photo: Ramon Urias (Frank Ramirez/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals signed infielder Ramón Urías and split their first two spring training contests of 2026. Our history section highlights key events this past week in team annals.
Spring Game recaps
Saturday, February 21, 2026 – Cardinals 2, Nationals 6
The St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Washington Nationals in the first spring game of 2026 on Saturday. Matthew Liberatore pitched two scoreless innings to start the game. He gave up two hits and fanned four.
Eight pitchers followed Liberatore – Quinn Mathews, Tyler Bradt, Ryan Fernandez, DJ Carpenter, Luis Gastelum, Packy Naughton, Skylar Hales and Austin Love. Mathews gave up two runs and Fernandez allowed the other four. Hales fanned the side swinging in the eighth.
CF Nathan Church hit a solo home run for the Cardinals’ first score. In the fourth, JJ Wetherholt walked, advanced on a José Fermín double, and scored on a wild pitch.
Wetherholt made a fielding error and Joshua Baez had an outfield assist.
Sunday, February 22, 2026 – Cardinals 6 at Astros 5
In their second spring game, the Cardinals prevailed over the Houston Astros in West Palm Beach. Kyle Leahy made the start and pitched two innings, gave up one run on one hit, one walk and three strikeouts.
Pitchers who followed were Chris Roycroft, Max Rajcic, Scott Blewett, Gerson Moreno, Nick Raquet, Mason Burns and Darlin Saladin.
Leahy gave up a long ball in the second inning. Otherwise, he pitched well. Blewett allowed the Astros’ second run. Cardinals pitching held Houston to two runs until the ninth inning. Burns walked three Astros, and Saladin came in with the bases loaded and allowed all three to score. He got out of the inning without further damage.
St. Louis’ offense put up six runs on nine hits. Third-ranked prospect Rainiel Rodriguez drove in one run on a double. Yohel Pozo and César Prieto each had two RBI. Thomas Saggese also drove in a run.
Cardinals sign free agent Ramon Urias
The Cardinals added to their infield depth on Saturday by signing free agent third baseman Ramón Urías to a major league contract. The contract is a one year, $2 million deal with a $500K buyout on a mutual option for 2027.
Urías was acquired from a Mexican League team by the Cardinals in January 2018 as a free agent. He did not appear in a major league game for the Cardinals. Urías was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles on February 11, 2020 and played for the Orioles for six seasons. He was traded to the Houston Astros at the deadline in 2025 and was non-tendered at the end of the season.
Urías slashed .257/.321/.403/.724 with 50 home runs and 215 RBI in his six seasons in Baltimore. He won a Gold Glove at third base in 2022.
The Cardinals designated RHP Zak Kent for assignment to make room on the roster for Urías. The Cardinals had originally claimed Kent from the Guardians in December. In January, the Cardinals designated Kent for assignment to make room for LHP Justin Bruihl. Kent was claimed by the Texas Rangers, who then weeks later designated Kent for assignment to add Jordan Montgomery. The Cardinals claimed Kent last week, only to designate him for assignment again. This was the fourth time since December that Kent has been placed on waivers, once by Cleveland, once by Texas, and now twice by the Cardinals.
News and Notes for Spring Training
This section in the coming weeks contains information and snippets of news that don’t require extensive coverage but are of interest to Cardinal fans.
- Figure skater Alysa Liu won a Gold Medal in the Olympics, but that is not her only accomplishment. Liu threw out the first pitch in Busch Stadium at a game against the Pirates on May 8, 2025. Liu was in St. Louis to promote the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which took place in St. Louis in January 2026. Fans can read about the event and see the video of the pitch here.
- Cardinals all-inclusive tickets, Opening Day tickets, Cardinals Theme tickets, and single game tickets are now on sale. Information on purchasing any of these tickets and more can be found here. Spring Training tickets are also available to be purchased here.
- “Banana Ball” will return to Busch Stadium in 2026. The Savannah Bananas popular entertainment baseball team will come to Busch Stadium on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22 as part of their world tour.
More information about the event and how to get tickets can be found here.
The Big Picture
Spring Training games began on Saturday and the team has won one and lost one. There is one more week of games before players leave camp for the World Baseball Classic, which begins on March 5. Eight players will be leaving camp, including two players from the major league roster, Thomas Saggese and Gordon Graceffo. Riley O’Brien was scheduled to go as well, but he suffered a minor injury in camp and will miss at least the first round of the tournament. Catcher Ivan Herrera was unable to secure insurance so bowed out of participating for Panama.
The Cardinals made another last-minute addition to the major league roster on Saturday, signing free agent 3B Ramón Urías. RHR Zak Kent was designated for assignment for the second time by the Cardinals to make room on the roster. Urías role is unknown. The Cardinals have several other third base options in addition to Urías, including Nolan Gorman, Jose Fermin and Thomas Saggese. Fermin and Saggese have also been going through outfield drills in camp, so they may be among those who will fill in for Lars Nootbaar in left field while he rehabs from heel surgery.
