Two huge factors in the Cardinals being better in '26

[Cusecards]

I've been saying this for some time, just had this conversation w/bully in another thread.

The 2026 Cardinals will be better than the 2025 team because...........

-M. Mikolas, E. Fredde are gone----that's an upgrade already!

-A. Pallante is headed back to the pen', another rotation upgrade

(It would be hard for any starter to be worse than those three were in 2025)

-JJW replaces Donny, could be an even better offensive player

-NADO's glove will be missed but N. Gorman should provide more offense

-WillyC would be the BIG MISS, but a full season of I. Hererra could easily replace his offense

And that doesn't even count the players who come back via the trades who may be MLB ready!

Plus C. Bloom could still add via FA too.

I agree Rock that the 2026 team will have potentially more talent than the 2025 team due to youth.
Whether it translates to more wins is what we’ll find out.
I admit to being excited for this season mostly because of JJ and other prospects that are looming.
And Bloom is probably not done making moves.
If at least one of Walker/Gorman could emerge that would be huge!

And Saggese could emerge into a productive offense player similar to how Burleson has. Don't count it out. Saggese had some phenomenal success as a very young minor league hitter.

He is in the mix especially if they make other trades.

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying this for some time, just had this conversation w/bully in another thread.

The 2026 Cardinals will be better than the 2025 team because...........

-M. Mikolas, E. Fredde are gone----that's an upgrade already!

-A. Pallante is headed back to the pen', another rotation upgrade

(It would be hard for any starter to be worse than those three were in 2025)

-JJW replaces Donny, could be an even better offensive player

-NADO's glove will be missed but N. Gorman should provide more offense

-WillyC would be the BIG MISS, but a full season of I. Hererra could easily replace his offense

And that doesn't even count the players who come back via the trades who may be MLB ready!

Plus C. Bloom could still add via FA too.

I agree Rock that the 2026 team will have potentially more talent than the 2025 team due to youth.
Whether it translates to more wins is what we’ll find out.
I admit to being excited for this season mostly because of JJ and other prospects that are looming.
And Bloom is probably not done making moves.
If at least one of Walker/Gorman could emerge that would be huge!

Mo being gone and Bloom now in charge is like a breathe of fresh air.

It could energize not only the players who can see what he's building but also Oli, the coaches and even the fan base (sans the grumpy few who can be loud in here).

I'm optimistic 2026 will be a lot better than 2025.

I know we can now see the teams vision and where they're headed now.

[hullie]

Gorman and Walker simply have to be better.

How do you do it? Very impressive breakdown. The board is lucky to have you.

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying this for some time, just had this conversation w/bully in another thread.

The 2026 Cardinals will be better than the 2025 team because...........

-M. Mikolas, E. Fredde are gone----that's an upgrade already!

-A. Pallante is headed back to the pen', another rotation upgrade

(It would be hard for any starter to be worse than those three were in 2025)

-JJW replaces Donny, could be an even better offensive player

-NADO's glove will be missed but N. Gorman should provide more offense

-WillyC would be the BIG MISS, but a full season of I. Hererra could easily replace his offense

And that doesn't even count the players who come back via the trades who may be MLB ready!

Plus C. Bloom could still add via FA too.

Agree with this in principle, but not completely. Nolan Gorman is coming up on his 5th major league season. He has never outproduced Arenado in a season yet- I wouldn't assume that he will this year. Are you suggesting that in addition to Herrera's 19 homers last season that he will "easily" also replace the 20 home runs Contreras hit? I wouldn't assume that either.

The subtractions from the rotation will be a big deal, there are some players who will show improvements, and as you say, there will be some new players we don't know anything about yet. We'll see who those are before I make predictions about who we could and couldn't be. The potential to be better isn't crazy talk though.

NADO 2025:
436 PA's
12 HR
52 RBI
.237 .289 .377 .666

Gorman 2025:
402 PA
14 HR
46 RBI
.205 .296 .370 .666

NADO (and I'm a fan) is trending down but could bounce back in 2026 but w/limited upside?

Gorman is much younger and should still have some upside.

Neither is a great option at 3rd base in 2025 but I do think Gorman can easily surpass NADO's offense but of course will be nowhere near his defense.

As for I. Hererra, I was referring to a full season of him being the logical hitter who could replace WillyC as our most productive hitter.

I do think w/600+ PA's his capable of hitting 25+ HR's.

We'll see. We're at a place where we all have our opinions. NG has never outperformed NA offensively in a season to date. That much we can substantiate. Moving on to opinion- I don't see Gorman ever getting to 600 PA's in a season in his entire career. Regular back issues and too many 1-2 month stretches where he is nearly unplayable. Even with those things, he may get to 25 HR's in some season. I just wouldn't bake that into my team's projections.

