Who Will the Cardinals Trade This Offseason? (The Morning Huddle Interview)
[Music] It would be nice to add some postseason memories to that little clip, bringing us back out of commercial. It’s been a while since the Redbirds have been in the postseason, at least for their standards. Welcome back to the morning huddle on Sports Radio 923 FM in 1450 a.m. as we broadcast live from the Green Audi studios. My name is Darren Pritchette. Let’s dig into some Cardinals offseason baseball conversation with Redbird Rants Josh Jacobs. is the host of the Deal in the Cards podcast. Josh and the crew are a great follow on Twitter X if you are a St. Louis Cardinal fan. Josh, it is great to catch up with you once again. How are you today? I’m great, Darren. I’ve been looking forward to chatting and there’s plenty to talk about Cardinals in right now as he looks to, like you said, make those postseason memories come back again in St. Louis. There’s nothing really happening right now, at least for us to notice, but behind the scenes, it feels like Hayen Bloom is taking a lot of phone calls at this particular time about players on this current St. Louis Cardinals roster. And I want to start with Brendan Donovan because I think for some Cardinal fans, they might be saying, “Wait a minute, Brendan Donovan was the Cardinals all-star last year. He’s a guy we love to watch play. He’s a guy with a 350 on base percentage. Why would the Cardinals want to trade this guy? How would you explain to them why it would be possibly in the best interest for the future of the Cardinals to move Donovan? Yeah, and I don’t blame anyone for wanting to keep Brendon Donovan. I’d love to see Brendon Donovan continue in a Cardinal uniform as well. We’re having uh we’re actually having Donnie on our podcast on Tuesday just to raise money for a charity he’s a part of. And I was talking to his agent the other day. He’s good to go. He’s ready. But like honestly, he might be on a different team by Tuesday. Uh the Heine Bloom at this point sees the mess that the Cardinals organization has become. I don’t think it’s like Colorado Rockies or Chicago White Socks bad, but they’re clearly not the kind of perennial National League contender that they used to be. No one needs to It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that, right? They’ve missed the playoffs consistently the last three years. Um they haven’t won a postseason game since 2019 or postseason series, frankly. And so when you look at their roster right now, Brendan Donovan is going to be 29 soon. uh he’s got two years of team control left. And so that’s kind of the timeline him Bloom’s looking at right now to contend. You’re probably looking more 2027, 2028 to really get back to being a legit contender. And by that point, Brendan Diamond’s probably a free agent or you’ve had to give him a massive deal, which he will get a lot in free agency. I can’t wait to see what that number looks like. And so for them, there’s upwards of 20 teams in the league interested in acquiring Brendan Donovan. So behind the scenes right now, Heimble’s fielding offers. He’s almost trying to create a bidding war, per se, amongst teams around them and see what is the best possible offer they can get for Brendan Donovan and then pull the trigger. I would assume there’s a high probability that they’re going to make a move in the next few weeks or so with Brendan Donovan. Um, but if they don’t get the offer they like, they are not afraid to hold on to him and wait till later. I see an extension. It’s extremely unlikely at this point, which is super unfortunate. Brendan Donovan is the exact kind of player you want to raise up in an organization and keep around long term. Um, but this is where the Cardinals are at right now and it forces them to make really tough decisions. Josh, if Brendan Donovan is traded, who are the top contenders to be the opening day starting second baseman for the Red Birds? Yeah, I think at this point JJ Weatherhole is primed and ready to be that guy. I could definitely see him at third base as well if they want to try out Nolan Gorman at second as well. They tried Gorman at third base this past year and did not go well defensively and he’s shown some promise as a defensive second baseman. uh Thomas JC could fill in there as well because uh among Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman’s also a name that teams have called about. Um I’m sure we’ll talk about Nolan Arinado, but he’s a guy who’s also looks like he’s on his way out. And so Ollie was kind of asked the other day about who’s his opening day starter, who’s his closer, who’s his second baseman. And Ollie’s just kind of throwing his hands up right now being like, we we’ll see cuz there is a lot of roster fluidity and influx right now. And by the time camp comes around, there’s probably going to be one maybe two names written in stone and that’s Mason Win at short staff and JJ Weatherhole somewhere on the field. Alec B probably be around. So whether that’s first base, left field, DH, who knows? Even a guy like Ivon Herrera, is he going to be an outfielder, a DH, a catcher, there’s so many questions left unanswered right now for this Cardinals team. But considering they’re in a in a talent acquisition phase and not necessarily trying to figure out how the pieces fit together, I don’t think they’re overly concerned about figuring out where people are going to play at this point. I was able to go to one game in Memphis last summer and it was a game in which JJ Weatherhold had the day off. Of course, perfect timing. But as you watched Weatherhold develop this year, what are the traits that are going to make Cardinal fans very excited about Weatherhold for hopefully the next decade? Yeah. And I I don’t blame any Cardinal fans right now for feeling like, well, we’ve had Jordan Walker and Dylan Carlson and Nolan Gorman before, but I’m not here to guarantee you JJ Weatherhold’s going to be a very good big league player or star, but this is a different kind of talent we’re talking about here. The Cardinals draft is in seventh overall and honestly got lucky to get him at the seventh overall pick. He should have been he going into the draft season as he’s the Ken Census number one overall pick and slid because of a weird hamstring thing. He’s been completely healthy since then. This guy has elite batball skills to go with even better swing decisions. And swing decisions doesn’t necessarily