photo: Brendan Donovan (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals completed the Brendan Donovan trade, acquiring five players/draft picks. 2026 TV plans are clearer, Stubby Clapp is honored, WBC players are known and more. Our history section highlights key events this past week in team annals.
Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan in three-team swap
Following a long offseason of speculation, rumors, twists and turns, the St. Louis Cardinals finalized the trade of Brendan Donovan on Monday, February 2. Donovan had long been rumored to be headed to the Seattle Mariners or the San Francisco Giants, and it was the Mariners who won the sweepstakes.
What wasn’t expected or rumored was the involvement of a third team. The Cardinals had throughout been asking for two top prospects for Donovan, according to several sources. It appeared that the number of prospects was a sticking point, but in the end, the Cardinals got that and more.
When the trade was announced, it involved two prospects coming from Seattle, switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, and OF Tai Peete, both top 30 prospects in the Mariners system. The third team involved, the Tampa Bay Rays, acquired 3B Ben Williamson from the Mariners, and sent OF Colton Ledbetter to the Cardinals. In addition, the Cardinals received two Compensatory Round B draft picks, one from Seattle and one from Tampa Bay.
This was quite a haul for St. Louis and was more than what was long rumored to be the ask for Donovan. The two picks, likely to be 68th and 72nd, give the Cardinals five picks out of the first 100 (13th, 50th, 68th, 72nd, and 86th).
Cijntje, 22, was the Mariners first round pick in 2024, is a native of Curacao, and ended his 2025 season at the Double-A Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League. In 33 innings pitched, Cijntje was 1-0 with a 2.67 ERA. Prior to that, he pitched at High-A Everett Aqua Sox of the Northwest League where he posted an ERA of 4.58 in 74 innings. He will likely start 2026 with the Springfield Cardinals.
Before the trade, the Mariners had decided to have the switch pitcher focus mainly on pitching right-handed, with which he had better success. The Cardinals will likely continue that focus.
Peete, 20, was the Mariners first round pick in 2023, drafted out of high school. Peete, who has played OF and SS, was exclusively an outfielder in 2025 at High-A Everett Aqua Sox. There he slashed .217/.288/.404 with 19 home runs and 63 RBI. Peete has some power but struck out at a high rate (30.6%). Peete stole 25 bases during his 2025 season, and played in center field in 100 of his 125 games in High-A.
Ledbetter, 24, played his 2025 season with Double-A Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League. There he slashed .265/.337/.378 with seven home runs and 49 RBI. He stole 37 bases in 123 games.
Peete and Ledbetter could be headed to the Peoria Chiefs and Springfield Cardinals, respectively.
For more information:
Rosters announced for the 2026 World Baseball Classic
The rosters for the 2026 World Baseball Classic were announced on Thursday, February 5. The WBC takes place during Spring Training, beginning Wednesday, March 4 and continuing through Tuesday, March 17. The tournament consists of 20 teams divided into four Pools playing in four different venues, which include Houston, Miami, Tokyo, Japan and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Ten Cardinals will play in the WBC, four of whom are on the major league roster. Reliever Riley O’Brien will play for Korea, reliever Gordon Graceffo and infielder Thomas Saggese will both play for Italy and catcher/DH Iván Herrera will play for Panama.
The additional six are minor league players Leonardo Bernal (Panama), Luis Gastelum (Mexico), Matt Kopernial (Great Britain), Zach Levenson (Israel), Noah Mendlinger (Israel) and Bryan Torres (Puerto Rico).
No Cardinals will play on Team USA. Former Cardinals Paul Goldschmidt and Michael Wacha are on the USA roster. Other former Cardinals who will play in the WBC include Nolan Arenado (Puerto Rico), Willson Contreras (Venezuela), Harrison Bader (Israel), Tyler O’Neill (Canada), Randy Arozarena (Mexico), Sandy Alcantara (Dominican Republic), Edmundo Sosa (Panama), Oddanier Mosqueda (Venezuela), Nabil Crismatt (Colombia), Matt Bowman (Israel), and Robert Stock (Israel).
Cardinals set 2026 broadcast home
The Cardinals announced on Monday, February 2, that their games for the 2026 season will be produced and distributed by MLB. That move was largely expected, given the precarious financial position of their previous broadcast partner, FanDuel Sports Network.
The new arrangement, called Cardinals.TV, will be available on traditional cable and satellite venues, and will be streamed as part of a direct-to-consumer package that becomes available for purchase on February 10. That package will cost $19.99 per month or $99 on a yearly basis to in-market Cardinals fans. They wlll be free of blackout restrictions (except for nationally broadcast games, which will not be available on Cardinals.TV). Out of market fans can continue to watch games on MLB.TV.
More specific information can be accessed on the Cardinals website here.
Cardinals coach Stubby Clapp to be inducted into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
On Thursday, February 6, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame announced their 2026 inductees in a Zoom press conference at 12 pm CT. The list of inductees included Cardinals’ first base coach Stubby Clapp.
Clapp, 52, is best known as the long time first base coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. Clapp, a native of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, played baseball in high school in Ontario and at Texas Tech University. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the 36th round in 1996 and played in the organization from 1996-2002. He made his major league debut on June 18, 2001 and played in 23 games that season. He spent 2003 and 2004 in the minor league systems of the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays, followed by two seasons in the Independent Leagues.
In his four years playing for the Cardinals’ Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, he became known as the “Mayor of Memphis”.
In 2004, Clapp played for Team Canada in the Olympics and was part of the 2006 inaugural World Baseball Classic for Team Canada. His most notable achievement is hitting the bases loaded single in the 11th inning of a game between the U.S. and Canada in the 1999 Pan-American Games that put Canada into the semifinals.
