photo: Sonny Gray (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals started their offseason trading, sending Sonny Gray to Boston. The team set their 2026 coaching staff with only small changes. Our history feature looks back at key events this past week in team annals.
Sonny Gray traded in the first move of the offseason
In a move that should be no surprise to St. Louis Cardinals’ fans, President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has made his first offseason trade by sending RHP Sonny Gray and cash to the Boston Red Sox. In return for Gray, the Cardinals received RHP Richard Fitts, LHP Brandon Clarke, and a player to be named later or cash.
The return is in line with the expectation that the Cardinals would be seeking to add pitching.
The Cardinals sent $20 million in cash to Boston as the Red Sox re-worked Gray’s contract. The pitcher waived his no-trade protection to facilitate the deal.
On St. Louis’ side of the transaction, the 25-year-old Fitts partially covers the loss of Gray from the starting rotation. His acquisition is consistent with the organization’s attempt to rebuild for the future with a youthful core of players. Fitts made his debut in the major leagues with Boston in 2024 and made four starts, posting 1.74 ERA. He started 10 additional games in 2025, with an ERA of 5.00 in 45 innings pitched.
Bloom stated that he expects Fitts to compete for a starting rotation job in Spring Training, along with Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy. Fitts had experienced some nerve pain in his right arm in 2025, but Bloom affirmed that he has moved beyond that injury and is expected to be ready for spring.
Clarke, 22, was Boston’s fifth-round draft pick in 2024. He finished his 2025 season with High-A affiliate, the Greenville Drive. Like Fitts, Clarke was bothered by injury, suffering blisters that kept him from pitching during the final month of the season. Also like Fitts, Clarke is expected by Bloom to be fully recovered and ready to pitch in the spring. Clarke has been assigned to the Cardinals’ High-A Peoria Chiefs.
The Cardinals still look to trade third baseman Nolan Arenado, who has made a trade this time around more likely by expanding his list of acceptable teams. Willson Contreras is also a possible trade candidate if an offer acceptable to him were to surface. In addition, Bloom has expressed a willingness to listen to offers for some or all his arbitration eligible players, including Brendan Donovan, who has garnered interest from several teams.
Marmol’s 2026 coaching staff is set
The Cardinals announced on Wednesday, November 26, that they have finalized the major league coaching staff for the 2026 season.
Returning staff:
- Bench Coach Daniel Descalso.
- Pitching Coach Dusty Blake.
- Hitting Coach Brant Brown.
- First base Coach Stubby Clapp.
- Third base Coach Ron “Pop” Warner.
- Outfield, Baserunning, and Quality Control Coach Jon Jay.
- Assistant Hitting Coach Brandon Allen.
- Assistant Pitching/Bullpen Coach Julio Rangel.
- Bullpen Coach Jamie Pogue.
- Bullpen catcher Kleininger Teran.
In addition, the organization added Casey Chenoweth as Assistant Hitting Coach, and Kyle Driscoll as Assistant Pitching Coach.
Chenoweth was the Hitting Coach for the Double-A Springfield Cardinals in 2025 and is in his third season with the organization.
Driscoll is a new hire who served as the Minor League Pitching Coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2025.
Patrick “Packy” Elkins will be serving in a new role as Offensive Strategist. Dean Kiekhefer will take on a similar role as Pitching Strategist.
Chad Blair and Noah Landow return as Major League Video Coordinator and Major League Video and Technology Specialist. Matthew Bennett continues as MLB Analyst.
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.
- According to Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch, the Cardinals have had preliminary extension talks with manager Oli Marmol. Marmol is entering the final year of his contract in 2026.
- Former St. Louis closer Ryan Helsley signed a two-year, $28 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles. The contract contains an opt-out after the first season.
- The Cardinals announced their 29th annual Winter Warm-Up fan festival and Cardinals Caravans. 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. Details here.
- Seven Cardinals 2026 ticket packs are now on sale. 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.
More information about the event and how to buy tickets can be found here.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals made their first big transaction of the offseason this past week, as they traded RHP Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox for two young pitchers and a player to be named later or cash. One of the pitchers, RHP Richard Fitts, has major league pitching experience, and according to POBO Chaim Bloom, will be competing for a rotation spot in the spring. The other pitcher, Brandon Clarke, has been assigned to the Cardinals’ High-A Peoria Chiefs.
The trade of Gray is not unexpected given the organization’s stated desire to rid themselves of their big salary veteran contracts as a part of their rebuilding efforts. A trade of Nolan Arenado is also expected some time this offseason. Willson Contreras could also be on the move if the team can find a trade partner that is acceptable to the veteran first baseman.
As forecasted in this space in prior weeks, the Cardinals followed up their non-tender of catcher Yohel Pozo on November 21 by re-signing him to a split major league contract three days later. The non-tender followed by a re-signing is a cost saving move for the organization, as Pozo would be paid a much lower salary while in the minor leagues on the split contract.
