St. Louis Cardinals Prepare for DRAMATIC Lineup SHAKEUP!

St. Louis Cardinals Prepare for DRAMATIC Lineup SHAKEUP!

What will the Cardinals lineup look on March 26th when they open up the season against the Rays? It’s way too early prediction time on Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Hey there Cardinals fans. I’m JD Haford, a former national radio sports anchor born and raised in St. Louis and a lifetime Cardinals fan. And welcome to Locked on Cardinals, part of the Lock on Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. A big thank you to all of you for being a part of this. Uh thank you to the everyayers for being here with us all along. And for those of you who are new, welcome aboard. I hope you guys enjoy the content. This is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving you all the info about the birds on the bat. Today’s episode being brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use code lock.mmo for $20 off your first purchase. All right, way too early opening day predictions uh about what the lineup’s going to look like, who’s going to be in the starting rotation. I don’t have all the answers for you, but I know a guy who does have some answers. Here he is, Thomas Goane from redirdrants.com. You can read his work there where they have like just a whole host of people talking Cardinals baseball throughout the season, the off season. So many uh uh fun stories that they have up there. Thomas, good to see you again and uh thanks for stopping by on this frigid Veterans Day across the Midwest. You guys doing okay in KC? Yeah, it’s been cold. I think I saw we’re going to get up to 60 today, so it’s a nice change of pace. Good for you guys. Yeah, we’re still uh we’re still cold here. It’s still frigid. I think it’s uh a little over 30 degrees right now. So, that’s about where we’re sitting, I think. Yeah. 3540 right around there. I hate it. I hate it, dude. We all need to move to a tropical island and uh talk Cardinal baseball there together. Um real quick, favorite movie, military movie. It’s Veterans Day. Uh a lot of good ones out there. Uh Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypse Now, Blackhawk Down. I could go on and on. Uh I got to interview Matthew Modí once uh from Full Metal Jack and it was actually when he was talking about uh when he was promoting Stranger Things, so a little later on in his career, but uh obviously that’s a that’s a huge one uh with uh you know, Private Joker and everything that goes on in that movie from the barrack scenes to the sniper scenes. That’s good stuff. Uh do you have a favorite one that uh that you tend to when it’s on TV you just are like, “Yeah, I’m going to watch that.” Yeah, it’s it’s called 1917. It came out in 2019. Don’t get the ears mixed up there. But it follows it’s it follows those two British soldiers who are trying to to deliver a message. It’s kind of artsy. It’s like one of those things where you leave the theater, you’re like, “That was good, but it wasn’t.” You know, that kind of thing. It’s like a one take artistic. I enjoyed it. It was pretty good. Yeah. See, this is the difference between me and Thomas. You have the intellect of Thomas with that type of choice. And I’m over here like, I like Top Gun, dude. Top Gun. Top Gun Maverick. Uh, you know, it’s got it’s got the cool music. It’s got the action, some humor, some tearjerker spots. Uh, not a lot of Tom Cruz movies that I I don’t like. I’m a popcorn type of movie guy. So, uh, but let us know your guys’ favorites in the comments section. And, uh, a big thank you for both of us to all the veterans out there for your sacrifice to our country. All right, let’s talk some baseball, Thomas. That’s why we’re here. Way too early predictions on what this lineup could look like uh, coming opening day in March. uh you recently posted on your ex account, which if you guys aren’t following Thomas yet, you got to do that at Thomas Go, what you thought it might look like uh come opening day at Bush Stadium against the Rays. Uh so we’re going to go through it, see what your thought process was uh as to why you chose the certain names that you did. And remember fans, this is for fun. This is November 11th. Like we are so early on this, but this is the fun stuff, you know? This is for conversation. Uh, no need to get your your panties in a bunch about the choices that are made here. No moves have been made yet, but clearly Thomas thinks there will be some made at some point as do we all. So, uh, let’s get into this. Um, you did the batting lineup, too, which, uh, we’ll just go through it in that order just because that’s where the names are. So, leading off and playing shortstop, uh, you have the reigning NL Gold Glove Award winner Mason Win. Uh, curious as to what is it about Mason Win that you like in the leadoff spot? because I’m with you. I if I have full healthy Mason win, I kind of want him at the top of the order, too. What What are your thoughts with that? Last year, I was more of like a Brendan Donovan, Lars Newar leadoff proponent, but this for 2026, I think it just makes total sense to unleash Mason Lyn, Mason Win, let his