Here’s what the Cardinals’ roster looks like ahead of next week’s Winter Meetings
Watch yourself around that burner. The stove is about to be glowing hot.
Less than a week from now, Major League Baseball’s conglomerated decision makers will descend on an oversized airport hotel in Dallas for the sport’s annual winter meetings and transactions jamboree. Aside from the scheduled Rule 5 draft, the coming days and weeks will include a rush of action as teams are swept up in the market tides and make the big moves which will define their 2025 seasons.
The St. Louis Cardinals are not immune to that tide.
With several obvious trades still to make but no significant roster movement thus far, projecting a 26-player roster without acknowledging those moves or obvious injuries is a challenge. The list presented here is guaranteed to be inaccurate; indeed, if more than 20 of these 26 names are on the team on opening day against the Minnesota Twins, that would be a pass with flying colors.
This is, however, a fair projection based on how things currently sit. Ten days from now, as many as half a dozen of these players might no longer be Cardinals at all. This is a living projection – and the market is alive.
Starting Pitchers
Erick Fedde, Sonny Gray, Steven Matz, Miles Mikolas, Andre Pallante
Incumbency rules, and the five returners under contract (Matz included) will hold their spots until proven otherwise. Michael McGreevy is seemingly the next man up for a spot, and is well positioned to grab one with both Fedde and Matz strong possibilities to be traded this winter.
Gray, who has expressed to the Cardinals a desire to stay in St. Louis (and who possesses a no-trade clause), will again serve as the rotation’s anchor. He missed out on an opening day start last season with a hamstring strain halfway through spring training, but the arm fatigue which ended his season a start early is not expected to be a concern when the team arrives in Florida in two months.
Bullpen
Ryan Fernandez, Ryan Helsley, John King, Matthew Liberatore, Riley O’Brien, JoJo Romero, Chris Roycroft, Zack Thompson
Roster restrictions leave the Cardinals in a bind with their bullpen. At the moment, it projects to include four lefties, as Thompson is out of minor league options and so would have to clear waivers to reach the minors. Given that he survived both the Rule 5 and non-tender deadlines, it’s clear that the Cardinals are willing to see him fight for a spot in spring.
Three of the four projected righties (Fernandez, O’Brien, Roycroft) have combined for only 99 big league appearances. Sixty two of those belong to Fernandez, who was a Rule 5 pick last winter and massively exceeded expectations in his rookie season. O’Brien spent most of the year hurt and was hammered by big league hitters when healthy, but the team adores his pitch profile. Like Thompson, the fact that he survived early roster deadlines implies that the team wants to see more.
The fourth righty, Helsley, is perhaps the least likely person in this projection to still be a Cardinal by the end of the winter. The risk is simply too high and his current value too great to let what seems like an inevitable trade drag out to the in-season deadline.
Gordon Graceffo may emerge as a force in the bullpen derby in spring, as could McGreevy. Roddery Muñoz, acquired on waivers from Miami earlier this winter, has history as a starter but could relieve. Even a team advertising a reset, though, will seemingly need to dip into the free agent market to fortify the bullpen.
Catchers
Iván Herrera, Pedro Pagés
This is the spot on the roster with the least variability. The Cardinals have decided that these two are capable of sharing the burden behind the plate and are moving others around to accommodate that choice. Barring injury, these are the catchers.
Infielders
Nolan Arenado, José Barrero, Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Thomas Saggese, Masyn Winn
As long as Arenado is still a Cardinal, the defense around the horn is pretty well set – he’s at third, Winn is at short, a combination of Donovan, Gorman and Saggese are at second, and Contreras is taking up residence at first.
Barrero, a minor league signing who spent most of last year injured at Triple-A, may not have a big league bat, but he’s a top notch defender who can back up at short and in center field. Three players for one spot at second may be excessive, and indeed, a veteran bench bat might be more prudent than scrambling to find opportunities for Saggese, but that move hasn’t yet happened.
An Arenado trade is likely. A Gorman trade is possible. César Prieto seems ticketed for a debut at some point this season, and JJ Wetherholt is on the way. Arenado (or Helsley) could also return roster players in a trade who would alter the projection here.
Outfielders
Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar, Michael Siani, Jordan Walker
For the sake of this projection, the assumption is that Siani will seize center ahead of Victor Scott II. The Cardinals at the end of the season clearly decided that Siani’s big league reps were more important, and so that informs the way the two are viewed.
Donovan, who started 91 games in left field last season, is a factor in this group as well. So too is Matt Koperniak, who didn’t earn a September call-up but did hit well enough throughout the year to earn a 40-player roster spot. Scott will likely see some big league exposure, but his struggles at the plate last season make him a perfect candidate to spend more time with the rebooted player development apparatus.
Burleson will likely serve as the team’s primary DH against righties, roughly depending on how second base shakes out and whether Gorman can push for the time which faded from him in 2024.
