St. Louis Cardinals -- 2025 and trying to contend

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The St. Louis Cardinals have announced that Steve Howard will be their trainer beginning with the 2029 season.
Howard, 39, replaces Ricky Jameyson, who stepped away after the 2028 season.
Jameyson, 61, had been with the team for a little more than four seasons.
Howard has spent the last six seasons with the Lake Country Dockhounds.

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Cards news: Nov. 10 -- Arbitration results (part 1)

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Cards news: Nov. 10 -- Arbitration results (part 2)

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MLB news: Nov. 13 -- Gold Glove awards

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St. Louis Cardinals catcher Drew Romo has been named the National League's top defensive catcher for the third consecutive season.
Romo, 27, won his first Gold Glove while a member of the San Francisco Giants. He then picked up the award in his first season in St. Louis in 2027 and followed it up with another one this season.
Romo did not commit an error in his 128 games and 127 start.
Among the other defensive statistics, he ranked first in zone rating (2.5) and framing (17.8). He was third in efficiency (1.197) catcher's ERA (3.57) and caught stealing (27.8 percent).
At the plate, Romo hit .221 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs in 128 games/127 starts.

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MLB news: Nov. 14 -- Twins' German and Giants' Munoz are named Top Relief Pitchers

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MLB news: Nov. 15 -- Silver Slugger awards

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MLB news: Nov. 16 -- Rookie of the Year honors go to Oakland's Murguia and San Diego's Cuespo

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MLB news:Nov. 17 -- Top managers are Boston's Cora and San Francisco's Rasmus

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MLB news: Nov. 18 -- K.C.'s Lacy and Milwaukee's Dugan collect Cy Young Awards

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MLB news: Nov. 19 -- Twins' Miranda and Cubs' Soto take home Most Valuable Player honors

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The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired first baseman Buddy Kennedy from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for three minor-players, first baseman Carson Demartini, right-handed pitcher Drew Conover and second baseman RJ Hamilton.
Kennedy, 30, batted .250 with 37 home runs and 97 RBI during the 2028 season, during which he played in 154 games.
He broke into the majors with the D'backs in 2022 and during his time with the team hit .247 with 167 home runs and 511 RBIs in 788 games/730 starts.
Kennedy has three seasons left on his current contract, during which he will he earn $35.7 million.
Acquired in a trade with Milwaukee before the 2027 season, the 25-year-old Demartini spent the 2028 season at Memphis where he hit. .270 with 27 home runs and 90 RBIs in 141 games/139 starts.
A seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft, Conover has spent his time in the minors as a relief pitcher.
Convoer, 27, pitched at Memphis in 2028, appearing in 40 games during which he went 3-1 with one save and a 3.36 ERA.
The 24-year-old Hamilton was obtained by the Cardinals in the 11th round of the 2023 draft.
He split time between high-A Peoria and AA Springfield in 2028, appearing in 73 games/57 starts, during which he hit .212 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs.

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MLB news: Dec. 10 -- Paul Goldschmidt signs with Rockies

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The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired 1B/OF Coby Mayo from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for AAA second baseman Jack Goodman and outfielder Hae-young Lee.
The 27-year-old Mayo has played mostly first base for the Orioles, but also can take the field at third base and in right field.
In 2028, Mayo hit .255 with 41 home runs and 93 RBIs.
Since breaking into the majors during the 2023, when he got just one at bat, Mayo has hit .249 with 17 home runs and 432 RBIs in 632 games/594 starts.
Mayo was acquired by the Orioles in the fourth round of the 2020 draft out of high school.
He earned a spot on the American League All-Star team during the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
Primarily a second baseman, the 25-year-old Goodman was acquired by the Cardinals as part of a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6, 2028.
He was acquired along with left-handed reliever Victor Gonzalez while L.A. received catcher Jake Burns and Jorge Torbio.
After starting the season with the Dodgers' AA team in Tulsa, where he hit. 231 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs, Goodman split the rest of the year with the Cardinals' AA team at Springfield and AAA Memphis.
Between those two stops, Goodman hit .357 with 13 home runs and 28 RBIs in 43 games/42 starts.
Goodman came into professional baseball as a third-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2025.
A free-agent signing out of South Korea in 2022, the 25-year-old Lee spent the 2028 season at Memphis where in 100 games/83 starts he hit .274 with 19 home runs and 48 RBIs.

