Bill DeWitt Jr. (John Max Mena photo)
As expected, Christmas week was quiet for the St. Louis Cardinals, but their off-season dealing is not over. Our history section highlights key events this past week in team annals, including the 1995 announcement of the sale of the Cardinals to the DeWitt group.
News and Notes for the Offseason
This section contains information and snippets of news that don’t require extensive coverage but are of interest to St. Louis Cardinals fans.
- The Cardinals’ 29th annual Winter Warm-Up fan festival and Cardinals Caravans are coming soon. The former, reduced to two days in 2026, will be held at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium on Saturday, January 17 and Sunday, January 18. Autograph tickets are now on sale. Details here.
- Seven Cardinals ticket packs are now available. Information can be found
- “Banana Ball” will return to Busch Stadium in 2026. The Savannah Bananas, a popular entertainment baseball team, will come to Busch Stadium on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22 as part of their world tour. Information can be found here.
The Big Picture
Since the announcement of the Willson Contreras trade a week ago Sunday evening, Christmas week was uneventful in terms of offseason activity.
One transaction that occurred was the signing of LHP Jared Shuster to a minor league contract with an invitation to St. Louis’ spring training camp. Shuster will join the cadre of pitchers competing for a spot either in the major league rotation or the bullpen. For Shuster, the bullpen is the most likely landing spot should he make the opening day roster.
In the coming weeks, fans should be on the lookout for news concerning possible trades of Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, and JoJo Romero. Other trades are of course possible, but the aforementioned three are the most likely to be moved in the short term.
President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has indicated he is looking to add to the major league roster on the position player side. A right-handed bat is the target, most likely in the outfield. Given the team’s rebuilding posture, such a bat is not likely to come as a high dollar free agent, but more likely in a trade return or a less expensive free agent.
For now, we wait to see what happens as the New Year comes upon us. Offseason activity should pick up in January.
Stay tuned for more happenings.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
- Subsequent to the trade of 1B Willson Contreras, POBO Chaim Bloom met with members of the media via Zoom. According to John Denton of MLB.com, Bloom is looking to add position player depth, more specifically a right-handed bat with power, either in the outfield or infield, but preferably in the outfield. Bloom added that the power bat is needed to help replace the production lost from Contreras.
- The Cardinals added to their pitching depth by signing LHP Jared Shuster to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. The 26-year-old spent the past two seasons with the Chicago White Sox, posting a combined record of 2-5 and an ERA of 4.96 in 89 innings pitched, mostly in relief. Prior to the White Sox, Shuster pitched for the Atlanta Braves, making 11 starts in 2023.
Transactions
- 12/22 – The Cardinals traded 1B Willson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox for RHP Hunter Dobbins, RHP Yhoiker Fajardo, and RHP Blake Aita.
Injury Report
- There are no further updates on the recovery from offseason surgeries of Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Iván Herrera. Stay tuned to this space for further information. The next updates may come during Winter Warm-Up.
Looking Ahead
The month of December is winding down. The only date of consequence coming up before the New Year is December 31, the last day for Baseball Hall of Fame voters to turn in their ballots.
The next date on the offseason calendar is January 8, 2026, which is the deadline for teams and arbitration eligible players to exchange salary figures. As of this writing, the Cardinals have seven such players – Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, JoJo Romero, Andre Pallante, Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore.
The annual Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up will take place on Saturday, January 17 and Sunday January 18, 2026. The Cardinals Caravan, which runs in conjunction with the Winter Warm-Up, begins on January 16, 2026. Details on both can be found here and here.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past continues with the series highlighting notable events in the history of the franchise during a relevant period. The offseason brings occasions such as awards, retirements, baseball transactions, and other interesting events.
In this installment, we look at events that occurred during the period December 22 through December 28. For each event, its date, individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided.
December 22, 1995 – Anheuser-Busch comes to an agreement with an investment group led by Bill DeWitt Jr, to sell the Cardinals franchise. The deal was contingent on the promise to keep the team in St. Louis. The sale price was a reported $150 million, considered a bargain, as the franchise’s estimated value was twice that amount. The new owners took advantage of a market that was depressed following the disastrous 1994 strike.
December 22, 2011 – The Cardinals signed free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran to a two-year/$26 million contract. Beltran was signed to replace Albert Pujols, who weeks earlier signed a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
December 22, 2015 – The Cardinals signed RHP Mike Leake to a five-year/$80 million contract. Leake did not finish the second year of that contract, as he was traded to the Seattle Mariners in August 2017 for minor leaguer Rayder Ascanio. The trade was a salary dump, as Ascanio never made it out of the minor leagues. Leake was out of baseball after the 2019 season.
December 23, 2004 – The Cardinals signed free agent SS David Eckstein to a three-year/ $10.25 million contract. Eckstein was voted the World Series Most Valuable Player in 2006 and was a fan favorite for getting the most out of his abilities.
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