In 2007, Clapp’s #10 was the first jersey retired by the Memphis Redbirds.
Clapp began his post-playing career as the hitting coach for the Houston Astros Single-A Lexington Legends. He moved up to hitting coach for the Corpus Christi Hooks in 2010. He then became the manager of the Astros Single-A affiliate, the Tri-City Valley Cats, for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
In 2013, he was hired as the hitting coach of the Dunedin Blue Jays, High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was the hitting coach for the Blue Jays Double-A affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2014.
Clapp was named third base coach for the Canada national baseball team at the 2015 Pan-American Games. Team Canada won the gold medal.
The Cardinals hired Clapp to manage the Memphis Redbirds for the 2017 season. He managed the Redbirds in 2018 to their second consecutive league championship. After that season, the Cardinals hired him to be the first base coach for the major league team, where he continues today.
The induction ceremony for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2026, in St. Mary’s, Ontario.
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 Cardinal fans.
- Louis billionaire David Hoffman expressed interest in buying the St. Louis Cardinals during a local business event on February 5. Hoffman’s family acquired a controlling interest in the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL team last year and he has set his sights on purchasing the Cardinals someday. When asked for comment by Fox 2 News, Cardinals’ President Bill DeWitt III replied, “Our family remains committed to St. Louis and the Cardinals. We have no plans to sell the team.”
- 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
After two weeks of basically no activity, the Cardinals finally announced that they had traded 2B Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners in a three-team deal that included the Tampa Bay Rays. The Cardinals netted two prospects from Seattle, switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and OF Tai Peete, one prospect from Tampa Bay, OF Colton Ledbetter, and a Compensatory Round B draft pick from each team.
With Donovan now off the board, any additional trades are unknown at this time, though LHP JoJo Romero has been the subject of many rumors and could still be traded before the season starts.
The Cardinals continue to seek a right-handed hitting outfielder. Several of the potential candidates the Cardinals may have been considering have already found other homes. A few remain, including former Cardinals Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham.
The 40-man roster is full, so the option of signing a free agent or bringing up a righty outfielder from the minor leagues is only possible if someone on the roster is traded or removed. The Cardinals have signed a few right-handed hitting outfielders to minor league contracts and one could possibly be added at some point.
Spring Training is set to start this week. Pitchers and catchers report on Wednesday. The full squad has its first workout on Monday, February 16.
Spring game play begins Saturday, February 21 against the Washington Nationals. Information on when or if fans can watch any of the spring training games is not yet unavailable.
The Cardinals have cut ties with FanDuel Sports Network and will have MLB produce and distribute Cardinal games. The bare bones information is up at the Cardinals website, but specifics as to what cable and satellite broadcast providers will be showing the games and the channels where they can be seen are unknown at this time. No schedule for broadcast or info on whether they can be streamed on the new Cardinals.TV has been released as of this writing. The team website only states that this information will become available “at a later date”.
It is assumed that most if not all of the spring games will be available on audio as usual, and fans can listen if they cannot watch.
Stay tuned for more happenings as what remains of the offseason continues.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
- In a media Zoom call last Monday, POBO Chaim Bloom said he remains interested in adding a right-handed hitting outfielder to the major league roster. Bloom also mentioned infielders Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin may be used on the grass.
Several of the outfielders who were reportedly on Bloom’s radar have already been signed by other teams. These include Harrison Bader (Giants), Austin Hays (White Sox) and Miguel Andujar (Padres). Other right-handed outfielders remain on the market, and two in particular, Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham, are former Cardinals.
Transactions
- 2/2 The Cardinals traded 2B Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners for CF Colton Ledbetter, SHP Jurrangelo Cijntje, OF Tai Peete, and two Comp Round B Draft Picks.
- 2/5 The Cardinals signed free agent OF Bligh Madris to a minor league contract.
- 2/6 The Cardinals claimed 3B Bryan Ramos off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.
- 2/6 The Cardinals signed free agent RHP Justin Militello to a minor league contract.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
February is Spring Training month. Pitchers and catchers report this week, on Wednesday, February 11, with the first workout day on Thursday, February 12. Position players will report after February 12 and the first full squad workout will be Monday, February 16. The Cardinals play their first spring game at Roger Dean Stadium on Saturday, February 21 against the Washington Nationals.
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.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past continues with the series highlighting notable events that occurred in the history of the franchise during the current 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 February 2 through February 8. For each event, its date, individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided.
February 5, 2002 – LHP Luis Arroyo was inducted in the Latin American Baseball Hall of Fame. Arroyo started for the Cardinals for one season, 1955, when the rookie made the NL All-Star team. Despite his success, the Cardinals traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of the season. He went on to have his best season with the Yankees in 1961.
February 6, 1935 – Pitcher Dizzy Dean became a holdout on his contract on this date, demanding a salary of $25,000. Dean eventually signed for $19,500.
February 6, 1951 – Former Cardinals player and manager Gabby Street passed away due to heart failure at his home in Joplin, Missouri. He was 68 years old.
February 8, 2002 – The Cardinals purchased the contract of Eduardo Perez from the Hanshin Tigers of the NPB. The Cardinals had sold Perez to the Tigers just two years earlier, at the end of the 2000 season. Perez was granted free agency in October 2003 and signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
February 8, 2013 – The Cardinals broke ground on the first phase of Ballpark Village. The $100 million project featured a 100,000 square foot dining and entertainment district, which included Cardinals Nation restaurant and the Budweiser Brew House.
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