Here's why I think the 2026 team will surprise many

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

I'll stick with my initial prediction. They've got the talent potential to nab the 3rd the WC if everything goes right.

They've also got the potential to lose 100 games. Just have to wait and see! More than ready, though, either way! Blues season has been wildly disappointing.

I'm right there w/you b n' b

If things go right, then they'll surprise all of MLB and be in that 80 - 84 win range.

If injuries to key players and more trades occur, then it could get ugly.

(And OM Gosh our Blues have been sooooooooooooo disappointing this year )

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Wishful thinking.

Likely rightthinker, I do wear redbird colored glasses.

BUT

If they can shorten games and hand off leads to the pen', then they might just surprise you.

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

[VegasVinny]

This is the first season since 1995 that the Cardinals' ticket office will really have to work for their paychecks. From La Russa and the roster moves ahead of '96 to Big Mac to Albert/MV3 to the magic of 2011 and the couple years that followed to Goldy/Arenado, the organization couldn't have screwed up expanding a fanbase if they tried.

Now? JJW and the future. This offense, as constructed, is abysmal. There are so many pie-in-the-sky scenarios that have to happen for this team to be surprising in a positive way. I think it's more likely they surprise us by being worse than even PECOTA predicts.

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

No doubt the pen is very important. I expect that Romero will be traded though. Then you've got Roycroft and that other stiff I can't remember. So, it could be good and it could be not so good.

Perhaps JoJo's gone.

But I think C. Bloom holds him till mid season (to couple w/Noot?) since he wouldn't bring back much value in a solo trade unless Bloom can get some POBO/GM to overpay.

NO ROYCROFT or Fermandez!

They won't be in the OD pen' (Back end will likely be Pallante, Graceffo and Soriano who has no options unless he's DFA'd in camp.

Plus one of the kids could force his way into the pen' w/a good camp.

Bullpen will be the teams strength, why I think they're the key to an above .500 season.

[11WSChamps]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

I prefer to base my choice on experience, knowledge and logic and not hope and pray sprinkled with pixie dust.

Palllante may very well be part of a rotation with no anchor like Gray and a host of backend starters with Liberatore perhaps the exception and there's May who until last season had managed to make 20-starts in three seasons. And as bad as the rotation was at one tie this team was 9-games over .500. That won't happen this season.

That in itself makes the bullpen scenario you envision as moot with the numbers not there to support such low starter innings.

As for Romero he'll be a valuable commodity come trade deadline time return notwithstanding..a contender will make a viable offer and Leahy the same as Bloom is stocking the organization with young arms that can at some point replace Leahy on a rebuilding team with Leahy bringing back something of value.

To believe Romero and or Leahy will be here the final two months of the season is more than wishful thinking.

As for the offense as of now we don't have one OF'er who's going to have anything sniffing a .700 OPS.

Your hope for winning a chunk of 3-2 and 2-1 games is another pipedream.

72-90.

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

I prefer to base my choice on experience, knowledge and logic and not hope and pray sprinkled with pixie dust.

Palllante may very well be part of a rotation with no anchor like Gray and a host of backend starters with Liberatore perhaps the exception and there's May who until last season had managed to make 20-starts in three seasons. And as bad as the rotation was at one tie this team was 9-games over .500. That won't happen this season.

That in itself makes the bullpen scenario you envision as moot with the numbers not there to support such low starter innings.

As for Romero he'll be a valuable commodity come trade deadline time return notwithstanding..a contender will make a viable offer and Leahy the same as Bloom is stocking the organization with young arms that can at some point replace Leahy on a rebuilding team with Leahy bringing back something of value.

To believe Romero and or Leahy will be here the final two months of the season is more than wishful thinking.

As for the offense as of now we don't have one OF'er who's going to have anything sniffing a .700 OPS.

Your hope for winning a chunk of 3-2 and 2-1 games is another pipedream.

72-90.