And we can also agree that NADO, at his age, is trending downward offensively while the much younger Gorman does have some (potential) upside.

And you could be right, Gorman's back could cost him getting those 600 PA's.

[Talkin' Baseball]

I've been saying this for some time, just had this conversation w/bully in another thread.

The 2026 Cardinals will be better than the 2025 team because...........

-M. Mikolas, E. Fredde are gone----that's an upgrade already!

-A. Pallante is headed back to the pen', another rotation upgrade

(It would be hard for any starter to be worse than those three were in 2025)

-JJW replaces Donny, could be an even better offensive player

-NADO's glove will be missed but N. Gorman should provide more offense

-WillyC would be the BIG MISS, but a full season of I. Hererra could easily replace his offense

And that doesn't even count the players who come back via the trades who may be MLB ready!

Plus C. Bloom could still add via FA too.

Agree with this in principle, but not completely. Nolan Gorman is coming up on his 5th major league season. He has never outproduced Arenado in a season yet- I wouldn't assume that he will this year. Are you suggesting that in addition to Herrera's 19 homers last season that he will "easily" also replace the 20 home runs Contreras hit? I wouldn't assume that either.

The subtractions from the rotation will be a big deal, there are some players who will show improvements, and as you say, there will be some new players we don't know anything about yet. We'll see who those are before I make predictions about who we could and couldn't be. The potential to be better isn't crazy talk though.

NADO 2025:
436 PA's
12 HR
52 RBI
.237 .289 .377 .666

Gorman 2025:
402 PA
14 HR
46 RBI
.205 .296 .370 .666

NADO (and I'm a fan) is trending down but could bounce back in 2026 but w/limited upside?

Gorman is much younger and should still have some upside.

Neither is a great option at 3rd base in 2025 but I do think Gorman can easily surpass NADO's offense but of course will be nowhere near his defense.

As for I. Hererra, I was referring to a full season of him being the logical hitter who could replace WillyC as our most productive hitter.

I do think w/600+ PA's his capable of hitting 25+ HR's.

We'll see. We're at a place where we all have our opinions. NG has never outperformed NA offensively in a season to date. That much we can substantiate. Moving on to opinion- I don't see Gorman ever getting to 600 PA's in a season in his entire career. Regular back issues and too many 1-2 month stretches where he is nearly unplayable. Even with those things, he may get to 25 HR's in some season. I just wouldn't bake that into my team's projections.

And we can also agree that NADO, at his age, is trending downward offensively while the much younger Gorman does have some (potential) upside.

And you could be right, Gorman's back could cost him getting those 600 PA's.

Agree with Arenado being in decline. Also agree that Gorman has potential. That's what "could" happen. What "has" happened is that Gorman also has been in decline since 2022.

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying this for some time, just had this conversation w/bully in another thread.

The 2026 Cardinals will be better than the 2025 team because...........

-M. Mikolas, E. Fredde are gone----that's an upgrade already!

-A. Pallante is headed back to the pen', another rotation upgrade

(It would be hard for any starter to be worse than those three were in 2025)

-JJW replaces Donny, could be an even better offensive player

-NADO's glove will be missed but N. Gorman should provide more offense

-WillyC would be the BIG MISS, but a full season of I. Hererra could easily replace his offense

And that doesn't even count the players who come back via the trades who may be MLB ready!

Plus C. Bloom could still add via FA too.

Agree with this in principle, but not completely. Nolan Gorman is coming up on his 5th major league season. He has never outproduced Arenado in a season yet- I wouldn't assume that he will this year. Are you suggesting that in addition to Herrera's 19 homers last season that he will "easily" also replace the 20 home runs Contreras hit? I wouldn't assume that either.

The subtractions from the rotation will be a big deal, there are some players who will show improvements, and as you say, there will be some new players we don't know anything about yet. We'll see who those are before I make predictions about who we could and couldn't be. The potential to be better isn't crazy talk though.

NADO 2025:
436 PA's
12 HR
52 RBI
.237 .289 .377 .666

Gorman 2025:
402 PA
14 HR
46 RBI
.205 .296 .370 .666

NADO (and I'm a fan) is trending down but could bounce back in 2026 but w/limited upside?

Gorman is much younger and should still have some upside.

Neither is a great option at 3rd base in 2025 but I do think Gorman can easily surpass NADO's offense but of course will be nowhere near his defense.

As for I. Hererra, I was referring to a full season of him being the logical hitter who could replace WillyC as our most productive hitter.

I do think w/600+ PA's his capable of hitting 25+ HR's.

Any chance Burleson could be the most productive Cardinals' hitter in '26? He could match Herrera's production. IMO

Not if Hererra stays healthy but we're all hopeful Burly continues on his upward trajectory.

