2026 Cardinals

[bfib]

Do you think Winn fears JJ taking his SS position?

He should

No, JJ will play another position

[Cardinals4Life]

Just messing this while waiting for the Cardinals to score a run or Mo to make a trade

Subtraction Assumptions
Traded or signed elsewhere
RP Helsley RH
RP Maton RH
RP Matz LH

Traded
RP Romero LH
RP King LH
3B Arenado RH

2026 Cardinals
C Pages. RH
C Pozo RH / Crooks LH
1B Contreras RH
2B Wetherholt LH
3B Gorman LH
SS Winn RH
Util Saggese RH
OF Nootbar LH
CF Scott LH
RF Walker RH
1B / LF Herrera RH
1B / OF Burleson LH
OF / IF Donovan LH

CF TBD (Church?)

SP Gray RH
SP Liberatore LH
SP Pallante RH
SP McGreevy RH
SP TBD

SP/RP TBD

RP O'Brien RH
RP Leahy RH
RP Granillo RH
RP Svanson RH
RP Graceffo RH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD

Minors / TBD
SP Matthews LH
RP Fernandez RH
RP Thompson LH
SP Doyle LH
SP Hernandez RH
C Bernal RH
CF / OF Church LH
OF Baez RH
OF Davis LH
...
SP / RP Bedell RH
SP / RP Hence RH

That’s what a $75m roster looks like. 13 position players is all they will have and you have 14 without Aranado who I beleive will be here. So Segesse and Crooks to AAA. Still missing the 35/100 MOTO superstar to anchor the lineup and make it fall into place. .500 if they add a TOR SP from FA and that bat. Otherwise 70 wins

I was looking for a backup CF. That has to be Nootbar. Church would be the next man up. Otherwise stuck with a Hampson or Fermin clogging the roster. Saggese has a spot as util, unless Donovan is the backup SS too.

Yes. Need a MOTO bat, A FOTR starter, and Back of the bullpen shutdown relievers.

Maybe Zach Thompson recovers to be a LHRP option in 2026 But a lot of holes to fill that the system won't have answers for til 2027... at best.

I think Noot has to go. (Probably rhis offseason?)
Agree we need a big thumper and an Ace. Closer too. (Resign Hels??)

Maybe Thompson can take the spot of Matz. I think he was much better in the pen than starting.

With a tiny payroll, adding those 3 pieces shouldn't be hard and SHOULD be a priority. However we all know that won't be the case.

[JuanAgosto]

2026 lineup (by position):

1b - Contreras
2b - Wetherholt
SS - Winn
3b - Hopefully new addition
LF - Burleson
CF - Scott
RF - Walker
C - Hopefully an upgrade (Crooks)?
DH - Herrera

[Carp4Cy]

Just messing this while waiting for the Cardinals to score a run or Mo to make a trade

Subtraction Assumptions
Traded or signed elsewhere
RP Helsley RH
RP Maton RH
RP Matz LH

Traded
RP Romero LH
RP King LH
3B Arenado RH

2026 Cardinals
C Pages. RH
C Pozo RH / Crooks LH
1B Contreras RH
2B Wetherholt LH
3B Gorman LH
SS Winn RH
Util Saggese RH
OF Nootbar LH
CF Scott LH
RF Walker RH
1B / LF Herrera RH
1B / OF Burleson LH
OF / IF Donovan LH

CF TBD (Church?)

SP Gray RH
SP Liberatore LH
SP Pallante RH
SP McGreevy RH
SP TBD

SP/RP TBD

RP O'Brien RH
RP Leahy RH
RP Granillo RH
RP Svanson RH
RP Graceffo RH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD

Minors / TBD
SP Matthews LH
RP Fernandez RH
RP Thompson LH
SP Doyle LH
SP Hernandez RH
C Bernal RH
CF / OF Church LH
OF Baez RH
OF Davis LH
...
SP / RP Bedell RH
SP / RP Hence RH

How are we expecting to trade all those players and not get anyone who can make our roster in return? Isn’t the point of trades to make our roster better? And not just cheaper?

[RunSup]

Just messing this while waiting for the Cardinals to score a run or Mo to make a trade

Subtraction Assumptions
Traded or signed elsewhere
RP Helsley RH
RP Maton RH
RP Matz LH

Traded
RP Romero LH
RP King LH
3B Arenado RH

2026 Cardinals
C Pages. RH
C Pozo RH / Crooks LH
1B Contreras RH
2B Wetherholt LH
3B Gorman LH
SS Winn RH
Util Saggese RH
OF Nootbar LH
CF Scott LH
RF Walker RH
1B / LF Herrera RH
1B / OF Burleson LH
OF / IF Donovan LH

CF TBD (Church?)