speed play at the top. He sees a ton of pitches. I think he was like I had the ninth or so in pitches plate appearance last year among all baseball players. Just let it rip. Make him the star of your franchise. put him at the top, use his speed, have fun. Yeah. Uh that is the one aspect that we’ve still kind of waited on with Mason. We’ve seen him with the pop. You know, we saw him in that first full season where you know he hit 15 home runs. Last year the knee kind of held him back from uh you know having the the power that he he showed previously. But it’s the speed that we know with this like when you go and look at his sprint speed, we know he can run. He’s very fast. We just got to get him on base more and let him run, which is I agree with you. That’s something that I think a lot of fans want to see, too. We just want to see more aggressive base running. You know, this sport has taken a turn over the last couple seasons to make it easier for people to steal bases. And the Cardinals outside of Victor Scott are one of the teams that for whatever reason, they just don’t they don’t try to do that all that often. So, uh hopefully that’ll be something that Mason went for bringing to the top of the order. All right, batting second and playing at second base. You have the guy I refer to as Captain Clutch, as Mama calls him, Brendan. It’s Brendan Donovan. Uh, you have him still on this roster come opening day. Uh, excuse me. I’ve gone on record saying that, as a fan, I want to keep him. I I I’m not actively trying to get rid of a person like Brendon Donovan, but I understand why the phone lines are are open for anyone on the roster at this point. Uh, is this choosing Brennan Donovan to uh bat second and play at second base? Is that personal preference just because you’re like me and you don’t want to get rid of him or do you think the Cardinals will will really hold on to him and won’t find a deal big enough to think it’s worth moving on for Brendan? It’s definitely my fan showing. I don’t know. It’s Logic probably tells me that he’s gone. They’ll find a trade partner. They’ll get a nice package for him. Uh I I definitely want him to stay. Lock him up to a long-term contract. make him the the the voice in the clubhouse for this next core as they as we see them come up and rise. They need some leadership and Brendan Donovan’s shown that he can do that for the team. As far as where he is in the lineup, I’m flexible. Second base, I’d like to see him there. I think he’s gold glove potential there. Throw him second, throw him fifth in the lineup. Doesn’t really matter, but just get Bren Donovan in there from a fan perspective. Yeah, I mean, if you’re going to have somebody batting behind Mason and uh you know, there’s something you’ll notice in this lineup that Tom has put together. you know, it’s, you know, it’s like Hollywood, right, left, right, left. You know, you try try to keep it so that you can deal with the matchups in the in the bullpen for the opponents later on. Uh, but yeah, that’s makes a lot of sense. Uh, and I I as much as it made sense for him to be a leadoff hitter at one point, just his numbers just don’t work there and he’s much better in other spots in the lineup. So, I got no issues with that whatsoever having him uh batting second. All right, batting third and playing at first base, you got the veteran Wilson Contrus, who I actually I I got roasted for good reason for daring to compare his numbers to that of the greatest first baseman ever in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. apparently. All kinds of people coming out of the woodworks just destroying me for even comparing the two. Baseball card statwise, Vlatty 292, 23 home runs, 84 RBI’s. Willie 257, 20 home runs, 80 RBI’s. I I didn’t realize that it was that far off, but uh apparently it was. So I realize he’s not Vlatty Jr., you guys. I I get that. But I was giving him credit. He was awfully good last season when he was in the lineup and when he was healthy and he was a surprise over at first base defensively. Uh I hope he can continue to progress there. He seems to want to stay in St. Louis. Uh so not shocking that you don’t have him traded away playing for someone else. Um, you don’t see that as something that’ll probably happen though, do you? I don’t think so. He seems to want to say he’s got that no trade clause. I I mean, there’s always the potential he could change his mind based on what happens before he gets like if we trade Nado, if we trade Sunny Gray, if we get like all these guys are starting to leave and Wilson’s like, “Oh, maybe I don’t want to stick it out, then I could see him being moved.” But for now, I expect him to stay. Yeah, I would as well. and uh if you can keep him in that lineup and uh keep him healthy, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to be uh a fantastic number three hitter for this particular team. Real question is who’s playing third base? People want to know. We also want to know who’s on this pitching staff. We’re going to get all those answers from Thomas coming up next here on Lockdown Cardinals. NFL season is back and honestly there’s nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your team. But let’s be honest, when you’re trying to get tickets, that can be the problem. 