Shane Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner, is floated as a possible one-year "prove-it" target for the Cardinals. The idea: rebuild his value, then flip him at the deadline, as with Dustin May. ๐ Speculation only, nothing agreed.
Shane Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner, is floated as a possible one-year "prove-it" target for the Cardinals. The idea: rebuild his value, then flip him at the deadline, as with Dustin May. ๐ Speculation only, nothing agreed.
Former Cardinals Dustin May and JoJo Romero did their jobs in World Series Game 4 for Milwaukee. May allowed one run over three innings with three strikeouts and no walks, and Romero escaped the fourth without a hit or walk. The Brewers still lost in 12 innings, so no clinch. ๐
Yadier Molina's been ejected twice in three days managing Navegantes in Venezuela, and the club is 2-10. The temperament question is the case against him as a Cardinals manager, and the Cardinals still employ Oli Marmol. ๐ฅ
Baseball America's Geoff Pontes calls Leo Bernal "the true heir to Molina." The September arrival hit .284 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 102 plate appearances, and threw out six of 25 runners, just above league average. ๐งค
An opinion piece argues the Cardinals should jump a hot pre-lockout market (lockout looms Dec. 1), as they did with Steven Matz. Third base, rotation and bullpen are need areas, and extensions for Burleson or Walker could lock in today's rules. ๐
Jim Bowden of The Athletic matched free agent J.P. Crawford with the Cardinals, projecting $20M over two years. St. Louis ranked 25th in bWAR at third base, so a boring, effective stopgap could be a real upgrade. ๐งฑ
A search for a worse Cardinals bullpen than 2026's lands on 2018, when the group also ranked 25th of 30 in WAR. This year's version matched that rank, with Gordon Graceffo as its top fWAR arm. The writer expects a rebound in 2027. ๐ฅ
Cardinals see Leo Bernal as a possible everyday catcher, and Oli Marmol floated 120-130 starts. That leaves Rainiel Rodriguez's long-term spot unclear, though St. Louis still views him as a catcher, and the third base chatter keeps going. ๐งค
Cardinals' outfield looks like an internal job. Per Derrick Goold, Joshua Bรกez likely gets a long leash in left, and Nathan Church starts as the center field favorite over Victor Scott II. Little appetite for a stopgap while Tai Peete and Josiah Ragsdale develop. ๐ฑ
Nathan Church took over center field after Victor Scott II faltered, posting an 81 wRC+ and +3 OAA in center. Strong defense and baserunning lift his floor, but the bat limits his ceiling. ๐งข He's the present answer in center, not necessarily the future one.
Ex-Cardinal Dustin May starts a potential World Series clincher for the Brewers in Game 4 against the Rays. The Cardinals flipped him and JoJo Romero for Josiah Ragsdale and Alexander Frias, a return that still looks strong, if a little awkward. ๐ฌ
Springfield teammates Tai Peete and Michael Watson are gushing over Rainiel Rodriguez, the 19-year-old switch-hitting catching prospect. Farm director Larry Day has compared him to Jose Ramirez. The nicknames keep piling up; the Busch Stadium timeline is the open question. ๐ฅ
JJ Wetherholt is the Cardinals' nominee for the 2026 Heart and Hustle Award, and fan voting is open. The rookie second baseman posted 4.5 bWAR with 17 homers and is in line for a Gold Glove. Not bad for a guy with a slow heartbeat. โค๏ธ
10/27/2011 David Freese took over Game 6 of the World Series for the Cardinals. First, it was a triple in the ninth to tie things up and then a walk-off homer in the 11th.
The Cardinals dismissed hitting coach Brant Brown on Oct. 23 after the offense tied for second-to-last in MLB in OPS in 2026. With one of the league's youngest rosters, his replacement (Casey Chenoweth is a possibility) will shape the lineup's development. ๐
Chaim Bloom won't rule out Jesus Baez as the Cardinals' long-term shortstop, saying he has the hands, arm and better-than-expected movement. That puts quiet pressure on Masyn Winn to lock down the job in 2027. ๐
Cardinals 2026 autopsy: the offense ranked 29th in OPS and 28th in ISO, so power is the cause of death. The rotation lacked strikeouts, and the bullpen's K-BB% was ugly. Defense (3rd in OAA) was the lone healthy organ, and the hitting coach Brant Brown is out. ๐ชฆ
Cardinals prospect Miguel Hernandez, 18, hit .282/.432/.492 with 11 HR across the FCL and Single-A, set the club's FCL homer record (9), and ranks No. 17 per Baseball America. A shortstop with power, he could climb fast in 2027. ๐
Cardinals are among baseball's youngest, most homegrown rosters, and 101ESPN's Brandon Kiley says that won't be enough. Brewers have six homegrown hitters but acquire most pitchers elsewhere, and the Rays have only five homegrown players on their World Series roster. ๐
Matthew Liberatore went from Opening Day starter to rotation depth. His 2026 workload hit career highs (31 starts, 155 IP), but his ERA rose to 5.23 and hitters posted a 1.077 OPS against him the third time through. A bullpen move looms. ๐