SP Gray RH
SP Liberatore LH
SP Pallante RH
SP McGreevy RH
SP TBD

SP/RP TBD

RP O'Brien RH
RP Leahy RH
RP Granillo RH
RP Svanson RH
RP Graceffo RH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD

Minors / TBD
SP Matthews LH
RP Fernandez RH
RP Thompson LH
SP Doyle LH
SP Hernandez RH
C Bernal RH
CF / OF Church LH
OF Baez RH
OF Davis LH
...
SP / RP Bedell RH
SP / RP Hence RH

That’s what a $75m roster looks like. 13 position players is all they will have and you have 14 without Aranado who I beleive will be here. So Segesse and Crooks to AAA. Still missing the 35/100 MOTO superstar to anchor the lineup and make it fall into place. .500 if they add a TOR SP from FA and that bat. Otherwise 70 wins

I was looking for a backup CF. That has to be Nootbar. Church would be the next man up. Otherwise stuck with a Hampson or Fermin clogging the roster. Saggese has a spot as util, unless Donovan is the backup SS too.

Yes. Need a MOTO bat, A FOTR starter, and Back of the bullpen shutdown relievers.

Maybe Zach Thompson recovers to be a LHRP option in 2026 But a lot of holes to fill that the system won't have answers for til 2027... at best.

I think Noot has to go. (Probably rhis offseason?)
Agree we need a big thumper and an Ace. Closer too. (Resign Hels??)

Maybe Thompson can take the spot of Matz. I think he was much better in the pen than starting.

With a tiny payroll, adding those 3 pieces shouldn't be hard and SHOULD be a priority. However we all know that won't be the case.

Agreed. I wouldn't have said it at the beginning of the year. But Noot is in the bubble

[RunSup]

Just messing this while waiting for the Cardinals to score a run or Mo to make a trade

Subtraction Assumptions
Traded or signed elsewhere
RP Helsley RH
RP Maton RH
RP Matz LH

Traded
RP Romero LH
RP King LH
3B Arenado RH

2026 Cardinals
C Pages. RH
C Pozo RH / Crooks LH
1B Contreras RH
2B Wetherholt LH
3B Gorman LH
SS Winn RH
Util Saggese RH
OF Nootbar LH
CF Scott LH
RF Walker RH
1B / LF Herrera RH
1B / OF Burleson LH
OF / IF Donovan LH

CF TBD (Church?)

SP Gray RH
SP Liberatore LH
SP Pallante RH
SP McGreevy RH
SP TBD

SP/RP TBD

RP O'Brien RH
RP Leahy RH
RP Granillo RH
RP Svanson RH
RP Graceffo RH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD

Minors / TBD
SP Matthews LH
RP Fernandez RH
RP Thompson LH
SP Doyle LH
SP Hernandez RH
C Bernal RH
CF / OF Church LH
OF Baez RH
OF Davis LH
...
SP / RP Bedell RH
SP / RP Hence RH

That’s what a $75m roster looks like. 13 position players is all they will have and you have 14 without Aranado who I beleive will be here. So Segesse and Crooks to AAA. Still missing the 35/100 MOTO superstar to anchor the lineup and make it fall into place. .500 if they add a TOR SP from FA and that bat. Otherwise 70 wins

I was looking for a backup CF. That has to be Nootbar. Church would be the next man up. Otherwise stuck with a Hampson or Fermin clogging the roster. Saggese has a spot as util, unless Donovan is the backup SS too.

Yes. Need a MOTO bat, A FOTR starter, and Back of the bullpen shutdown relievers.

Maybe Zach Thompson recovers to be a LHRP option in 2026 But a lot of holes to fill that the system won't have answers for til 2027... at best.

Wetherholt will be backup SS. In a perfect world Arenado would be traded to add a RP. 2 birds with one stone. Then Helsley returns a SP. with Arenado gone Gorman to 3B and Segesse as backup. The logjam is OF. Scott in CF means LF/RF has Donovan Walker Nootbar Burleson. One of them needs traded. I just have no faith those moves get made to fix the bad roster construction.

All reasonable moves. You get the other half of MO's salary.