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You can see the exact view from the seat that you’re you’re looking at before you even buy it. so you don’t make sure that you know you have any obstructions or anything like that. Faster, cheaper, less stressful than any other way I’ve ever bought tickets. You’re going to love it. Download the Game Time app. Create an account. Use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that’s promo code Loc MLB for $20 off. Swipe tab ticket. Go. Download Game Time today. Thanks for making Locked on Cardinals your first listen every day and thank you for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network. If you enjoy daily Cardinals content, you can follow the podcast on X at LOL_cardinals. We’re also on YouTube, Tik Tok, and Instagram at lockdown Cardinals. Continuing down the uh predicted opening day lineup for the Cardinals with Thomas Goain from redwood rants.com. We have made it to the cleanup spot in the order. Uh batting cleanup left field. Yes, that’s right. Left field, not daging, left field. Your Silver Slugger award winner, Alec Berles. Uh we know he had a fantastic year. Your opinion, Thomas, what what was the most impressive thing about Burley in 2025 for you? I have waffled on Burley forever. I wanted to trade him. I wanted I’m I perfect. I’m settled now. keeping him in the lineup, clean up, add batting third, whatever it may be. Um, I think it’s impressive just how he’s improved every single year. His WRC plus was 89 two years ago. It was up to 124 last year. Every stat line that he has has gone up. He seems to be making the necessary changes and improvements to be a regular player who’s going to get better each year. And I think that’s nice to see. Yeah. The real question coming into 2025 was, uh, what do you do against lefties with him? you know, we’re like, hey, he smokes the right-handers, but lefties, it was a real struggle. And he turned that around and and was very good against lefties as well and kind of solidified himself as somebody that you don’t even have to take about out the lineup anymore. Matchups be damned. It’s like, hey, the guy hits like eventually you just got to realize that at every level that he’s he’s played, he succeeded as a hitter and he gives you his all in the outfield. We know he’s not a great outfielder. he doesn’t uh you know have the the speed or whatever, but nobody’s perfect, guys. Okay? You know, we’re not going to find Mike Trout at every position for the Cardinals. There’s going to be some situations where they’re going to have to deal with things that aren’t exactly the best. Uh but you got to have that that bat in the lineup. He’s going to play some first base when Willie needs a day off. He’ll do some dhing as well, but you got him in left field uh in this particular lineup. And uh I got no issues with that at all. batting fifth and catching Ivon Herrera. Honestly, Thomas, how sold are you on the idea of Ivonne being the full-time catcher in 2026? Cuz I’ve heard the interviews with Hy Bloom says, you know, he hopes he’s a a part of the solution behind the plate. He’s coming off the surgery. Uh wasn’t all that good behind the plate before that, but uh he’s got to play somewhere. You think do you think catcher is where he belongs or at least where he’s going to start? Yeah, that that’s it. I think I’m optimistic that he starts opening day catcher. I don’t want to see Pedro Pahes as our opening day catcher again. I don’t think Jimmy Krooks is quite there to get that mantle. So, I would suspect it’s Herrera. Now, that doesn’t mean he’s catching 140 games. I wouldn’t even expect him to catch a 100 games. I think it’ll be a pretty even split between those two. And then Herrera will get a lot of time at TH as well. First base, maybe left field. Why not throw him out? Let’s get him the silver slugger next year. Yeah. Yeah. I I’m very excited about the future of Yvon Herrera. Uh again, you got to put him somewhere. And you know, when you’ve got Willie at first, I’ve mentioned that I think Ivon Herrera might make a good candidate to to move over to the first base uh bag. Uh but you saw him working in left field last year. You know, they’re trying to find other spots so that they could keep that bat in the lineup because you can’t take that one out either. He’s got to be in there. and you saw how the team would struggle when he wasn’t around. You know, you got off to that hot start and then he gets hurt in Boston and you’re like, “Oh my gosh.” And you know, there were issues throughout the year, but uh you know, keeping him healthy, keeping him in the lineup. That’s another reason why I don’t want him catching anymore. If he’s going to be susceptible to leg injuries, catching is not exactly the spot that I need that particular guy in. Uh batting six and over at third base. All right, here we go. This is where we get into the first uh big like we know that Nolan Arnado is once out. He’s by all means probably already out. They’re they’re not going to bring