ST. Louis -- The Cardinals almost assuredly will be more active in the winter ahead, but that has more to do with the lack of deals made in 2025 than Chaim Bloom taking over for John Mozeliak as the club’s new president of baseball operations. Following a long, quiet winter last year, when the Cards were unable to trade Nolan Arenado and didn’t sign a free agent -- Phil Maton -- until the middle of Spring Training, the club is expected to give Bloom the financial resources to moderately improve the roster. However, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up for Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Tucker, Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger, Alex Bregman, Framber Valdez or Dylan Cease. Think: a fifth starter or an outfielder with some pop. Here are some of the club’s most pressing questions with the offseason beginning in earnest next week: Which players are free agents? Miles Mikolas, a Cardinal since 2018, is the team’s lone free agent this offseason. He has been very open to a return, but the club might be ready to move on after three forgettable seasons. An All-Star in 2018 and '22, Mikolas has been too often victimized by homers and two-strike hits over the past three seasons when he posted ERAs of 4.78, 5.35 and 4.84. However, he has been a very dependable workhorse and made at least 31 starts each of the past four seasons. If the Cardinals can’t replace him with a younger, more promising pitcher, the club could look to bring Mikolas back on a one-year deal. |
Which players have options or are arbitration eligible? What impact will that have on payroll? The Cards don’t have any players with contractual options that need addressing this offseason, but they will have several arbitration cases to navigate that will likely result in being a sizable chunk of the team’s payroll. Paying raises to the nine arbitration-eligible players could put a damper on the club’s free-agent spending. Brendan Donovan, the team’s lone All-Star in 2025, will likely get a significant raise over the $2.85 million he made last season. The same goes for Alec Burleson, a Silver Slugger finalist in his first year of arbitration. JoJo Romero, who evolved into the part-time closer’s role after Ryan Helsley was traded, should get a nice bump on the $2.26 million he made in 2025. Andre Pallante and Lars Nootbaar, who both won their arbitration cases prior to last season, are eligible for the second time. Matthew Liberatore, who successfully made the transition back to being a starter, earned Super 2 status and will get a raise on the $775,800 he made last season. His boyhood friend, Nolan Gorman, will also enter the arbitration process for the first time. |
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Who might be a non-tender candidate, and when does the club have to make that decision? The Cardinals have until Nov. 21 to decide which players they will not tender contracts to for the 2026 season. Understandably, they have some difficult decisions to make on a couple of players. Lefty reliever John King, who welcomed the birth of his first child in September, could be a non-tender candidate after seeing his ERA jump from 2.85 in 2024 to 4.66 in 2025. The same goes for Jorge Alcala, who is eligible for the fourth time, after he struggled in 15 relief appearances with the Cards. Zack Thompson, who missed all of 2025 with a shoulder injury, could also be in his final weeks with the Cards. Yohel Pozo, one of the feel-good stories from the 2025 season, is also a non-tender candidate because of the glut of catchers the team has with Iván Herrera, Pedro Pagés, Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal. Who needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter to avoid the Rule 5 Draft? Does this create a roster crunch on the 40-player roster? Yes, and not necessarily. Those decisions must be made by Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. CT. The absolute no-brainers who need to be protected are Bernal (No. 4 in the Cards’ system, per MLB Pipeline), Joshua Baez (No. 11) and Brycen Mautz (No. 21). All three were driving forces on the Double-A Springfield club that won the Texas League title. Baez, 22, could make it to the big leagues in 2026 after hitting 20 home runs, driving in 79 runs and stealing 54 bases between High-A and Double-A in 2025. Pete Hansen, a third-round pick in 2022, is also likely to be added to that list. Max Rajcic, a former Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year, made the decision difficult by going 0-4 with a 6.40 ERA in 11 starts at Triple-A Memphis. Blaze Jordan, who was acquired from the Red Sox in the deal centered around Steven Matz, will likely be protected despite his Triple-A troubles. |
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The truly difficult decisions will center around injured pitchers Tekoah Roby (No. 8), Tink Hence (No. 12) and Cooper Hjerpe (No. 13). Roby and Hjerpe missed part or all of 2025 with significant arm injuries that will linger into '26, while Hence -- formerly the top prospect in the organization -- was limited to just three starts at Double-A Springfield because of more shoulder trouble. In five Minor League seasons, the rail-thin Hence has yet to top 100 innings in any of them. Hence and Roby are on the 40-man roster, but Hjerpe is not. Would any club risk claiming Hjerpe -- a first-round pick in '22 -- coming off a serious arm injury in '25? |
What kind of personnel help do they need? Will they be active in free agency? Active, yes. Aggressive, no. With Mikolas likely gone, Pallante and Quinn Mathews (No. 5 prospect) coming off shaky seasons and Roby injured, the Cards must pursue pitching to fill out their rotation. Some pitchers who might fit their price range: Zac Gallen, Chris Bassitt, Austin Gomber or (gulp) Max Scherzer. Could veteran leaders Andrew Kittredge or Maton return to the bullpen? Who might they be willing to trade? The Cardinals have acknowledged that they likely need to break up their four-person cluster of left-handed hitters. Most likely, they will look to trade Gorman or Nootbaar, but what if it is a leader such as Donovan? His value will never be higher than it is now, and the Cards need to create a spot for top prospect JJ Wetherholt. Also, could the Cards deal from depth and move Pagés, Crooks or Bernal for pitching help? |
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