Cardinals' third basemen finished 27th in fWAR and 29th in wRC+, so an upgrade is needed. But free agent Alec Bohm may not be the fix. Thomas Saggese and Blaze Jordan are already on the roster, with Jordan looking like the most complete hitter. 🔥
Willson Contreras is a Silver Slugger finalist at first base after hitting .275/.386/.516 with 27 homers for Boston. Still, moving him to first and then trading him looks defensible for the Cardinals, who shed his deal and added prospect talent. 🔒
A GM Simulator exercise sketches a hypothetical 2027 Cardinals offseason: free-agent bids for Trevor Rogers and Casey Mize, trade ideas for Royce Lewis and O'Neil Cruz, and a ~$110M payroll. The goal is wild-card contention without raiding the top prospects. 🧪
Alec Burleson (1B) and Jordan Walker (OF) are Silver Slugger finalists. Burleson: .816 OPS, 26 HR, 116 RBI. Walker: .793 OPS, 29 HR, 22 SB. Winners will be announced Nov. 17. 🥈
Bill White, the first baseman turned broadcaster and league executive, is on the 2027 Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot. His playing line: .286/.351/.455, 202 HR, 117 OPS+. Voting is December 6 in San Diego, and 75% is needed for induction. 🗳️
Eugenio Suárez, a two-time All-Star coming off a down year with the Reds (26 HR, .740 OPS), is floated as a possible third base fit for the Cardinals post-Arenado. Busch Stadium's pitcher-friendly dimensions could blunt his power, though. ⚾
Jordan Walker is a 2026 NL Silver Slugger finalist in the outfield, capping a rebound from 71 and 66 wRC+ seasons to 29 homers, 102 RBI and a 119 wRC+. Alec Burleson is also a finalist at first base. 🔨
Alec Burleson is a Silver Slugger finalist at first base after leading MLB with 116 RBI and setting career highs with 26 HR and a 125 wRC+. Jordan Walker is a finalist in the outfield. The post-Contreras plan is working. 🔨
Red Sox hired Shelley Duncan for Chad Tracy's staff, and the Cardinals ties run deep. His father Dave was the longtime Cardinals pitching coach and his uncle Chris an outfielder. St. Louis just landed Joel McKeithan as hitting coach. ⚾
Talking About Birds: Eckstein123!
Proposed Orioles trade ideas for a Cardinals 3B: Gunnar Henderson could cost Liam Doyle, Jesus Baez and Jimmy Crooks, while Jordan Westburg is floated for Brandon Clarke and Crooks. Catching depth is the proposed bargaining chip. None of it is a done deal. 🤔
Chaim Bloom called third base a "long-term vacancy," and the Cardinals have options to sort out before 2027. Nolan Gorman (.184, nine homers in 2026) is a non-tender candidate, while rookie Blaze Jordan is another name to watch. 🔍
Victor Scott II's winter ball bid to save his Cardinals future ended early. He wrapped up LIDOM play hitting .129/.289/.161 over 12 games, after a .193 MLB average, and his time in St. Louis looks increasingly likely to be ending. 🧢
It’s a single-issue negotiation. MLB wants a cap, the players reject a cap. All of the details MLB has shared about its vision -- a number of which are good! -- are tied to the MLBPA accepting a cap system. Publicly, at least, the league has not put forth any vision of a non-capped league. The players, and again I’ll say this is based on what we know, appear to have no intention of accepting a payroll cap. Until one side or the other concedes on this point, there is nowhere for negotiations...
Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly predicts the Cardinals could sign free agent Alec Bohm as a short-term third base fix. Bohm drove in 88 runs but hit .249 with a .698 OPS, a stopgap while prospects develop. 🧤
Bleacher Report pegged Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn as the Cardinals' top trade candidates, but the argument here is to hold firm. Both could help the next competitive club in 2028, and Burleson's 116 RBIs led the majors in 2026. 🔒
A Cardinals blog argues Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt were Gold Glove snubs. Winn edged Perdomo in OAA (19 to 16) and led shortstops in DRS. Wetherholt led OAA at the 100th percentile but lost to Turang. The case is passionate, and the metrics do the heavy lifting. 🧤
Cardinals picked up reliever Eduardo Rivera in a small trade, hinting at a bullpen plan built on trades, modest signings and waiver pickups. Young arms from the farm system could fill the pen in 2027. 🔍
Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt ranks high on MLB Pipeline's 2026 long-term rookie value list. Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin and AL Rookie of the Year favorite Kevin McGonigle hold the top two spots, so the St. Louis rookie is in strong company. 📈
Cardinals re-signed lefty Josh Fleming to a minor league deal, per Derrick Goold. He posted a rough six-start stretch at Triple-A Memphis late in 2026 (21 earned runs in 29⅔ innings), so he profiles as rotation depth, not a threat to the 2027 plans. 📋
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