this guy back. Uh he’s all but gone. Playing third base. If you would please welcome Rookie of the Year candidate JJ Weatherhol, your top prospect. Uh putting him over a third makes a lot of sense. Uh, do you like him at third long term or do you think uh he plays second base in the long term at some point? Yeah, as far as his positioning goes, I’m I’m not quite certain. I like him at third base. I think his arm profile is better over there than Gorman and Brendan Donovan. Long term, I could see him shifting over to second base. I think that might be a good spot for him depending on who we have come up at third. I think put him at sixth gives him a chance to have some pressure off of his back as a rookie. He still gets some run producing opportunities. So still see a decent amount of at bats, but it’s not top five. It’s not top four where there’s that pressure. I It’s exciting. I think that you could really let him loose next year. You you lose the year of team control, but I don’t love that argument. I I want fun next year. And JJ Ruther, what would be fun? Yes. And remember, this is part of the the whole spiel here is this is for fun and this is who we want to see at those positions. So JJ Weatherhold uh obviously a guy that you know you saw him do so so well at double A and then he got to AAA and he did even better you know and what what is the point of keeping him down uh any longer you know people were mad last year that he wasn’t up on the team at the end of the year you kind of understood why uh but uh having him on the opening day roster as long as everything goes smoothly in spring training I don’t have an issue with that some people say they’ll wait till April whatever the date is, April 15th or whatever it might be to to bring him up, but uh he’s going to be on this team uh next year. It’s going to happen. It has to happen. So, uh I’m excited for it and uh I I would love to see him there on opening day as well. Now, batting seven in the DH role. Now, remember, we had we had Berles in left field. You’ve got Herrera behind the plate. Those guys did a lot of dhing last year. Uh you’ve got Nolan Gorman. Tough couple seasons yet again. And here we go with Gorman where he’s kind of blocked again, even if you trade Aronado. Donniey’s at second, JJ’s over at third. You know, you’re not going to part-time JJ. You’re going to give him uh the keys to the position if that’s what you’re going to do. Some fans are done with Stormman Gorman. Why Why are you keeping him, Thomas? What is it about Nolan Gorman that you think that Cardinals need to keep around? Realistically, if Nolan Arnado is traded, I I would believe that Gorman goes up to third. Uh but I I keep him around. His power is just so enticing. It’s not often you see that from the left side. I know you have to worry about the strikeouts. I know that he focused more on base last year in contact than power, but I think if if you can get Nolan Gorman to that 25 home run mark at DH from the left side, that’s that’s something you you got to keep around. You’ll get the 30 30% 35% strikeout rate, but to see those those home runs, especially down in the lineup, that’s that could be scary. It could lengthen the lineup pretty heavily. Yeah, you’re talking about the the seventh spot in the in this particular lineup that that we’re going through here. And yeah, it’s it’s the same thing. It’s I’m with you. It’s like how many other guys do you have that can do the things that he has the ability to do as far as just any swing can leave the ballpark, you know? Uh there there’s the Cardinals are are starving for for some pop, you know, cuz uh if you’ve listened to the High Bloom interviews, he talks about like you don’t want the same type of hitter throughout the lineup, you got to have guys who do different things. And uh you can’t just have all sluggers, but at the same time, you want a couple of really dangerous guys. And going through the order, you know, if there’s a guy that you’re afraid that can put one out on you at any moment, there’s not that many that can do that. It’s Ivon Herrera, maybe Wilson, and then it’s Nolan Gorbin is right there. So, uh, makes a lot of sense. And like you said, bottom of the lineup here. Um, that that that’s that’s huge if you can get 25 30 home runs from that spot. Batting eighth and in right field, another guy that a lot of fans have punted on already. Uh, Jordan Walker, I’m like you. I think he gets another year before they start to think about moving on. We’ve seen the clips of him working this off season. What is your faith level in Jordan Walker bouncing back in 2026? Because I’m kind of like dying on this hill that Jordan Walker’s gonna end up showing up finally and become like I keep comparing him to Joe Adele of the Angels where it’s it just feels like that kind of path is what he’s on where he’s got all the skills. We just got to figure out how to unlock it properly. And uh I heard him bloom talking about just teaching him how to, you know, see the spin on a ball earlier, how he can recognize it earlier is a big thing for him. Um right field, Jordan Walker, is this the year, Thomas, predicted. Is this