photo: from the St. Louis Cardinals Museum (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals have already said goodbye to six players, with more changes likely ahead. Though the team has no 2024 Gold Glove Award winner, we remember those Cardinals who did in team history.
Cardinals decline options on trio
The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Wednesday, October 31, that the organization declined their contractual club options for 2025 on right-handed pitchers Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Keynan Middleton.
The contracts for Lynn, Gibson, and Middleton had team options worth $11 million, $12 million, and $6 million respectively for the 2025 season. Per their contracts, each pitcher will be paid a $1 million buyout instead.
The decline of the options nets the Cardinals $26 million in savings. The club has for the Cardinals, who have pledged to cut the major league payroll and provide opportunities for younger players already in the system. The payroll cut is part of an announced “reset” to pivot toward spending more resources on an update of the player development system.
The recent hiring of Rob Cerfolio as Assistant GM for Player Development and Performance is the first step in this direction. More hirings are on the horizon.
The departure of Gibson and Lynn leaves the team with a rotation consisting of Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Erick Fedde, Steven Matz and Andre Pallante. Michael McGreevy, who was called up late in the season to make some spot starts, is also in contention for a 2025 rotation spot.
It is not inconceivable that Gray, and possibly both Mikolas and Matz, will be made available on the trade market this offseason. Both Gray and Mikolas have contractual no-trade protection, but Matz does not.
Middelton was picked up at the beginning of the 2024 season to be an addition to the bullpen, but never threw a regular-season pitch due to season-ending surgery on his right forearm flexor tendon.
Cardinals minors pitcher named to Premier 12 roster
Cardinals minor league pitcher Zane Mills has been named to the 28-man roster for the US National Baseball Team in the 2024 Premier 12 baseball championship. The roster consists of 15 pitchers and 13 position players who are not currently on a major league 40-man roster.
The Premier 12 features the highest ranked 12 national baseball teams in the world, and the 2024 version is the third edition of the contest. The Premier 12 is sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation and this year’s championship will be held from November 9-24, 2024 in Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. The event is held every four years, most recently in 2019. It was originally scheduled to be played in 2023 but was delayed due to Covid-19.
For 2024, in addition to the US, the 11 other countries participating are Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Venezuela, Netherlands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Panama, Australia, and Puerto Rico. The difference between 2024 and 2019 is the addition of Panama to replace Canada.
The US team finished second in 2015 and fourth in 2019. The US has never won the gold medal in Premier 12.
The manager of the 2024 USA team is former Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who is joined by Bench Coach Ron Roenicke, Pitching Coach Dave Wallace, Hitting Coach Rick Eckstein, Third Base Coach Dino Ebel, First Base Coach Jemile Weeks, Bullpen Coach LaTroy Hawkins, and Bullpen Catcher Carlos Muñoz.
Mills is the only Cardinal on the USA roster. The 24-year-old was drafted by St. Louis in the fourth round in 2021. Mills finished the 2024 minor league season with the Springfield Cardinals. He posted a record of 8-1 with an ERA of 4.06 in 32 games.
For more information on the tournament and the USA team, follow @USABaseball on social media or visit USABaseball.com.
Cardinals Have No Gold Glove Winners
On Sunday, the 2024 Gold Glove Award winners for fielding excellence in the American and National Leagues were announced.
Despite having three finalists (top three finishers), the Cardinals had no winners. Finalists were Nolan Arenado at third base, Masyn Winn at shortstop and Brendan Donovan (utility player).
The Cardinals were also shut out in 2023.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade and acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 10/31 DH Matt Carpenter elected free agency.
- 10/31 RHP Andrew Kittredge elected free agency.
- 10/31 1B Paul Goldschmidt elected free agency.
- 10/31 RHP Keynan Middleton elected free agency.
- 10/31 RHP Lance Lynn elected free agency.
- 10/31 RHP Kyle Gibson elected free agency.
- 11/1 The Cardinals claimed RHP Roddery Muñoz off waivers from the Miami Marlins.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
The postseason has concluded, and the offseason has officially begun. The five-day window for teams to exercise or decline club options, negotiate with their free agents if they so choose, or make qualifying offers to free agents, is underway and concludes as of 4 pm CT on Monday, November 4.