I'll put my years of playing experience thru college, knowledge, season tickets for over a dozen years and logic up against yours any day.

Only if there's injuries will we see Pallante in the rotation, he's no better than a last ditch option.

And show me an article where it stated that Leahy was on the trading block, JoJo I'll give you could be dealt but not Leahy.

80 - 84 wins unless they're beset by injuries or do trade off even more players.

Keep your pixie dust, you'll need it to wash away your 90 loss prediction.

[11WSChamps]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

I prefer to base my choice on experience, knowledge and logic and not hope and pray sprinkled with pixie dust.

Palllante may very well be part of a rotation with no anchor like Gray and a host of backend starters with Liberatore perhaps the exception and there's May who until last season had managed to make 20-starts in three seasons. And as bad as the rotation was at one tie this team was 9-games over .500. That won't happen this season.

That in itself makes the bullpen scenario you envision as moot with the numbers not there to support such low starter innings.

As for Romero he'll be a valuable commodity come trade deadline time return notwithstanding..a contender will make a viable offer and Leahy the same as Bloom is stocking the organization with young arms that can at some point replace Leahy on a rebuilding team with Leahy bringing back something of value.

To believe Romero and or Leahy will be here the final two months of the season is more than wishful thinking.

As for the offense as of now we don't have one OF'er who's going to have anything sniffing a .700 OPS.

Your hope for winning a chunk of 3-2 and 2-1 games is another pipedream.

72-90.

I'll put my years of playing experience thru college, knowledge, season tickets for over a dozen years and logic up against yours any day.

Only if there's injuries will we see Pallante in the rotation, he's no better than a last ditch option.

And show me an article where it stated that Leahy was on the trading block, JoJo I'll give you could be dealt but not Leahy.

80 - 84 wins unless they're beset by injuries or do trade off even more players.

Keep your pixie dust, you'll need it to wash away your 90 loss prediction.

I'll take you on or anyone else in a baseball discussion any day.

I'm saying Leahy will be on the market if he repeats his effectiveness from last season. I don't need any help in realizing he would be a viable asset a contender might be willing to overpay for.

No Gray, no Contreras and no Donovan and this team is somehow going to be better and score more runs? Haven't seen anything from you on how that's supposed to happen.

Good luck.

[Goldfan]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

I prefer to base my choice on experience, knowledge and logic and not hope and pray sprinkled with pixie dust.

Palllante may very well be part of a rotation with no anchor like Gray and a host of backend starters with Liberatore perhaps the exception and there's May who until last season had managed to make 20-starts in three seasons. And as bad as the rotation was at one tie this team was 9-games over .500. That won't happen this season.

That in itself makes the bullpen scenario you envision as moot with the numbers not there to support such low starter innings.

As for Romero he'll be a valuable commodity come trade deadline time return notwithstanding..a contender will make a viable offer and Leahy the same as Bloom is stocking the organization with young arms that can at some point replace Leahy on a rebuilding team with Leahy bringing back something of value.

To believe Romero and or Leahy will be here the final two months of the season is more than wishful thinking.

As for the offense as of now we don't have one OF'er who's going to have anything sniffing a .700 OPS.

Your hope for winning a chunk of 3-2 and 2-1 games is another pipedream.

72-90.

I'll put my years of playing experience thru college, knowledge, season tickets for over a dozen years and logic up against yours any day.

Only if there's injuries will we see Pallante in the rotation, he's no better than a last ditch option.

And show me an article where it stated that Leahy was on the trading block, JoJo I'll give you could be dealt but not Leahy.

80 - 84 wins unless they're beset by injuries or do trade off even more players.

Keep your pixie dust, you'll need it to wash away your 90 loss prediction.

I'll take you on or anyone else in a baseball discussion any day.

I'm saying Leahy will be on the market if he repeats his effectiveness from last season. I don't need any help in realizing he would be a viable asset a contender might be willing to overpay for.

No Gray, no Contreras and no Donovan and this team is somehow going to be better and score more runs? Haven't seen anything from you on how that's supposed to happen.

