the system, ranking as our 33rd prospect in 2019 and 26th heading into 2020. Urías reached St. Louis in September 2019, but with Tommy Edman and Edmundo Sosa ahead of him, his stay was short. The Baltimore Orioles claimed Urías off waivers in February 2020.
In December 2019, I wrote the following. “I see Urías’ best being somewhere between an up and down MLB player and a spot starter.”
In six calendar years in the majors, the right-handed hitter made 1,856 plate appearances, roughly three full seasons of time. Urías’ career slash line of .257/.321/.403/.724 translates to a 104 wRC+, 4% above average offensively.
However, his 2026 was a down year, as he moved from Baltimore to Houston at the July deadline. Urías’ .676 OPS translated to an 87 wRC+. Rather than pay Urías via arbitration, the Astros non-tendered him last fall.
Urías is a strong defender, with the 2022 AL Gold Glove Award at third base in his trophy case. He is also proficient at shortstop, second base and can even back up at first.
The Cardinals had been looking for a right-handed outfielder and may still get one if he becomes available. In the meantime, current infield reserves Jose Fermin and Thomas Saggese may see more time in left field helping to cover for injured Lars Nootbaar.
Urías and his brother Luis, also an infielder, are committed to play for Team Mexico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
2/24 update
Ramon Urias will remain with the #stlcards and not join Team Mexico for the upcoming WBC. He and that team discussed his schedule after he signed this past week. #Cardinals #WBC
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) February 24, 2026
St. Louis’ 40-man roster is full, so a player needed to be removed to accommodate Urías’ addition. That was right-hander Zak Kent, who just rejoined the Cardinals five days ago. He was placed on outright waivers.
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