the year? Is he back? This is the optimism in you and me and that we both believe that this is the year. They call that insanity. I think I think they call that insanity, don’t they? Anyway, yeah. I I want to see Jordan Walker do well and and if 2026 is the year he does, I love it. I’ve actually So, you’re dying on that hill. I in the back of my mind, I’ve said a couple times, it’s my stupid idea for the winter that we extend Jordan Walker to a six-year contract and you pretty much reset his rookie like the six years of team control at age 23 when he probably should have been brought up anyway instead of two, three years ago when we when we tried it. So, that’s my far-fetched dying on a hill idea about Jordan Walker as well. I I want to see him do well. I think he has it in him. It’s just a matter of can that show. Yeah. It’s another guy that even his first year call when he got called up, he was awesome. It’s not like he hasn’t had a taste of success at the major league level yet. He did and then things just went haywire. And I I feel like he was getting a lot of different voices telling him a lot of different things. And you know, I feel like this is the one year I think, you know, that they’re like, “Look, bro, let’s let’s get you back to what you do well.” And uh, you know, I have faith in him. Um, it could be blind faith at this point. Yes. Uh, but, you know, I just think they’re going to give him one more year at least to uh to back to it. I mean, he’s 23. We’re not talking about an old man here. We’re not talking about guy about a guy, you know, 26, 27 who is really at the end of his leash. like he’s very very young still. So keep that in mind. Uh finally batting ninth in center field goal glove nominee Victor Scott I the second. Not a surprise. Uh I think that you know we both can agree that if the offense comes around to match the defense. Uh he doesn’t have to hit 300 or anything like that but just get off base more so he can use that speed. He could be a real weapon for this offense especially at the bottom of the order in that number nine hole. Yeah, he’s he’s projected for a sub 300 on base percentage next year. I don’t love that. I’d like to take a seam around 310 315. Then he can really use his speed. That’d be nice at the bottom. Yeah, work on hitting breaking balls. That was uh his kryptonite last year on the for Jose for mean Jimmy Krooks and not Pedro Pz. Uh are you trading Pedro away or is he just you know he’s been bad? I don’t care what Pedro is. And then you have your first addition to the team, uh, former Cardinal Lane Thomas. Uh, you have him as, uh, on the bench for the Cardinals. What is it, uh, that you like about Lane that would be a good fit for the Cardinals in 2026? Yeah, right-handed hitting outfielder who can play center. We’ve been looking for that since Tommy Fam at the trade deadline two years ago. I think Lane Thomas could be like, he’ll get he’ll be average to below league average hitter, but that’s fine because we have too many left-handed hitters on this roster. Yeah. and he’s a great defensive glove, which fans obviously are uh they love his arm, everything. So, they’re they’re not going to complain too much about him and hopefully uh he continues to be a decent offensive bat. You know, he’s had some pretty good years since uh the Cardinals cut ties with him and sent him off to Toronto. So, uh yeah, so that’s what the offensive side of things looks like in this way too early prediction, but we’re going to talk a little bit pitching next. We’ve got some additions there as well, specifically to the rotation. We’ll get into it next on Lives on Cardinals. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you missed the start of the game, I mean, we’re all busy. We all got lives, so you can’t always be there right a tip off. Or maybe you just want to ride the hot hand. FanDuel’s got live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It’s gonna keep every game more exciting, which is what you want, especially when your team’s making that late push. There are so many good players in the NBA these days that you can uh keep an eye on. Uh Shay Gil just Alexander, obviously the MVP, Nicolic, you’ve got Victor Wimyama. There there’s so many that you could choose from, but maybe take a chance on some of the uh smaller names that maybe don’t get as much uh I don’t know, headlines, as much press. Guys like Tyrese Maxi, Scotty Barnes, just a few guys that should keep your eyes on. But right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, take advantage of it. Head to fandal.