Good luck.

Great….I been posting the question of HOW this team is going to score runs….with no answer. Which is odd because a team can pitch pitch pitch their little arms off BUT if the offense doesn’t score….which is the basis of Baseball. The team won’t win
This team has FOUR bats. That doesn’t form an offensive continuation required to score runs.
Discussing BP arms when a team has no offense>>>>>Cart before Horse

[Ozziesfan41]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

I prefer to base my choice on experience, knowledge and logic and not hope and pray sprinkled with pixie dust.

Palllante may very well be part of a rotation with no anchor like Gray and a host of backend starters with Liberatore perhaps the exception and there's May who until last season had managed to make 20-starts in three seasons. And as bad as the rotation was at one tie this team was 9-games over .500. That won't happen this season.

That in itself makes the bullpen scenario you envision as moot with the numbers not there to support such low starter innings.

As for Romero he'll be a valuable commodity come trade deadline time return notwithstanding..a contender will make a viable offer and Leahy the same as Bloom is stocking the organization with young arms that can at some point replace Leahy on a rebuilding team with Leahy bringing back something of value.

To believe Romero and or Leahy will be here the final two months of the season is more than wishful thinking.

As for the offense as of now we don't have one OF'er who's going to have anything sniffing a .700 OPS.

Your hope for winning a chunk of 3-2 and 2-1 games is another pipedream.

72-90.

I'll put my years of playing experience thru college, knowledge, season tickets for over a dozen years and logic up against yours any day.

Only if there's injuries will we see Pallante in the rotation, he's no better than a last ditch option.

And show me an article where it stated that Leahy was on the trading block, JoJo I'll give you could be dealt but not Leahy.

80 - 84 wins unless they're beset by injuries or do trade off even more players.

Keep your pixie dust, you'll need it to wash away your 90 loss prediction.

I'll take you on or anyone else in a baseball discussion any day.

I'm saying Leahy will be on the market if he repeats his effectiveness from last season. I don't need any help in realizing he would be a viable asset a contender might be willing to overpay for.

No Gray, no Contreras and no Donovan and this team is somehow going to be better and score more runs? Haven't seen anything from you on how that's supposed to happen.

Good luck.

Great….I been posting the question of HOW this team is going to score runs….with no answer. Which is odd because a team can pitch pitch pitch their little arms off BUT if the offense doesn’t score….which is the basis of Baseball. The team won’t win
This team has FOUR bats. That doesn’t form an offensive continuation required to score runs.
Discussing BP arms when a team has no offense>>>>>Cart before Horse

Cardinals won 78 games last season with no offense or rotation

[Goldfan]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

I prefer to base my choice on experience, knowledge and logic and not hope and pray sprinkled with pixie dust.

Palllante may very well be part of a rotation with no anchor like Gray and a host of backend starters with Liberatore perhaps the exception and there's May who until last season had managed to make 20-starts in three seasons. And as bad as the rotation was at one tie this team was 9-games over .500. That won't happen this season.

That in itself makes the bullpen scenario you envision as moot with the numbers not there to support such low starter innings.

As for Romero he'll be a valuable commodity come trade deadline time return notwithstanding..a contender will make a viable offer and Leahy the same as Bloom is stocking the organization with young arms that can at some point replace Leahy on a rebuilding team with Leahy bringing back something of value.

To believe Romero and or Leahy will be here the final two months of the season is more than wishful thinking.

As for the offense as of now we don't have one OF'er who's going to have anything sniffing a .700 OPS.

Your hope for winning a chunk of 3-2 and 2-1 games is another pipedream.

72-90.

I'll put my years of playing experience thru college, knowledge, season tickets for over a dozen years and logic up against yours any day.

Only if there's injuries will we see Pallante in the rotation, he's no better than a last ditch option.

And show me an article where it stated that Leahy was on the trading block, JoJo I'll give you could be dealt but not Leahy.