The Cardinals also re-signed RHP Sem Robberse to a minor league contract. Robberse was among Cardinals who had been non-tendered. At the same time, the team signed RHP free agent pitcher Scott Blewett to a minor league contract. Blewett is a reliever who pitched for three teams, the Twins, the Orioles, and the Braves in 2025. Both Robberse and Blewett will likely begin their 2026 season with the Memphis Redbirds.
MLB’s Winter Meetings take place in Orlando, Florida beginning next Sunday, December 7 and will run through Wednesday, December 10. During the final day of the meetings, the Rule 5 draft will take place.
The Winter Meetings have been the scene of many trades and free agent signings in past years. Bloom is likely to be very busy, as he has made it clear that he has a number of assets to trade. In addition to the above-mentioned veterans, he will also be listening to offers for some of his arbitration eligible players. Among players reportedly already receiving significant trade interest are Brendan Donovan and JoJo Romero.
Stay tuned for more happenings as the offseason continues.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
- Katie Woo of the Athletic wrote that Cardinals’ utility player Brendan Donovan is receiving significant interest in the trade market. The Cardinals are willing to trade Donovan for the right package, says Woo, but if they do not receive the return they are seeking, they will pivot to moving outfielder Lars Nootbaar or infielder Nolan Gorman. The right offer for Gorman would accomplish an organizational goal, which is opening up an infield spot for top prospect JJ Wetherholt.
Trading Nootbaar is complicated by his offseason surgery for Haglund’s deformities and possibly not being ready to play by Opening Day. The Cardinals would be trading low on Nootbaar and also to some extent on Gorman, who is not injured, but has not performed to expectations for the past several seasons. The Rangers had previously expressed interest in Nootbaar, but they recently acquired Mets OF Brandon Nimmo, an indication that the interest may no longer exist.
- The Pirates are one team that have expressed interest in Donovan, Nootbaar, and Gorman, as well as OF/DH/1B Alec Burleson, according to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of the Athletic. Trading with another NL Central team can be tricky, but the Cardinals have traded with the Pirates in the recent past. They acquired pitcher Jose Quintana from Pittsburgh in 2022 for pitcher Johan Oveido, as an example. The Pirates have a surplus of young pitching, which is a need for the Cardinals in their rebuild.
The Cardinals are not necessarily looking to trade Burleson, and according to Woo and others in another Athletic piece, would need to be blown away by an offer to do so.
Transactions
- 11/25 The Cardinals traded RHP Sonny Gray and cash to the Boston Red Sox for RHP Richard Fitts, LHP Brandon Clarke, and a player to be named later or cash.
- 11/25 The Cardinals signed free agent C Yohel Pozo.
- 11/26 The Cardinals signed free agent RHP Sem Robberse to a minor league contract.
- 11/26 The Cardinals signed free agent RHP Scott Blewett to a minor league contract.
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 any future updates.
Looking Ahead
The next date on the offseason schedule is December 7, when two things will happen. First, the Hall of Fame Contemporary Baseball Era Committee will announce their selections. It was formerly known as the Veterans Committee. The nominees are Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela. The latter finished his career with the Cardinals.
Also on December 7, the Winter Meetings begin. This annual event takes place December 7 through 10 in Orlando Florida. This is the time when trades and signings may be commenced/finalized. In the past these Meetings were very busy and impactful. For the last several years they have become less so, as teams are waiting longer for various reasons to make their decisions on players they wish to acquire.
During the Winter Meetings, the Rule 5 draft takes place. Also occurring during the Winter Meetings is the draft lottery. The CBA prohibits teams from having lottery picks in three straight years. The Cardinals had a lottery pick last year, so this year will be their final chance under the current CBA, which expires on December 1, 2026.
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 for 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 November 17 through November 23. For each event, its date, individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided.
November 24, 2009 – Albert Pujols won his third National League MVP award in a unanimous vote. It was his second consecutive MVP honor. He was the fifth player to be selected three times, joining Stan Musial, Roy Campanella, Mike Schmidt and Barry Bonds.
November 24, 2013 – The Cardinals signed free agent shortstop Jhonny Peralta to a four-year/$53 million contract. The signing was controversial because Peralta had previously served a suspension for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.
November 25, 1947- Cardinals owner Sam Breadon sold the franchise to attorney Fred Saigh and Bob Hannegan, former Postmaster General of the United States and a St. Louis businessman. Saigh was indicted for income tax evasion in 1953 and was forced to sell the Cardinals by Commissioner Ford Frick. Saigh sold the team to the Anheuser-Busch brewery at a price lower than other offers to keep the team in St. Louis.
November 27, 1985 – Cardinals outfielder Vince Coleman was selected by the BBWAA as the National League Rookie of the Year. He was the fourth unanimous winner of the award in a list that included Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey.
November 28, 2006 – Adam Kennedy, former Cardinals first round draft pick in 1997, returned to the team on a three-year/$10 million contract. Kennedy missed the final six weeks of 2007 with a torn meniscus. Kennedy requested a trade at the end of the 2008 season. He was released by the Cardinals on February 9, 2009.
November 30, 2010 – The Cardinals acquired SS Ryan Theriot from the Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP Blake Hawksworth. Theriot played one season for the Cardinals in 2011 and was non-tendered on December 13, 2011.
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