St Louis Cardinals 2026

#26      
pruman91
Se Il Illini said:
Per Major League Baseball network, The Cardinals will pay $31,000,000 of the $42,000,000 contract.
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another report says.....................

Cardinals $ 26 Mil
Rockies $ 5 Mil.......
Diamondbacks $ 11 Mil
 
#27      
jmwillini
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#28      
ptgrd23
Nobody could have predicted Nolan swift decline starting at age 31. Now 34.

Was MVP candidate level for couple seasons with Cards

I want to see Jordan or Nolan there for full season.

I want to see Ivan at 1B full season

I would next trade Donavan - age 28. Burleson age 27 is tempting too.

This is a full rebuild.
 
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#29      
ptgrd23
Donavan is free agent in 2027 - more urgency to trade him this year
Burleson is free agent in 2028

Their value will never be higher
 
#30      
the juiceman cometh
pruman91 said:
another report says.....................

Cardinals $ 26 Mil
Rockies $ 5 Mil.......
Diamondbacks $ 11 Mil
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It's the same thing. The Rockies owed us that $5 million. Instead of collecting it ourselves it goes to the D-Backs. It's not like the Rockies just decided to chip in an extra $5 million to help us get the deal done.
 
#32      
Ryllini
I really like Nolan and will miss the special that could occur at 3b on any ball hit his way. I'm going to focus less on what the org is sending, because they aren't competing the next to years and if I'm going yo focus on the financial, the org is saving 11 million over the next 2 years and hopefully can save some for international when ready or a FA when ready.
I'm happy with what org has acknowledged about the state of the franchise and the goala going forward as far as I can see from my seat. I trust Chaim, I truly believe he was made to be the scapegoat in Boston and I think what he learned in TB goes a long way. Another guy that I trust in this rebuild Rob Cerfolio. Thay guys knows what time it is and knows how to identify talent. Especially on the pitching side.
 
#33      
gibb52
Nado was fabulous here for a time but has regressed badly the last couple of years offensively. To the point that he is essentially a platoon player. A trade out of StL is good for both parties, maybe he'll find some resurgence in Zona.
 
#38      
Se Il Illini
ptgrd23 said:
Nobody could have predicted Nolan swift decline starting at age 31. Now 34.

Was MVP candidate level for couple seasons with Cards

I want to see Jordan or Nolan there for full season.

I want to see Ivan at 1B full season

I would next trade Donavan - age 28. Burleson age 27 is tempting too.

This is a full rebuild.
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What about the outfield? That is death valley out there with the 3 players who got the majority of the time. I am fine with seeing if Victor Scott is a player in the future. But the 2 corner players are known quantities and there needs to be a change.
 
#39      
gibb52
Se Il Illini said:
What about the outfield? That is death valley out there with the 3 players who got the majority of the time. I am fine with seeing if Victor Scott is a player in the future. But the 2 corner players are known quantities and there needs to be a change.
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The best plan for Walker is to start the year in Memphis and not come back to StL until he hits his way there. Burly will move to 1st now that WillyCon is gone I assume. Noot will be out there, they may move Donovan to LF to make room for Wetherholt. Lots of moving parts so who knows until opening day.
 
#40      
Dee_4_Three_83
Katie Woo reported that there is serious conversation internally about keeping Donovan. It could be all posturing, but if it isn't, having Donovan as an alternative in the outfield makes sense.

I personally love Donovan, but if we get teams in a bidding war, and get a significant haul in retun, we can find a cheap veteran presence to mentor the position players instead. We have bolstered our system already quite a bit, so now it may be a question of trade now or at the deadline.
 
#42      
wpr
Ryllini said:
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Arenado’s time in St. Louis ends without a single playoff game victory—and with fewer playoff games played than during his frustrating and competitively fruitless tenure with the Colorado Rockies.
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There are not many people who would have believed this in February 2012.

The net salary being paid by St. Louis to other clubs in 2026 is the second-highest single-season total by any major league team since 2020, topped only by the New York Mets’ more than $60 million in 2024 to unload Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Those Mets then used at least some of that financial flexibility to sign Juan Soto to the largest contract in North American professional sports history. The Cardinals, meanwhile, will be spending $46 million of their currently estimated $103 million payroll on players who will play elsewhere.
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Even in a rebuilding year (or two) I can't seem to get excited about this. Being compared to the long time mismanaged Mets is pretty bad.