80 - 84 wins unless they're beset by injuries or do trade off even more players.

Keep your pixie dust, you'll need it to wash away your 90 loss prediction.

I'll take you on or anyone else in a baseball discussion any day.

I'm saying Leahy will be on the market if he repeats his effectiveness from last season. I don't need any help in realizing he would be a viable asset a contender might be willing to overpay for.

No Gray, no Contreras and no Donovan and this team is somehow going to be better and score more runs? Haven't seen anything from you on how that's supposed to happen.

Good luck.

Great….I been posting the question of HOW this team is going to score runs….with no answer. Which is odd because a team can pitch pitch pitch their little arms off BUT if the offense doesn’t score….which is the basis of Baseball. The team won’t win
This team has FOUR bats. That doesn’t form an offensive continuation required to score runs.
Discussing BP arms when a team has no offense>>>>>Cart before Horse

Cardinals won 78 games last season with no offense or rotation

They lost 2 of the top 4 hitters in their lineup. Burly doesn’t replace WC….he was already in the lineup. JJ may replace Donny, but you still have 5 poor hitters in the starting lineup. How will that win games?

[11WSChamps]

Maybe someone can explain how this team is supposedly better on paper right now offensively than it was last year which admittedly was abysmal.

You lose two of your top hitters and as of yet no replacement for either.

Counting Wetherholt simply isn't a given, neither is replacing Burleson's OF bat. The OF doesn't have a bat approaching a .700 OPS. Not to mention plans to catch Herrera isn't going to do his offense any favors over a long season if indeed he catches lets say 110 plus games. I wouldn't have him catching in the first place but that's not my decision.

I want to see the team succeed but as it stands today where is the offense going to come from to support what some believe to be a possible .500 team or better?

[Ozziesfan41]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

I prefer to base my choice on experience, knowledge and logic and not hope and pray sprinkled with pixie dust.

Palllante may very well be part of a rotation with no anchor like Gray and a host of backend starters with Liberatore perhaps the exception and there's May who until last season had managed to make 20-starts in three seasons. And as bad as the rotation was at one tie this team was 9-games over .500. That won't happen this season.

That in itself makes the bullpen scenario you envision as moot with the numbers not there to support such low starter innings.

As for Romero he'll be a valuable commodity come trade deadline time return notwithstanding..a contender will make a viable offer and Leahy the same as Bloom is stocking the organization with young arms that can at some point replace Leahy on a rebuilding team with Leahy bringing back something of value.

To believe Romero and or Leahy will be here the final two months of the season is more than wishful thinking.

As for the offense as of now we don't have one OF'er who's going to have anything sniffing a .700 OPS.

Your hope for winning a chunk of 3-2 and 2-1 games is another pipedream.

72-90.

I'll put my years of playing experience thru college, knowledge, season tickets for over a dozen years and logic up against yours any day.

Only if there's injuries will we see Pallante in the rotation, he's no better than a last ditch option.

And show me an article where it stated that Leahy was on the trading block, JoJo I'll give you could be dealt but not Leahy.

80 - 84 wins unless they're beset by injuries or do trade off even more players.

Keep your pixie dust, you'll need it to wash away your 90 loss prediction.

I'll take you on or anyone else in a baseball discussion any day.

I'm saying Leahy will be on the market if he repeats his effectiveness from last season. I don't need any help in realizing he would be a viable asset a contender might be willing to overpay for.

No Gray, no Contreras and no Donovan and this team is somehow going to be better and score more runs? Haven't seen anything from you on how that's supposed to happen.

Good luck.

Great….I been posting the question of HOW this team is going to score runs….with no answer. Which is odd because a team can pitch pitch pitch their little arms off BUT if the offense doesn’t score….which is the basis of Baseball. The team won’t win
This team has FOUR bats. That doesn’t form an offensive continuation required to score runs.
Discussing BP arms when a team has no offense>>>>>Cart before Horse

Cardinals won 78 games last season with no offense or rotation

They lost 2 of the top 4 hitters in their lineup. Burly doesn’t replace WC….he was already in the lineup. JJ may replace Donny, but you still have 5 poor hitters in the starting lineup. How will that win games?

