In our weekly St. Louis Cardinals news recap… New player development directors were hired, and trade rumors carry into the Winter Meetings. Our history feature investigates prior trades and free agent signings made during this week.
Cardinals make additional player development hires
Several additional hires to the St. Louis Cardinals player development staff were announced this past week. They come on the heels of last week’s addition, new Director of Pitching, Matt Pierpont, formerly of the Seattle Mariners.
Larry Day, 39, was hired as the Director of Player Development. The former head of PD, Gary LaRocque, retired as the farm director at the end of the season. Day previously worked for the Cleveland Guardians as an assistant field coordinator. Prior to that, Day managed in the Guardians minor league system.
Another hire is Carl Kochan as Director of Performance. Kochan worked for six years as minor league strength and conditioning coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to that he was the major league strength and conditioning coach for the San Francisco Giants.
Day, Kochan and Pierpont are the first hires by Rob Cerfolio, the Cardinals new Assistant GM for Player Development and Performance.
Katie Woo of The Athletic recently wrote that the Cardinals have also hired Matthew Bennett, formerly employed by the Tampa Bay Rays, as an MLB analyst assigned to the major league staff. Bennett worked with the Rays Triple-A Durham Bulls for the last two seasons.
Woo also reported that former Pitching Coordinator Tim Leveque has moved into the role of pitching analyst, focusing on player evaluations.
For more information:
Cardinals Name New Directors for Player Development, Performance and Pitching
Classic Era Hall of Fame Committee selects two
The Classic Era Committee for the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced the selection of two players to be inducted into Cooperstown in 2025.
The Committee selected first baseman Dick Allen and outfielder Dave Parker for induction. Former Cardinals third Baseman Ken Boyer was among those who did not receive the required votes.
Allen played for the Cardinals for one season, 1970. Allen was dealt from the Phillies in the infamous Curt Flood trade. During the 1970 season in St. Louis, Allen received a spot on the NL All-Star team, and then was traded to the Dodgers at the end of the season for Ted Sizemore and Bob Stinson.
Allen played the bulk of his 15-year major league career with the Phillies in two separate stints. He also appeared briefly for the Dodgers, White Sox, and Athletics. Allen was a seven-time All Star, Rookie of the Year with the Phillies and the American League MVP with the White Sox.
Allen passed away in December 2020 at the age of 78. The honor will be accepted by his son, Dick Allen, Jr. during the induction ceremony on July 27 in Cooperstown, NY.
News and Notes for the Offseason
In this space will be information on news and events of the offseason that do not require extensive coverage. Check back each week to learn what is happening.
- Cardinals 2025 Spring Training tickets on sale now – The Cardinals have opened the sale of 2025 Spring Training tickets. You can access information and purchase tickets at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/tickets/spring-training .
- Cardinals 2025 Winter Warm-Up – The 2025 Winter Warm-Up will be held on January 18-20 in St. Louis. You can access information about the event at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/fans/winter-warm-up.
- Cardinals’ Season Tickets are now available – Fans can now purchase season tickets for the upcoming 2025 season. You can access information at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/tickets/season-tickets. A telephone number to call and a chat feature are available.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
- ESPN’s Buster Olney commented on X (formerly Twitter), that the Cardinals’ efforts to trade Nolan Arenado are limited to just a few teams preferred by Arenado. Further complicating the trade considerations, according to Olney, is that in the opinion of rival executives, the Cardinals will likely have to cover some salary or take over an unfavorable contract from any interested team to offload Arenado’s remaining contract.
Given that POBO John Mozeliak recently expressed to Katie Woo of The Athletic that the team has every intention of fielding a good baseball team despite their resetting efforts, it is unclear if the Cardinals are willing to do what Olney reports it would take to trade Arenado.
- On another potential trade front, It appears the likelihood of the Cardinals trading closer Ryan Helsley may be less likely than previously believed. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, teams that have contacted the Cardinals about Helsley believe they intend to hold onto him. Rosenthal reports that Mozeliak told him they plan for Helsley stay but remain open-minded to a trade opportunity. Whether this statement is a hard and fast declaration of intent or posturing for negotiating purposes is anyone’s guess.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
Key dates in December are:
- December 9-11 – The Winter Meetings will take place in Dallas, TX. The Winter Meetings are typically when the Hot Stove heats up and transactions are made.
- December 10 – The 2025 draft lottery takes place. This lottery determines the top six draft picks for the 2025 draft. 16 of the 18 non-playoff teams from 2024 have a chance to get the no. 1 pick in the draft. Last season, the Cardinals fell short of one of the first six and ended with the seventh pick, despite finishing the season tied with the Nationals for the fifth worst record.
- December 11 – The Rule 5 Draft takes place on the last day of the Winter Meetings. In 2023, the Cardinals picked up RHP Ryan Fernandez in the Rule 5 draft from the Boston Red Sox.
Key dates in January include:
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- January 9 – Arbitration filing deadline. The Cardinals have six arbitration eligible players. They are Ryan Helsley (third year), JoJo Romero and John King (second year), Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan (first year), and Andre Pallante (Super Two, first year).
- January 15 – International signing period opens.
Blast from the Past
With the Winter Meetings underway, this is the time when teams begin to make deals to add to, or in the Cardinals’ case, subtract from their major league rosters. Whether it is free agent signings, trades, or other kinds of transactions, teams prepare for the next season.
This week’s Blast from the Past recalls past Cardinals transactions that occurred during the period December 2 through 8.
The following list starts with date of the transaction, the name or names of the players involved in the transaction, the teams involved, and the nature of the transaction. Additional relevant details may be included.
December 2, 2015 – The Cardinals traded C Tony Cruz to the Kansas City Royals for IF José Martinez. This was not the Martinez who played outfield for the major league team. This one played in the minor league system until 2020 and the elected free agency.
December 2, 2015 – Cardinals’ CF Peter Bourjos was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies. Bourjos had been acquired by the Cardinals along with Randal Grichuk in a trade with the Angels that sent David Freese and Fernando Salas to Anaheim.
December 2, 2003 – The Cardinals signed RHP Chris Carpenter. Carpenter began his career with the Toronto Blue Jays but was released after an injury plagued 2002 season. The Cardinals signed him while he was recovering from shoulder surgery. Carpenter did not pitch for the Cardinals during 2003. He made his Cardinals debut in 2004 and the rest is history.
December 3, 2012 – The Cardinals signed RHP Alex Reyes as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic. Reyes was a natural-born US citizen born in New Jersey where he lived until he was 18. He moved to the DR in 2011 where the Cardinals scouted and signed him.
December 5, 2018 – The Cardinals acquired Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver, and Andrew Young. Goldschmidt was signed to a five-year extension after the 2019 season. That contract expired this fall and Goldschmidt is now a free agent.
December 5, 2017 – The Cardinals signed free agent RHP Miles Mikolas. Mikolas is currently entering the final year of his current contract, which is his third contract with St. Louis.
December 8, 2015 – The Cardinals traded OF Jon Jay to the San Diego Padres for IF Jedd Gyorko and cash. Gyorko remained with the Cardinals for four seasons. He was traded mid-season 2019 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jay retired from baseball in 2022 and was recently hired by the Cardinals as a coach on the major league staff.
December 8, 2011 – The Cardinals officially lost Albert Pujols after attempting to re-sign him at the end of his contract. Pujols signed with the Angels on this day to a 10-year contract.
Of course, Pujols eventually found his way back to the team that drafted him when he signed a one-year contract for his final major league season with the Cardinals in 2022. Pujols hit his 700th career home run during this magical season.
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