3 Biggest remaining needs according to Denton
Posted: 10 Dec 2025 19:00 pm
By John Denton cited in Cardinals.com article
Link : https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/card ... s-coverage
ORLANDO, Fla. -- When told on Wednesday that one baseball executive described MLB trade talks moving at a “glacial” pace, Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom furled his face and openly balked.
“That’s not how it has felt to me,” said an admittedly weary Bloom, who kept himself busy throughout the three days of MLB’s Winter Meetings conducting trade talks surrounding Cardinals mainstays Brendan Donovan, JoJo Romero, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras. “To some degree, it’s binary -- either you have something or you don’t. Right now, we don’t.”
Winter Meetings presented by CohnReznick: Complete coverage
A Cardinals club in the beginning stages of a full-on rebuild left Orlando on Wednesday without a trade being made, but it certainly wasn’t because of a lack of trying. With the Cardinals already fielding several calls about Donovan and Romero, they were queried by the Mets with interest in Contreras, per a source, after first baseman Pete Alonso left for the Orioles in free agency.
Here is a look at the week that was:
BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS
1) Find deals for Donovan, Romero, Arenado and Contreras to flood the franchise with promising prospects
Bloom, a Cards consultant the past two years, knows the Cards can’t seriously contend in 2026 even if he brought those players back. Instead, he wants to try and exchange Donovan and Romero at the height of their values for a bevy of promising prospects.
2) Add a veteran starting pitcher to a young staff
As currently constructed, the Cardinals expect Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy and Richard Fitts to compete for starting jobs. That group is noticeably light on experience, and they need veterans to eat innings. Tyler Mahle, Germán Márquez and Paul Blackburn might fit the club’s needs and budget.
3) Extend Oliver Marmol’s contract beyond 2026
Marmol guided the Cards to the playoffs in 2022, but he and the club have been home for the postseason each of the last three years. However, that doesn’t mean he has done a poor job. Marmol has masterfully handled the bullpen each of the past two seasons, and he helped the Cardinals make it through 2025 without losing a starting pitcher to an arm injury. He and many coaches on his staff have backgrounds in player development and those skills are going to be needed more than ever in 2026 and ‘27.
Link : https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/card ... s-coverage
ORLANDO, Fla. -- When told on Wednesday that one baseball executive described MLB trade talks moving at a “glacial” pace, Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom furled his face and openly balked.
“That’s not how it has felt to me,” said an admittedly weary Bloom, who kept himself busy throughout the three days of MLB’s Winter Meetings conducting trade talks surrounding Cardinals mainstays Brendan Donovan, JoJo Romero, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras. “To some degree, it’s binary -- either you have something or you don’t. Right now, we don’t.”
Winter Meetings presented by CohnReznick: Complete coverage
A Cardinals club in the beginning stages of a full-on rebuild left Orlando on Wednesday without a trade being made, but it certainly wasn’t because of a lack of trying. With the Cardinals already fielding several calls about Donovan and Romero, they were queried by the Mets with interest in Contreras, per a source, after first baseman Pete Alonso left for the Orioles in free agency.
Here is a look at the week that was:
BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS
1) Find deals for Donovan, Romero, Arenado and Contreras to flood the franchise with promising prospects
Bloom, a Cards consultant the past two years, knows the Cards can’t seriously contend in 2026 even if he brought those players back. Instead, he wants to try and exchange Donovan and Romero at the height of their values for a bevy of promising prospects.
2) Add a veteran starting pitcher to a young staff
As currently constructed, the Cardinals expect Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy and Richard Fitts to compete for starting jobs. That group is noticeably light on experience, and they need veterans to eat innings. Tyler Mahle, Germán Márquez and Paul Blackburn might fit the club’s needs and budget.
3) Extend Oliver Marmol’s contract beyond 2026
Marmol guided the Cards to the playoffs in 2022, but he and the club have been home for the postseason each of the last three years. However, that doesn’t mean he has done a poor job. Marmol has masterfully handled the bullpen each of the past two seasons, and he helped the Cardinals make it through 2025 without losing a starting pitcher to an arm injury. He and many coaches on his staff have backgrounds in player development and those skills are going to be needed more than ever in 2026 and ‘27.