The rotation will be improved. Herrera isnt guaranteed to be injured and miss as much time if he stays even healthy he hit 25 home runs and drives in 80 which is an improvement on last seasons numbers and replaces some of the numbers of contreras. A full season from burly easily replaces his numbers and also replaces more of contreras numbers. Masyn Winn had a .770 OPS in march and April and a .801 ops in may then hurt his knee which hobbled him the rest of the season and I know some people think he’s a weak hitter but when he was healthy he was hitting very well it’s tough to hit with a bad knee. So he’s going to improve significantly on offense. Contreras numbers aren’t going to be hard to replace through others just being healthy. And JJ easily replaces Donovan’s numbers that’s not even a doubt. But don’t worry you will see during the season

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

I prefer to base my choice on experience, knowledge and logic and not hope and pray sprinkled with pixie dust.

Palllante may very well be part of a rotation with no anchor like Gray and a host of backend starters with Liberatore perhaps the exception and there's May who until last season had managed to make 20-starts in three seasons. And as bad as the rotation was at one tie this team was 9-games over .500. That won't happen this season.

That in itself makes the bullpen scenario you envision as moot with the numbers not there to support such low starter innings.

As for Romero he'll be a valuable commodity come trade deadline time return notwithstanding..a contender will make a viable offer and Leahy the same as Bloom is stocking the organization with young arms that can at some point replace Leahy on a rebuilding team with Leahy bringing back something of value.

To believe Romero and or Leahy will be here the final two months of the season is more than wishful thinking.

As for the offense as of now we don't have one OF'er who's going to have anything sniffing a .700 OPS.

Your hope for winning a chunk of 3-2 and 2-1 games is another pipedream.

72-90.

I'll put my years of playing experience thru college, knowledge, season tickets for over a dozen years and logic up against yours any day.

Only if there's injuries will we see Pallante in the rotation, he's no better than a last ditch option.

And show me an article where it stated that Leahy was on the trading block, JoJo I'll give you could be dealt but not Leahy.

80 - 84 wins unless they're beset by injuries or do trade off even more players.

Keep your pixie dust, you'll need it to wash away your 90 loss prediction.

I'll take you on or anyone else in a baseball discussion any day.

I'm saying Leahy will be on the market if he repeats his effectiveness from last season. I don't need any help in realizing he would be a viable asset a contender might be willing to overpay for.

No Gray, no Contreras and no Donovan and this team is somehow going to be better and score more runs? Haven't seen anything from you on how that's supposed to happen.

Good luck.

And you'd lose against me.

Still disagree on Leahy, especially given they might even give him a shot at starting. That's not a player you're thinking of dealing.

If you haven't seen anything from me addressing that, then you're not looking very hard as I've laid things out dozens of times why I think.........here you go again.......2026 Team > 2025 Team:

No Gray, no Contrerasand no Donovan.............but D. May, a full year of Hererra, a soon to be healthy Noot w/two good heels and a lineup igniter like JJW..........plus NO starts from Mikolas and Fedded (hopefully not Pallante either).........tells me the starting pitcher is already better and they won't score fewer runs.....ANY upside (how could they go lower?) from Winn, VSII, Gorman and Walker could see them score a lot more runs than the 2025 team.

Enjoy the debate

Bad Luck to your pitiful W/L prediction

[11WSChamps]

I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

Disagree 100% WSC

I didn't even list R. Stanek in that STRONG foursome.

And I'm not so sure C. Bloom is in a hurry to trade JoJo unless some team bowls him over w/an offer.

I don't see K Leahy being traded, no sense since he's under control and makes no money.

The return you'd get for either in a solo trade would be "MEH".

