2026 Cardinals -- Resetting the reset

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Early in the 2024-25 off-season, the St. Louis Cardinals' front office brass declared that 2025 would be a "re-set" season where they hoped to lay the groundwork for a return to the almost continuous success the franchise had enjoyed for much of the 2000s.
That run had ended with an ugly 71-91 campaign in 2023 -- the team's worst finish since 1995 -- and an 83-79 finish in 2024.
Yes, the Cards' let former MVP first baseman Paul Goldschmidt walk in free agency.
Free-agent lefty reliever Andrew Kitteridge also was allowed to exit.
But other than that, the whole dang gang was allowed to return for 2025.
That included former All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado, who seemingly had taken a big step back in 2024.
Along with over-paid starting pitchers Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz. (Although, Matz likely will primarily serve as a reliever this season).
The return of those three players, really gum up the works in terms of a reset as young players looking to get their shot will be stuck either on the bench or in the minors.
So, what I am going to do is start the season at the end of the off-season.
The goal will be to get rid of Arenado before the start of the season and either one or both of Mikolas and Matz.
Any money I recoup through trades I can use to add other players. But I cannot go over the $127,509,000 payroll ceiling set by the DeWitt family.

I also may revamp the front office and coaching staff, since I don't have much faith in what they currently have in place.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have announced the hiring of Victor Diaz as their pitching coach and Devin DeYoung as their hitting coach.
Out as pitching coach is Dusty Blake after two seasons.
Brant Brown also is out, despite having never coached a game with the team.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have announced the hiring of Jeff Frye as their third base coach.
He replaces long-time coach Ron "Pop" Warner in that role.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have announced the hiring of Chaim Bloom as their assistant general manager.
He replaces the long-time lackey of John Mozeiak, Michael Girsch, in that role.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have traded All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado, along with minor league pitcher Victor Santos, to the New York Yankees in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Ian Hamilton and 19-year-old outfielder Brando Mayea.
Looking to find a way to get time on the field for its young player, the Cardinals decided to move on from the 33-year-old Arenado, who has shown signs of decline over the past two seasons.
After finishing third in the MVP voting in 2023, when he hit .293 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs, the eight-time All-Star has seen his numbers dip to .266 with 26 homers and 93 RBIs in 2023 and .272 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs a year ago.
Arenado's departure also allows every-day playing time for Nolan Gorman and Brendan Donovan, who both can play second and third.
Hamilton, 29, will slot into the St. Louis-bullpen following a season where he got into 35 games for the Yankees going 0-1 with one save and a 3.82 ERA.
For his career, which includes two seasons with the White Sox, one with the Twins and two in New York, Hamilton has pitched in 89
games going 4-5 with three saves and a 3.34 ERA.
Mayea was signed as an international free agent by the Yankees in January of 2023.
He has played in 73 games between a pair of rookie league team over the past two seasons.
In that span, he has hit .279 with three home runs 27 RBIs and a .741 OPS.
Santos, 24, spent the 2024 season at AAA Memphis after being acquired in a December 2023 trade with Boston.
With the Redbirds, he pitched in 33 games, eight starts, going 6-7 with one save and a 5.61 ERA.

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Cards news: Nov. 20 -- Arenado's departure upsets fans and clubhouse

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The St. Louis Cardinals have announced the signing of 30-year-old outfielder Manuel Margot to a minor-league contract with a major-league option.
Margot spent the 2024 season in Minnesota where he played in 129 games, 68 starts, during which he hit .238 with four home runs and 31 RBIs.
In his career, Margot broke in with San Diego in 2016, he has played in 917 games and has hit .254 with 84 home runs and 539 RBIs.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have announced the signing of right-handed starting pitchers Walker Buehler and Connor Johnstone to minor-league contracts.
Formerly a key member of the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation, injuries have derailed Buehler's career in recent seasons.
In 2024, he made 16 starts for the Dodgers going 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA.
For his career, the 30-year-old owns a record of 47-22 with a 3.27 ERA in 131 games, 122 starts.
Also 30, Johnstone has spent his career in the Braves' minor league system and has never pitched in the majors.
Johnstone didn't pitched in 2023, but in his last season in three games at Gwinett was 0-1 with a 14.40 ERA.