Whether the roster as it stands is the roster when the season starts remains to be seen. POBO Chaim Bloom could have other moves in mind, as he seeks to build a younger and better roster for the future. Jo Jo Romero, who was the subject of many trade rumors during the offseason, is still in camp, but a trade of him could still happen before the season begins. The focus of the majority of Bloom’s offseason activity was acquiring pitching, so the Cardinals have a plethora of pitching options for the bullpen that could fill in if Romero is traded.
For the time being, however, the roster looks to be mostly in place. Some moves around the margins are still possible.
Spring games will continue for the next month and a picture of what the opening day roster will look like will start to form. It is almost a certainty that top prospect JJ Wetherholt will be on that roster. The remainder will likely look similar to last season, sans the four veterans who were traded. Positions will be flexible, other than Masyn Winn at shortstop. Players who were part timers and fill-ins last season will get more regular playing time.
Stay tuned for more happenings as spring training continues.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 2/16 The Cardinals claimed RHP Zak Kent off waivers from the Texas Rangers.
- 2/16 The Cardinals designated 3B Bryan Ramos for assignment.
- 2/20 3B Bryan Ramos was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles.
- 2/21 The Cardinals designated RHP Zak Kent for assignment.
- 2/21 The Cardinals signed free agent 3B Ramón Urías.
Injury Report
- OF Lars Nootbaar has reported to camp. His rehab will continue at the spring training facility. His availability for opening day remains in doubt.
- RHP Hunter Dobbins is still recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee which occurred in July. Dobbins can pitch but is being held out of agility drills. Dobbins recently underwent testing on his knee and the results were as expected. The next steps in Dobbins’ rehab are being mapped out.
- LHP Zack Thompson missed all the 2025 season with a torn lat muscle and underwent surgery in August to clean up his left shoulder. Thompson is on a throwing program and he won’t be cleared to pitch until sometime after the regular season starts.
- RHP Riley O’Brien suffered a mid-right calf strain injury during a bullpen session on February 14. The injury is mild, but he will need a few weeks to recover. O’Brien was set to play in the WBC for Korea but will miss at least the opening round. He could play in the WBC later depending on his health.
Looking Ahead
Spring Training games are underway. The team split their first two games against the Nationals and Astros over the weekend.
The first full week of spring games will include a second game against the Nationals, and two games each with the Astros, Mets, and Marlins to conclude the month of February.
The month of March begins with a slate of games the first week that includes two games with the Pirates, one at home and one on the road, one game each with the Marlins, Orioles, and Mets, and a March 4 game with the World Baseball Classic Nicaraguan team in preparation for the WBC which begins on March 5.
The Cardinals have eight players in the WBC. This number does not include Riley O’Brien who will miss at least the first round due to injury. The list also does not include Iván Herrera, who was set to play in the tournament but had to withdraw due to insurance issues.
All eight players will have a shortened spring training but should be ready to play when their season starts. Two of the eight players most likely to make the major league roster are Gordon Graceffo and Thomas Saggese.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past will continue with the series highlighting some notable events that occurred in the history of the franchise for a relevant period. This includes awards, retirements, baseball transactions, and other interesting events.
In this installment, we look at events that occurred during the period February 16 through February 22. For each event, its date, individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided.
February 16, 2023 – Former Cardinals catcher and broadcaster Tim McCarver passed away at the age of 81.
February 18, 1998 – Former Cardinals and Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray passed away at the age of 84.
February 18, 2011 – After agreeing to a minor league contract with the Cardinals, outfielder Jim Edmonds announced in spring training that he was retiring from baseball.
February 19, 1982 – The trade of Garry Templeton to the San Diego Padres for SS Ozzie Smith was completed by the Cardinals, sending LHP Luis DeLeon to San Diego.
February 20, 1942 – Former Cardinal icon Stan Musial attended his first spring training with the Cardinals.
February 20, 1953 – To keep the Cardinals in St. Louis, August Busch Jr. convinced the Board of Directors of Anheuser-Busch to authorize a purchase of the team for $3.75 million from previous owner Fred Saigh. Saigh was forced to sell the team after pleading no contest to tax evasion and being sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
February 21, 2006 – The Cardinals signed free agent RHP Josh Hancock who had been released by the Reds. He pitched the entire 2026 season but did not pitch in the World Series. Hancock returned for 2007, but on April 29, Hancock was killed in a car accident when his Ford Explorer struck the rear of a flatbed tow truck. It was later determined that Hancock was intoxicated at the time of the accident and was also texting on his phone and not wearing a seatbelt.
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