As for the rotation, you have to give it to me that they'll be better than M. Mikolas/E. Fedde/A. Pallante, three of the WORST starters in all of 2025 MLB.

Runs will be at a premium, why I underlined low scoring games won w/a well above average pen' and strong defense (sans 3rd base and RF).

I don't give Oli much credit but the one thing he does do well is manage his bullpen.

I prefer to base my choice on experience, knowledge and logic and not hope and pray sprinkled with pixie dust.

Palllante may very well be part of a rotation with no anchor like Gray and a host of backend starters with Liberatore perhaps the exception and there's May who until last season had managed to make 20-starts in three seasons. And as bad as the rotation was at one tie this team was 9-games over .500. That won't happen this season.

That in itself makes the bullpen scenario you envision as moot with the numbers not there to support such low starter innings.

As for Romero he'll be a valuable commodity come trade deadline time return notwithstanding..a contender will make a viable offer and Leahy the same as Bloom is stocking the organization with young arms that can at some point replace Leahy on a rebuilding team with Leahy bringing back something of value.

To believe Romero and or Leahy will be here the final two months of the season is more than wishful thinking.

As for the offense as of now we don't have one OF'er who's going to have anything sniffing a .700 OPS.

Your hope for winning a chunk of 3-2 and 2-1 games is another pipedream.

72-90.

I'll put my years of playing experience thru college, knowledge, season tickets for over a dozen years and logic up against yours any day.

Only if there's injuries will we see Pallante in the rotation, he's no better than a last ditch option.

And show me an article where it stated that Leahy was on the trading block, JoJo I'll give you could be dealt but not Leahy.

80 - 84 wins unless they're beset by injuries or do trade off even more players.

Keep your pixie dust, you'll need it to wash away your 90 loss prediction.

I'll take you on or anyone else in a baseball discussion any day.

I'm saying Leahy will be on the market if he repeats his effectiveness from last season. I don't need any help in realizing he would be a viable asset a contender might be willing to overpay for.

No Gray, no Contreras and no Donovan and this team is somehow going to be better and score more runs? Haven't seen anything from you on how that's supposed to happen.

Good luck.

And you'd lose against me.

Still disagree on Leahy, especially given they might even give him a shot at starting. That's not a player you're thinking of dealing.

If you haven't seen anything from me addressing that, then you're not looking very hard as I've laid things out dozens of times why I think.........here you go again.......2026 Team > 2025 Team:

No Gray, no Contrerasand no Donovan.............but D. May, a full year of Hererra, a soon to be healthy Noot w/two good heels and a lineup igniter like JJW..........plus NO starts from Mikolas and Fedded (hopefully not Pallante either).........tells me the starting pitcher is already better and they won't score fewer runs.....ANY upside (how could they go lower?) from Winn, VSII, Gorman and Walker could see them score a lot more runs than the 2025 team.

Enjoy the debate

Bad Luck to your pitiful W/L prediction

Well we'll see.

Nootbar? Too much of him isn't good.

I believe Winn will hit more..thought so last year. As you know he plays a demanding position and besides Burleson will likely more starts than anyone.

Rebuild or no the rotation with young arms could use an anchor to keep things from snowballing into oblivion and May's past injury history doesn't bode well if he's supposed to be that guy.

As for your boy Stanek his WHIP approached 1.6 last season and that was for a playoff team. How long will it take to establish roles which everybody seems to cater to?

Leahy's value is multiple innings out of the bullpen. I believe that will bear itself out. There's nothing to lose in stretching him out but if he indeed is here after this season I believe it will be in the BP.

As for Gorman and Walker the inability of them to become the heir apparent MOB's as planned could be as big a reason for a rebuild as anything else.

[redbirdfan51]

I love the optimism in Spring Training. Just hope the Cardinals don't fizzle out early in the season and give us some competitive and exciting baseball this season. Then we will see where they land. There are always surprises and disappointments over the course of the season.. My only NL prediction is that you can bet the Dodgers will be in the post season.