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Thanks for making Lock on Cardinal your first listen every day. For your second listen, check out Lockdown MLB hosted by my guy Sully. Daily blend of humor and baseball throughout the offseason. You can find it on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. Thomas Go from redrants.com is here. We move on to the pitching staff. Three familiar names in your opening day roster. Some young arms here. Matthew Liberator obviously who uh you know did some good things last year. Uh first full year as a starter, so you expected some growing pains. No issues with anything there. Michael McGrevy finally gets his uh opening day spot in the rotation. Kyle Lehey, uh, who we know they want to stretch out and earn one of those spots in the rotation if he can. They’re going to give him every opportunity to do that. They like, uh, his makeup, uh, not only what he did in in the bullpen last year, but they they just think that it’ll transition into a starter pretty easily. So, uh, obviously are looking forward to that. And then you’ve got two additions, uh, Joe Ryan and Dustin May. Now, Dustin May is a guy that I’ve been a huge fan of, even when he was with the Dodgers. Injuries have always been his issue. Uh but he’s a free agent, but Ryan you would have to trade for. What do you like about Joe Ryan from Minnesota that you think would fit well with this Cardinal team? He he’s steady. That’s the thing with Joe Ryan. It’s a nice top rotation guy that you can rely on. He he’ll get you your innings each year. He’s a just a steady solid pitcher. He’d be the replacement for Ryan Hley in my mind. I expect us to to trade him and to get something in return for for Sunny Sun. Oh, no. Sorry. Sorry. Sunny Gray. Yeah, sorry. Sunny Gray. I expect us to trade Sunny Gray, get some salary relief, and then bring in Joe Ryan. He’s got good strikeout numbers. He He’s a solid top of the rotation pitcher. He’s not probably other teams number one. Like, you put him on the Dodgers, you put him on the Yankees, you know, like those big spenders. He’s not there. But for the Cardinals, he he could be exactly that. I think he’d be a nice leader for the rotation. He’s 29, going to be 30 next year. still young enough, you have team control with him for two years. It it it fits pretty well for us. It would cost a lot. And I’ve been getting some flack on this for social media about what how could we beat other teams trade without giving up Liam Doyle, Randy Rodriguez, or JJ Weatherwolf. And I don’t know if we could, but it’s it’s fun. It’s dream. That’s the idea here. Exactly. Figure it out. He bloom. Talk them into it. You be the seller here. You gota you gotta you got to talk these people into the trades. Um, I I’m like the Dustin May stuff. Uh, I I think I like that other people are starting to bring him up a little bit more. I just I feel like he could be so nasty at times and as long as, you know, healthwise he he’s good to go, which uh it wasn’t like, you know, some debilitating injury at the end of the year last year when he was with Boston. I ju I just think he’s worth a one-year deal. I I I just really do. And uh if it doesn’t work out, so be it. But this isn’t a guy that you need to sign to three, four years. Uh this would be like a one-year deal. Let’s see if we can get him right. And uh if it works out, then kudos because uh the the guy has got the pedigree to be very very good and uh very nasty in in the rotation. Um bullpit wise, familiar names, Jojo, Swanson, Palante, O’Brien, Grace, King. Uh you also have one prospect and one returning veteran. Uh let’s start with the prospect Tink Hints. Um we know that he’s another guy that’s dealt with a lot of injuries and I think I’m with you, man. I I think that the dreams of a starting rotation spot with Tinkens, I think they’re gone, man. He just cannot stay on the mound. But can he survive a season as a as somebody in the bullpen? Maybe. because he’s one of those guys that’s um you know he he’s per like the numbers are great when he’s healthy, right? Yeah, that’s the key. He needs to be healthy. I think his stuff plays up obviously in the bullpen. Whatever strong p his fast ball is going to do really well there. Uh it’s sort of like a Jordan Hicks experiment. Yeah. Let him let him throw 20 pitches three nights two three nights a week and just burn it all out. He’s at he’s not going to be set up closer. None of those roles for me. Just get him time. Get him warmed. Get him ready and let him see some major league innings. It’s time to to see what Tinks can do with this stuff. Yeah. Get him on the mound. See if he can stay there. You know, I’d rather see him than go another round with the the Chris Roys of the world. Like at least with heads, you know, he’s obviously a high draft pick and people have thought highly of him. He was a top 100 prospect for a couple of years here. So, the talent is there. let’s see if we could take advantage of it and find a spot for him uh that you know he can remain healthy. It was a thing of like you know very much like Reyes back in the day too. Remember the whole point he was going to be the starter and he could not stay on the mound and then if he had that one great year and then he got hurt again unfortunately but uh it seemed to be working and he was an all-star that year when they did move him to the bullpen. So uh maybe you can catch lightning in a bottle here with uh with team Kent and uh finally get some use out of him for the big league club. And then you have a a name coming back to the team. Not Ryan Helley, which you tried to tease us with. It’s actually Bill Mton coming back to to the team. Um, makes a lot of sense. I mean, he was very good with the