Dustin May, signed to a one-year deal earlier this winter, is now the only Cardinal set to make more than $10 million in 2026.
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May's $12.5 mil contract places him 136th.
 
#43      
ptgrd23
I think Chaim has to trade Donovan while his value is high. He is 29 and will not get any better. He will be gone in a year in free agency. If you trade him now the acquiring team will get draft pick if he goes free agent so they are willing to pay more.

This team is not beating Brewers and Cubs for a playoff spot. The only current starter with star potential is Wynn.

Keep blowing it up - trade Donovan and Burleson (27, 2 years away from free agency).
 
#44      
Ryllini
wpr said:
Even in a rebuilding year (or two) I can't seem to get excited about this. Being compared to the long time mismanaged Mets is pretty bad.
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I hear you. It is spent money and nothing can be done now. I’m glad it is being stripped to the studs and hopefully figuring a way to claw back. By the time we are ready, I’m sure the Dodgers will have added 3 more perennial all stars 🤣🤣
 
#45      
Dee_4_Three_83
Ryllini said:
I hear you. It is spent money and nothing can be done now. I’m glad it is being stripped to the studs and hopefully figuring a way to claw back. By the time we are ready, I’m sure the Dodgers will have added 3 more perennial all stars 🤣🤣
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The Dodgers model is one that mid market teams will not be able to compete with long term. That is why the CBA is so important for the owners to get on the same page about revenue sharing, tv deals, etc. The luxury tax just isn't a significant hurdle for large market teams, because they can overcome the luxury tax with all the revenue they generate from TV, merchandising, and ticket revenue.

As for the money we offloaded, we could have elected to not offload that money, but what kind of return would we have received? When you are rebuilding, you need quantity and quality in return for your aging stars.

As for the Donovan situation, with Bichette seemingly off the board to a team that wasn't even in the reported Donovan suitors list (Mariners, Giants, Red Sox), it makes me think that the bidding war is going to be there. I could see Bloom waiting on this one a bit, because the spots for the young guys are open either way now. Teams are going to get more and more desperate the closer we get to Spring Training.

That being said, if we don't hear the return we want, I would like to see the Cards extend Donovan on a 4 or 5 year deal. That still gives us the flexibility to trade him before the trade deadline or we could decide to make Donovan our veteran holdover that leads us to the next era of winning baseball.
 
#47      
Ryllini
Dee_4_Three_83 said:
As for the money we offloaded, we could have elected to not offload that money, but what kind of return would we have received? When you are rebuilding, you need quantity and quality in return for your aging stars.
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If they didn't offload those players, the return would be about 73 wins and another year wasted toward getting the books and org on the right path.
 
#48      
pruman91
Dee_4_Three_83 said:
The Dodgers model is one that mid market teams will not be able to compete with long term. That is why the CBA is so important for the owners to get on the same page about revenue sharing, tv deals, etc. The luxury tax just isn't a significant hurdle for large market teams, because they can overcome the luxury tax with all the revenue they generate from TV, merchandising, and ticket revenue.

As for the money we offloaded, we could have elected to not offload that money, but what kind of return would we have received? When you are rebuilding, you need quantity and quality in return for your aging stars.

As for the Donovan situation, with Bichette seemingly off the board to a team that wasn't even in the reported Donovan suitors list (Mariners, Giants, Red Sox), it makes me think that the bidding war is going to be there. I could see Bloom waiting on this one a bit, because the spots for the young guys are open either way now. Teams are going to get more and more desperate the closer we get to Spring Training.

That being said, if we don't hear the return we want, I would like to see the Cards extend Donovan on a 4 or 5 year deal. That still gives us the flexibility to trade him before the trade deadline or we could decide to make Donovan our veteran holdover that leads us to the next era of winning baseball.
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I agree and I would also keep Burleson..........Trade Nootbaar.........he is injury prone just like TON was ....................
 
#50      
Se Il Illini
Illwinsagain said:
Yadi coming back to coach the catchers and develop a training plan for them.
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We have heard this story before. He was an assistant who collected a check but did not show up. I have no inside information, but I fail to get too excited. He is retired, and to his credit he has spent a lot of time with his family. My understanding is that he has a son who will be attending ciollege in the near future in Texas. There is a lot of chatter on other sites from the fanboys that he is the manger in waiting.
 
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