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Looking to make room in their starting rotation, the St. Louis Cardinals have traded starting pitcher Miles Mikolas and minor-league pitcher Branneli Franco to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor-league reliever John McMillon.
Mikolas, 36, spent five seasons in St. Louis and had quite a bit of success before scaling back during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
In 2025, Mikolas went 10-11 with a 5.35 ERA in 32 starts. The 2023 season saw him go 9-13 with a 4.78 ERA in 35 starts.
During his time with the Cardinals, Mikolas was 60-58 with a 4.05 ERA in 173 games, 172 starts.
A right-hander, the 26-year-old McMillon broke into the majors with Kansas City in 2023, pitching in four games.
He only worked four innings, during which he didn't record a win or loss and had a 2.25 ERA.
His only other time in the majors was in 2024 with Miami, when he got into 10 games and went 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings.
Recently signed out of the Dominican Republic, the 17-year-old Franco pitched in 12 starts in a rookie league last season going 0-3 with a 6.16 ERA.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired 31-year-old outfielder Darion Blanco from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor-league starting pitchers Adam Kloffenstein and Darlin Saladin.
A native of Cuba, the 31-year-old Blanco signed with the Oakland Athletics as an international free agent in December of 2017.
He later was traded to the Royals on July 27, 2019.
Blanco reached the majors in 2023, during which he played in 69 games/36 starts. He hit .258 with three home runs and 18 RBIs. He also stole 24 bases in 29 attempts.
In 2024, he got into 88 games/34 starts and again hit .258 with four home runs and 13 RBIs. That season he stole 31 bases in 38 attempts.
A good defender at all three outfield positions, Blanco likely will be given a chance to win the center-fielder's job.
Taken in the third round of the 2018 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, the 24-year-old Kloffenstein was acquired via trade by St. Louis on July 30, 2023.
Last season, Kloffenstein made his major league debut by appearing in one game where he threw a scoreless inning.
The rest of the time, he was at AAA Memphis where h was 4-5 with a 4.74 ERA in 17 starts.
In his career, Kloffenstein is 20-25 with a 4.79 ERA in 94 games/91 starts.
The Cardinals signed the 21-year-old Saladin as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic.
Saladin split the 2024 season between Class A Palm Beach and High-A Peoria.
In 23 games/21 starts, he went 10-3 with a 2.70 ERA.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have announced the signing of outfielders J.D. Martinez and David Dahl to free-agent contracts.
The 30-year-old Dahl was taken in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies and broke into the majors with them in 2016.
He later would play for Texas (2021), San Diego (2023) and last season for Philadelphia.
In 19 games/13 starts with Philadelphia, Dahl hit .207 with three home runs and eight RBIs.
Dahl has played in 954 MLB games/857 starts and hit .268 with 126 home runs and 505 RBIs.

Martinez, 30, broke into the majors with the Houston Astros after being taken in the 20th round of the 2009 draft.
A six-time All-Star, Martinez has played for the Astros (2011-13), Detroit (2014-2017), Arizona (2017), Boston (2018-21), the Dodgers (2023) and last season for the Mets.
In 2024, Martinez hit .235 with 16 home runs and 69 RBIs in 120 games.
For his career, during which he has played in 1,642 games/1,435), Martinez is a .283 hitter with 331 homers and 1,071 RBIs.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired right-handed relief pitcher Ryan Walker from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for first baseman Luken Baker and right-handed minor-league pitcher Brian Holiday.
Walker. 29, was drafted by San Francisco in the 31st round of the 2018 draft.
He broke into the majors in 2023, getting into 49 games/13 starts during which he went 5-3 with one save and a 3.23 ERA.
In 2024, Walker took his game up a level pitching in 76 games/one start and going 10-4 with 10 saves and a 1.91 ERA.
The 27-year-old Baker was taken by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2015 MLB draft.
He made his major league debut in 2023, playing in 33 games/23 starts while hitting .209 with two home runs and 10 RBIs.
Baker spent most of 2024 at AAA Memphis, hitting .231 with 32 home runs and 79 RBIs.
In the majors, he played in 21 games and hit .175 with two homers and 10 RBIs.
Baker has hit 119 homers over the course of his minor-league career.
The Cardinals drafted Holiday, 21, in the third round of the 2024 MLB draft. He has yet to pitch in the minor leagues.

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MLB news: Jan. 5 -- Billy Wagner and Ichiro make the Hall of Fame

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Cards news: February 20 -- Spring training roster -- Starting pitchers and relief pitchers

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Cards news: February 20 -- Spring training roster -- Catchers, infielders and outfielders

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Cards news: February 20 -- Spring training -- Preseason predications at start of spring training

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Cards news: February 20 -- Spring Training - San Francisco Giants 5, St. Louis Cardinals 2, (0-1)

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Cards news: February 21 -- Spring training - St. Louis Cardinals 4, Miami Marlins 1, (1-1)

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Cards news: February 22 -- Spring training - Pittsburgh Pirates 2, St. Louis Cardinals 1, (1-2)

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Cards news: February 24 -- Spring Training - St. Louis Cardinals 6, Philadelphia Phillies 2, (2-2)