[CCard]

Just messing this while waiting for the Cardinals to score a run or Mo to make a trade

Subtraction Assumptions
Traded or signed elsewhere
RP Helsley RH
RP Maton RH
RP Matz LH

Traded
RP Romero LH
RP King LH
3B Arenado RH

2026 Cardinals
C Pages. RH
C Pozo RH / Crooks LH
1B Contreras RH
2B Wetherholt LH
3B Gorman LH
SS Winn RH
Util Saggese RH
OF Nootbar LH
CF Scott LH
RF Walker RH
1B / LF Herrera RH
1B / OF Burleson LH
OF / IF Donovan LH

CF TBD (Church?)

SP Gray RH
SP Liberatore LH
SP Pallante RH
SP McGreevy RH
SP TBD

SP/RP TBD

RP O'Brien RH
RP Leahy RH
RP Granillo RH
RP Svanson RH
RP Graceffo RH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD LH
RP TBD

Minors / TBD
SP Matthews LH
RP Fernandez RH
RP Thompson LH
SP Doyle LH
SP Hernandez RH
C Bernal RH
CF / OF Church LH
OF Baez RH
OF Davis LH
...
SP / RP Bedell RH
SP / RP Hence RH

Gonna need some more lefty in the bullpen. I think before it's over with Donovan, Helsley, Romero will be gone. They have the most value to other clubs. Gray and Arenado have made it clear that they aren't going anywhere. I can't believe how poorly they both are playing right now. They'll be sorry for trading Donny and Jojo. These are players that excel and I'd have to be knocked over to trade them. I'd like to see Noot shipped out for something halfway decent. The cards need pitching above all else and not the caliber of a Fedde or Mikolas. That's hard to come by. Teams don't usually give those up too often. Noot just isn't a strong enough run producer for a corner outfield spot. I think you give Walker another year to develop. Scott also. I like Pozo at catcher. He reminds me of a young Yadi. Not saying he'll develop that but I see similarties. They really need to go for pitching but they'll have to subtract from the 40 man probably. It's tight right now with Roby and some of the others taking a roster spot.

[PadsFS07]

2026 lineup (by position):

1b - Contreras
2b - Wetherholt
SS - Winn
3b - Hopefully new addition
LF - Burleson
CF - Scott
RF - Walker
C - Hopefully an upgrade (Crooks)?
DH - Herrera

What about Donovan? I really hate that outfield btw. I don't know what we can do.

[RunSup]

... Snip ...

How are we expecting to trade all those players and not get anyone who can make our roster in return? Isn’t the point of trades to make our roster better? And not just cheaper?

This has me thinking about Roby, Rom, Robersse from 2023 trades

Add-in Hence. Then Mathew's shoulder. Eventually Doyle. The TJ pitchers we've taken at round 7 of the draft the last 2 years.

Good news. We've already become the Dodgers. Collect enough injured pitchers and hope we have enough healthy arms to have critical mass for a playoff run.

That 2027 staff after the lockout might be pretty good. i

[rockondlouie]

That is rough.

Yep.

That roster loses 90 games

[RunSup]

That is rough.

Yep.

That roster loses 90 games

I'd say the pitching staff still kills this team. Even without Fedde and Mikolas. Just not enough there and we should be losing our best bullpen arms if the deadline plays that way.


It's where Bloom starts pending the next couple of days. I doubt 2026 playoffs is going to be his goal. But always interesting to see what happens.

T-37 hours until the 2025 trading deadline.

[rockondlouie]

That is rough.

Yep.

That roster loses 90 games

I'd say the pitching staff still kills this team. Even without Fedde and Mikolas. Just not enough there and we should be losing our best bullpen arms if the deadline plays that way.


It's where Bloom starts pending the next couple of days. I doubt 2026 playoffs is going to be his goal. But always interesting to see what happens.

T-37 hours until the 2025 trading deadline.

Can't wait, things should get hoping tonight.

That pitching staff would he a train wreck.

But if BDWJr gives Bloom a payroll of at least $170M, then I'd bet via trades and free agency he could put together a much better staff and outfield!

[JuanAgosto]

2026 lineup (by position):

1b - Contreras
2b - Wetherholt
SS - Winn
3b - Hopefully new addition
LF - Burleson
CF - Scott
RF - Walker
C - Hopefully an upgrade (Crooks)?
DH - Herrera

What about Donovan? I really hate that outfield btw. I don't know what we can do.

Im not a fan of the roster i posted. Just think it's a reality. As for Donovan, I think he's traded.

[JDW]

Just working with the current position roster:

Donovan 3B
Wetherholt 2B
Herrera LF and DH
Contreras 1B
Burleson DH and LF
Winn SS
Noot/Walker RF
Crooks/Pozo C
Scott CF

Trade for Alcantara and sign Gallen just as examples of what could be done. Do what it takes to trade Arenado.