Cardinals, right? Yeah, he was. And I that spot can be flexible. Like Phil Mton just came to mind because he’s familiar. He said he wanted he’d consider coming back. He didn’t really want to leave at the deadline. You could throw in Caleb Tealbar. You could throw in any you name a reliever who’s veteran and wants a one-year deal under $10 million and that that’s a guy we could look at. I just like Phil Mton last year. He’s familiar. It’d be nice to see him back again. Yeah. Uh I I I like it. I I don’t think anybody would complain if uh he made his way back to St. Louis and uh he was very good when he when he was gone when he went to the Rangers. He was excellent there as well. So I wonder if his market might be a little bit higher at this point just because he did have such a successful year. But maybe not. um spot that I would like to upgrade would be that John King spot. Uh I feel I’ve seen enough of him, but uh you know there there’s a lot of decent lefties out there. Uh I mentioned it in yesterday’s episode that I was like there’s you could really upgrade that spot and find somebody very much comparable to Romero uh that you know can come in and get some strikeouts and stuff too. So that would be a spot for me. But but overall you know uh I like the ideas of uh everything with the opening. Now, you just posted this not that long ago. How much of this has already changed in your mind? At least the batting order has. I shifted Donovan down, Herrera up, but the names are staying. I think for the most part, Joe Ryan is a is a pipe dream really, if we’re being honest. I I don’t suspect him to come to the team, but some sort of tradables starting pitcher. I think I could see us swinging. Maybe throw in Chris Basset or um Tyler Mi, Walker Peeler in the rotation. Like any of those free agent guys I think you could flex some of them, but most of it I I’ve stuck with I think. What are your feelings on the Max Scherer talk as people keep bringing him up as if that is something that could be a possibility. I keep saying he’s going to go somewhere where he’s got a chance to win a ring. He just looked like he was having way too much fun with Toronto. Yeah, that’s it. He’s probably going to sign one more I don’t 41. He could probably pitch till he’s 50 if he really wanted to, but I I could see him sign a one-year deal for a winner, get a ring. Yeah, it’s going to take some uh serious uh like home cooking to bring him home. Uh there’s other guys like a Devin Williams and stuff like that. Ryan Helley, how what are your thoughts on that real quick? Uh do you think we uh they need to go out and get a legit closer with closer, you know, production over their career? a guy like maybe like a Kyle Finnegan or are you cool with what they got? I think Kyle Finnegan is different than Deon Williams Ryan Helley conversation. He’s he’s a tier below those two. We don’t need that closer. It’s going to cost more. I’ I’d like to shop more than the Philon late inning guy who we could then flip. We’re not costing too much money. It’s Yeah, that kind of thing. Yeah, makes sense. All right, guys. Uh make sure you guys are following Thomas Goain at Thomas Coane onx. Obviously, you can read all of his work at redbirdrants.com. So, uh, as always, dude, we appreciate you coming on to the show. The beard looks great. Keep it going. Keep it growing. It’s my winter beard. It’s my winter beard. We do. We got to stay warm this time of year. We know how it is in the Midwest. So, uh, you know, keep it rolling, brother. Thanks for making Lockdown Cardinals your first listen every day. If you haven’t already, give us a follow on X at L_Cardinals and at JD Sports Radio, Tik Tok, and Instagram at Lockdown Cardinals. Like, subscribe on YouTube and help our channel and love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. We’ll see you next time on Lock On Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinals fans brace for a dramatic Opening Day shake-up as rising stars Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt headline a projected lineup full of youthful promise and strategic intrigue. Can Alec Burleson’s Silver Slugger bat and Ivan Herrera’s breakout potential ignite the offense, or will power hitters like Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker finally deliver consistency? The debate intensifies around Brendan Donovan’s future—will the team keep their clubhouse leader or find a trade big enough to let him go?

0:00 Intro

0:29 Way Too Early Opening Day Lineup Predictions

2:43 Favorite Military Movies on Veterans Day

4:50 Masyn Winn Leading Off at Shortstop

6:50 Brendan Donovan’s Future with the Cardinals

8:58 Willson Contreras at First Base Discussion

11:50 Alec Burleson’s Impressive 2025 Season

13:46 Ivan Herrera as Full-Time Catcher

15:39 JJ Wetherholt at Third Base

17:46 Nolan Gorman’s Power at DH

20:16 Jordan Walker’s Bounce Back Year

22:53 Lane Thomas Returns to Cardinals

25:10 Starting Rotation Predictions and Additions

27:11 Joe Ryan Trade Possibility

29:18 Tink Hence Moving to Bullpen

31:32 Max Scherzer and Closer Options

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