photo: Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina (Getty Images)
The St. Louis Cardinals celebrate the return of Yadier Molina and the election of Carlos Beltran to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Our history section highlights key events this past week in team annals.
Molina returns to the Cardinals
Former St. Louis Cardinals catcher and future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina has been hired as a Special Assistant to President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom. The announcement was made on Wednesday, January 21.
As part of his new position, the 43-year-old will work with catchers in their minor league system. He will help develop curriculum for the catchers, provide front office input and other duties as assigned.
Molina spent his entire major league career in St. Louis, spanning 19 seasons. He won nine Gold Gloves, four Platinum Gloves, one Silver Slugger, and is a 10-time All Star.
Molina has managed in the Winter Leagues and will manage the Puerto Rican team in the World Baseball Classic for the second time in 2026.
Molina is also expected to appear during Cardinals spring training next month in Jupiter, FL.
Former Cardinal Beltran elected to Hall of Fame
The annual announcement of the Baseball Hall of Fame class was made on Wednesday, January 21. Former Cardinal outfielder Carlos Beltran was one of two players selected for the 2026 class induction, along with legendary centerfielder Andruw Jones.
Beltran began his major league career with the Kansas City Royals, where he played for seven seasons. He followed with seven seasons as a New York Met. Beltran came to the Cardinals later in his career, playing for two seasons. He was part of the 2013 team that went to the World Series and lost to the Boston Red Sox. It was the first World Series appearance of Beltran’s career.
Beltran returned to the World Series with the Astros in 2017. They defeated the Dodgers in that World Series, but it was marred by a sign stealing scandal involving the Astros. Beltran had already retired from baseball when the matter was exposed two years later. He was implicated in the scandal, allegedly as one who had spearheaded the scheme. Beltran apologized for his part in the scandal. No player was punished but the team was fined. Manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow were suspended and then fired from their positions.
Beltran had been hired to manage the Mets in 2019, but when the sign stealing scandal broke out, Beltran and the Mets parted ways before Beltran had managed a game.
Beltran spent a year as a game analyst for the Yankees YES Network and then was hired by the Mets front office in 2022.
Beltran is a native of Puerto Rico and currently resides in New York City with his wife and children.
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.
- MLB Pipeline announced their Top 100 Prospects this past week. Five Cardinals made the list – JJ Wetherholt (No. 5), Liam Doyle (No. 34), Rainiel Rodriguez (No. 37), Joshua Baez (No. 87) and Leonardo Bernal (No. 98).
- 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
There was no activity on the trade front this past week, so Brendan Donovan and JoJo Romero remain Cardinals, at least for the time being.
There were rumors of Cardinals interest in two free agent right-handed outfielders, Miguel Andujar and Austin Hays, but that is the extent of the Hot Stove news for the week.
Spring Training is around the corner. Pitchers and catchers report in about three weeks, with position players following a few days later. The first game is on Saturday, February 21, against the Washington Nationals.
POBO Chaim Bloom has indicated he hopes to have the Donovan and Romero situations ended before spring training begins. The interest in Donovan is still being reported, but there have been no rumors of late about Romero other than the Mariners’ interest reported last week.
Cardinal icon Yadier Molina is returning to St. Louis in the capacity of Advisor to POBO Chaim Bloom.
For now, we wait for more trade news and for the arrival of Spring Training. Fans still have no idea how or if they will be watching games, as the TV broadcast situation remains unresolved as of this writing.
Stay tuned for more happenings as the offseason continues.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
- The Cardinals are one of several teams who have shown interest in outfielder Miguel Andujar, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. In another tweet the following day, Heyman reported that the Cardinals were also interested in outfielder Austin Hays.
Both outfielders are right-handed, and Cardinals POBO Chaim Bloom has expressed the desire to acquire a right-handed hitting outfielder for the major league roster. During a fan Q&A at Winter Warm-Up, Bloom also told a fan questioner that former Cardinal Harrison Bader is a possibility.
Andujar, 31, is coming off his best offensive season in a while, splitting time between the Athletics and the Reds. Andujar is a below average defender, however, in the outfield and at both corner infield positions.
Hays, 30, plays both corner outfield positions, and is a much better hitter against left-handed pitchers, making him a likely platoon bat.
- Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that the Athletics had a deal in place for Nolan Arenado prior to the trade to the Diamondbacks. The Athletics were prepared to absorb more of the $42 million left on the contract than the Diamondbacks ultimately did. The deal did not happen because Arenado indicated he would likely not waive his no-trade clause to play for the Athletics, preferring the Diamondbacks or the Padres, who had also expressed interest in acquiring him.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
- POBO Chaim Bloom was asked at a media event at the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up on the status of Masyn Winn and Lars Nootbaar. Bloom responded that Winn was finished with his rehab and is ready to go. As for Nootbaar, Bloom said he is doing well, based on reports from Nootbaar himself, and medical staff. Bloom also said that though Nootbaar would say he is ready to go for Opening Day, there is no official timetable as far as the team is concerned.
Looking Ahead
February is Spring Training month. Pitchers and catchers report on February 11 with the first workouts on February 12. Position players will report after February 12 and the first full squad workout will be Monday, February 16. The Cardinals will 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 Nicaraguan team in preparation for the World Baseball Classic, 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 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 of January 19 through January 25. For each event, its date, individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided.
January 19, 2013 – The great Stan Musial passed away at the age of 92 of natural causes at his home in Ladue, Missouri.
January 19, 2018 – The Cardinals traded OF Randal Grichuk to the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Connor Greene and RHP Dominic Leone.
January 20, 1997 – Cardinals center fielder Curt Flood passed away at the age of 59 of pneumonia at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
January 21, 1947 – Cardinal second baseman and manager Frankie Frisch was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
January 21, 1953 – Cardinal pitcher Dizzy Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
January 21, 1969 – Cardinal legend Stan Musial was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
January 22, 1968 – Joe “Ducky” Medwick was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
January 23, 1967 – Stan Musial is named General Manager of the Cardinals, replacing Bob Howsam. Musial stayed in the position for only one year and resigned.
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