The Cardinals have announced they are declining the options of right-handed pitchers Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Keynan Middleton.
The Cardinals are not expected to make the qualifying offer, which is $21.05 million for a one-year contract, to any of their free agents.
The annual General Manager Meetings are being held beginning Monday, November 4 through Thursday, November 7 in San Antonio, TX. The GM Meetings are typically where potential transactions are first discussed. Groundwork for trades to be made at a later date is often laid at this time.
November is awards month. The first of the awards to be announced were the Gold Glove Awards.
Important dates for other key awards in November are:
- November 11 – Finalists for Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and Most Valuable Player are announced.
- November 12 – Winners of the Silver Slugger Awards are announced.
- November 18-21 – Winners of the Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP are announced.
Other key November dates include:
- November 19 –Decisions to accept or reject Qualifying Offers and filing of Reserve Lists (adding eligible minor leaguers to 40-man rosters) are to be made on this date.
- November 22 – Non-tender deadline.
Blast from the Past
The month of November is when the winners of the major awards are announced, beginning with the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards.
This week’s Blast from the Past begins a series to showcase offseason awards, specifically Cardinals players who have previously won the various awards.
In this first installment, we start with the Rawlings Gold Gloves. We begin with a brief history of the Awards and end with the Cardinal players who won the awards and how the Cardinals as a team have fared with respect to this award.
The Rawlings Gold Glove awards were created in 1957 to commemorate the best fielding performances in Major League Baseball. In the first year, one award was given out to the best fielder at each position overall in MLB. In 1958, the awards were expanded to the best fielders at each position in each league.
Specifically for outfielders, the first three years the awards were designated specifically for left, right and center field. Then, from 1961 through 2010, the awards were given to three outfielders regardless of position. In 2011, the awards were switched back to their beginnings with designations for left, center, and right field.
More recent changes include an award for team defense introduced in 2020 and an award for Utility Player added in 2022. The Platinum Glove Award was introduced in 2011 which goes to the best defensive player overall in each league.
The Cardinals have amassed the most Gold Glove Awards of any of the 30 MLB teams. St. Louis players/team have won 99 Gold Gloves over the history of the award.
We will not itemize all 99. The following is the list of players who have won the award beginning with the most won by a single player, then in descending order.
- Ozzie Smith – Smith has won the most Gold Gloves with the Cardinals with 11 at shortstop. He received the award every year in the NL from 1982-1992.
- Yadier Molina – Molina has won nine Gold Glove Awards as a catcher. He is tied with our next recipient for that amount. Molina received the Award each year in the NL from 2008-2015, then once more in 2018.
- Bob Gibson – Pitcher Bob Gibson won nine Gold Gloves, tied with Yadier Molina. Gibson received the award every year from 1965-1973.
- Curt Flood – Flood won seven Gold Gloves as an outfielder every year from 1963-1969.
- Bill White – White received six Gold Gloves at first base from 1960-1965.
- Keith Hernandez – Hernandez received six Gold Gloves as a Cardinal at first base from 1978-1983. He won five more while later playing for the Mets.
- Jim Edmonds – Edmonds received six Gold Gloves as an outfielder from 2000-2005.
- Ken Boyer – Boyer won five Gold Gloves at third base, four from 1958-1961, and one in 1963.
- Scott Rolen – Rolen received four (4) Gold Gloves at third base, three from 2002-2004 and one in 2006.
- Bobby Shantz, Tom Pagnozzi, Mike Matheny, and Wille McGee – These four players each won three Gold Glove Awards as a Cardinal.
- Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols, Fernando Vina, Kolten Wong, Terry Pendleton, Nolan Arenado, Edgar Renteria, and Tyler O’Neill – Each of these players received two Gold Glove Awards while playing for the Cardinals.
- Joaquín Andujar, Paul Goldschmidt, Tommy Edman, Ken Reitz, Dal Maxvill, Jason Heyward, Harrison Bader, and Brendan Donovan – Each one of these players won one Gold Glove Award as a Cardinal.
Two players have won the Platinum Glove Award while playing for the Cardinals. They are Yadier Molina, who has four Platinum Gloves, and Nolan Arenado, who has two Platinum Gloves.
The 2021 Cardinals received the award for team defense and also set the record for most individual Gold Gloves for a team in a single season with five.
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