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MLB news: Jan. 17 -- Robinson Cano is lone electee to Cooperstown

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The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired 28-year-old outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for 22-year-old minor-league first baseman Donovan Jeffrey.
Rafaela
A second-round pick by the Cardinals in the 2025 draft, Jeffrey spent the 2028 season at High-A Palm Beach where he hit .253 with 17 home runs and 41 RBIs in 73 games.
Signed as an international free agent by the Boston in 2017,Rafaela broke into the majors with the Red Sox -- he played in 83 games/77 starts and hit .251 with nine homers and 43 RBIs - before being traded to the Orioles on Christmas Day 2025.
In four seasons in Baltimore, Rafaela hit .265 with 120 home runs and 346 RBIs in 584 games/540 starts.
The 2028 season saw Rafaela play in 143 games/142 starts, during which he hit .281 with 36 home runs and 97 RBIs.
The Orioles are severely overbudget, which is why they are selling off some of their top players.

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The St. Louis Cardinals continued to deal acquiring third baseman Wes Kath from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for minor-league first baseman Omari Cleggett and shortstop Drayk Bowen.
Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the second round of the 2021 draft, broke into the majors with the Tigers in the 2024 season.
Chicago had traded him to the Tigers in July 2023.
In parts of four major-league seasons, he has hit .248 with 117 home runs and 341 RBIs.
The 2027 season saw the 26-year-old play in 133 games/130 starts, during which he hit .289 with 33 home runs and 98 RBIs.
A second-round pick in the 2027 draft by the Cardinals, Cleggett spent the 2028 season in rookie ball playing in the Florida State League where in 31 games, he hit .247 with one home and eight RBIs.
Bowen, 24, was grabbed by the Cardinals in the 12th round of the 2026 draft.
He spent the 2028 season at AA Memphis, where in 80 games/78 starts he hit .257 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired 21-year-old starting pitcher Boston Kellner from the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Jacob Berry and minor-league pitcher Lionel Sequera.
With the Cardinals makings a series of major moves in the offseason to acquire 1B/OF Coby Mayo, OF Cedanne Rafaela and 1B Buddy Kennedy, somebody probably had to go from the 2028 roster.
That turned out to be the 27-year-old Berry.
Acquired from the Miami Marlins prior to the 2026 season, Berry played in 279 games/273 starts while with the Cardinals during which he hit .237 with 64 home runs and 154 RBI.
In the 2028 campaign, Berry hit .235 with 29 homers and 77 RBIs in 141 games/138 starts.
In the 22-year-old Kellner, the Cardinals receive a young starting pitcher who already has some big-league experience.
Kellner pitched in 15 games for the Mets during the 2028 season, he started eight, and went 6-3 with a 2.50 ERA.
Taken in the seventh round of the 2025 draft by the Boston, the Mets later acquired Kellner via trade in Nov. 2027.
Kellner will likely compete against Alton Davis for the No. 5 spot in the Cardinals' pitching rotation during spring training.
The role was originally supposed to go to Sequera.
Signed by the Cardinals out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, Sequera has put together a 25-37 record with a 5.32 ERA as he's worked his way through the minor leagues.
He spent the 2028 season at AAA Memphis, where he went 8-6 with a 4.61 ERA in 25 starts.
Sequera also made his major-league debut making a three-inning start where he gave up six runs in three innings.

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Cards news: February 1 -- Confused Kiner-Falefa returns from trip to India

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Cards news: February 1 -- Player Development Report and financial news from owner