Burly (18 HR in 546 PA's/.290 .343 .459 .801 ) doesn't have Hererra's power potential (19 HR in 452 PA's/.284 .373 .464 .837) but let's hope they both do well.

Burly also has to keep holding his own vs LHP like he finally did (.271 .310 .398 .708) in 2025.

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying this for some time, just had this conversation w/bully in another thread.

The 2026 Cardinals will be better than the 2025 team because...........

-M. Mikolas, E. Fredde are gone----that's an upgrade already!

-A. Pallante is headed back to the pen', another rotation upgrade

(It would be hard for any starter to be worse than those three were in 2025)

-JJW replaces Donny, could be an even better offensive player

-NADO's glove will be missed but N. Gorman should provide more offense

-WillyC would be the BIG MISS, but a full season of I. Hererra could easily replace his offense

And that doesn't even count the players who come back via the trades who may be MLB ready!

Plus C. Bloom could still add via FA too.

Agree with this in principle, but not completely. Nolan Gorman is coming up on his 5th major league season. He has never outproduced Arenado in a season yet- I wouldn't assume that he will this year. Are you suggesting that in addition to Herrera's 19 homers last season that he will "easily" also replace the 20 home runs Contreras hit? I wouldn't assume that either.

The subtractions from the rotation will be a big deal, there are some players who will show improvements, and as you say, there will be some new players we don't know anything about yet. We'll see who those are before I make predictions about who we could and couldn't be. The potential to be better isn't crazy talk though.

NADO 2025:
436 PA's
12 HR
52 RBI
.237 .289 .377 .666

Gorman 2025:
402 PA
14 HR
46 RBI
.205 .296 .370 .666

NADO (and I'm a fan) is trending down but could bounce back in 2026 but w/limited upside?

Gorman is much younger and should still have some upside.

Neither is a great option at 3rd base in 2025 but I do think Gorman can easily surpass NADO's offense but of course will be nowhere near his defense.

As for I. Hererra, I was referring to a full season of him being the logical hitter who could replace WillyC as our most productive hitter.

I do think w/600+ PA's his capable of hitting 25+ HR's.

We'll see. We're at a place where we all have our opinions. NG has never outperformed NA offensively in a season to date. That much we can substantiate. Moving on to opinion- I don't see Gorman ever getting to 600 PA's in a season in his entire career. Regular back issues and too many 1-2 month stretches where he is nearly unplayable. Even with those things, he may get to 25 HR's in some season. I just wouldn't bake that into my team's projections.

And we can also agree that NADO, at his age, is trending downward offensively while the much younger Gorman does have some (potential) upside.

And you could be right, Gorman's back could cost him getting those 600 PA's.

Agree with Arenado being in decline. Also agree that Gorman has potential. That's what "could" happen. What "has" happened is that Gorman also has been in decline since 2022.

Let's hope Bloom's people can fix him (and Walker)...............if not, then time to cut the cord on both.

[Cusecards]

I've been saying this for some time, just had this conversation w/bully in another thread.

The 2026 Cardinals will be better than the 2025 team because...........

-M. Mikolas, E. Fredde are gone----that's an upgrade already!

-A. Pallante is headed back to the pen', another rotation upgrade

(It would be hard for any starter to be worse than those three were in 2025)

-JJW replaces Donny, could be an even better offensive player

-NADO's glove will be missed but N. Gorman should provide more offense

-WillyC would be the BIG MISS, but a full season of I. Hererra could easily replace his offense

And that doesn't even count the players who come back via the trades who may be MLB ready!

Plus C. Bloom could still add via FA too.

I agree Rock that the 2026 team will have potentially more talent than the 2025 team due to youth.
Whether it translates to more wins is what we’ll find out.
I admit to being excited for this season mostly because of JJ and other prospects that are looming.
And Bloom is probably not done making moves.
If at least one of Walker/Gorman could emerge that would be huge!

Mo being gone and Bloom now in charge is like a breathe of fresh air.

It could energize not only the players who can see what he's building but also Oli, the coaches and even the fan base (sans the grumpy few who can be loud in here).

I'm optimistic 2026 will be a lot better than 2025.

I know we can now see the teams vision and where they're headed now.

Yes....fingers crossed!
Bloom’s strength is supposedly in the minors and drafting?
The Cards certainly need help there. Very early but so far so good!

[HorseTrader]

Water is wet, but doesn’t get its own thread.

Shady is soaked has thousands of thread, unfortunately

I suppose the real question is - What is Shady soaked in? I'll let you all figure that out, not sure I want to know

Soak this. You are an "Add foe". Good riddance.

Great, I have been working to get there for awhile.

[skeezix]

we will be lucky to win 70 games

In the past 100 years of Cardinal baseball, the worst record was 69-93, in 1978. If this happens there might be another low point.