sound like a fun thing, but that having the ability to know what your pitch is and what you can do damage with. Letter Holt takes powerful swings at pitches in his zone that he knows he can do damage with to get doubles, triples, home runs. And when he doesn’t know, when it’s he gets a pitch outside the zone or he needs to protect the two strikes, he’s not afraid to dink and dunk the other way to get on base. So he he’s going to be a high average guy, high on base guy with sneaky power. um might I mean in his Brian this could be a 25 maybe 30 home run hitter that’s probably pushing it a little bit but he’s going to be at the very top of league and on base batting average dragging in runs getting on base doing all the little things right I think he’s like a souped-up Brendan Donovan where again Brendan Donovan is an all-star this year but uh JJ hole could be like like 20% 30% better than what we’ve seen for Brendan Donovan I’ve seen Chase Utley as a as a comp for him again that’s a that’s a borderline hall of famer right there so let’s be careful getting too excited about about it. But that’s the kind of talent we’re talking about. Baseball America, MLB.com, any outlet you’re looking at for prospects right now. JJ Weather is a top three or top five prospect for a reason. Josh Jacobs from the Fansighted Network Redbird Rants. You can follow Josh on Twitter, Josh 98. That’s J A98. We’re talking Cardinal Baseball with Josh here on the Morning Huddle as he joins us on the Springfield Clinic orthopedics Hotline. What are the pros and what are the cons of having Lars Newbar on the 2026 Cardinal roster? It’s a great question. If you had asked me in July, and I think we did talk about this in July that Lars Newar seemed like the odd man out. Um, but if if you haven’t been catching up with the Cardinals this off seasonason listening, then uh he’s had double heel surgery going in October. And so that’s kind of complicated his trade value and what he means around the league. There are teams interested like there’s a report about the New York Mets calling in yesterday. There are plenty of other teams that are interested. But at this point, a team would probably buying low on Lars Newar knowing that he’s more talented than what he’s shown so far. So for a high balloon front office that’s looking to maximize the talent they have and they still have two years of control of Newar. When you’re talking about Donovan, he just came off an all-star season, this makes perfect sense to trade him. When you look at a new bar, you’re talking about coming off a career worst year um in production and then coming off double heel surgery that he may or may not be ready for opening day. So, it sounds like the Cardinals want to hold on to Newar at least for the first half, let him get on the field, let him get healthy, hopefully get back to producing and then flip that bat at the deadline rather than sell now. Um because the cons again of selling now is you’re probably not really getting much for him at all. And I mean, we’ve seen plenty of Cardinal outfielders go to another organization and start to really find themselves. And I don’t think he bloom wants that to happen again here. How would you define a successful season for Jordan Walker? It’s a another great question. At this point, it is it’s hard to remember, but I think we have to keep in mind even as someone who I’m very much questioning if Jordan Walker is going to be an impactful regular at this point, but you look back at his rookie year, he comes up, he has a hitting streak, it was it it beneath the hood, it wasn’t actually great results. He was kind of getting pretty lucky there. They sent him down to Memphis. He worked on some of that launch angle stuff. He comes back up and at 20 years old, this guy’s 20% above league average, which is like puts him in rare company for a guy that age from June to September, like 400 at bats. He was among the better hitters in all baseball at 20 years old. That’s that’s really hard to do in this league. And so, it tells me he has the talent. He has what it takes in there, but there’s a lot of mechanical flaws right now that need worked through. And I think a lot of it’s mental as well where he just at the loss of confidence at this point uh trying to shake things up and change things up. It seems like in the especially the second half of last year, Walker became very open to making some changes that maybe the Cardinal hitting staff had been trying to work with him on for a while had been a little bit resistant to. And so I think at this point it’s you just need to see some kind of progress, right? And I think yes, better numbers on the field would be great, but ultimately what you want from Jordan Walker is to be a big powerful middle of the order bat. And so he needs to start figuring out how to launch the ball into the outfield over the fence, get extra base hits because this dude hits the ball harder than almost anyone in baseball. The problem is it goes straight into the ground and ends up at third base, short stop or second base for a ground out. And sure, you can luck into some hits here and there from there, but as we know in today’s league, you live and die by the home run ball, the doubles, and yes, you want the singles and triple. I’m a small ball guy at heart, too. But this is a guy who needs to figure out how to optimize his launch angles, optimize his swing path, optimize how he’s making contact with that baseball so he’s doing damage and not just putting the ball into the ground at 110 mph. Josh, I have to admit I’m becoming kind of a crusty old man as I get older because I’ve never been a fan of Wilson Contrus being a St. Louis Cardinal. I just don’t feel like he plays the game the way that we expect Cardinals to play. Now, he’s a great player. Don’t I don’t want to confuse the two. He’s a he’s a quality player, but the fact that reportedly he is open to now tearing up his no trade clause, there is a chance St. Louis could move him. I would like to see Contras moved and Burles play for first base. Would that be a positive move for the future of the organization? I guess depending on what they get for Contras obviously as well. Yeah, I think that’s the big question mark is there and like Sunny Gay which we saw before and I actually would give him Bloom that’s a hu the Sunny Grey trade to me is a huge sign of how he bloom is operating differently than the Cardinals had before instead of just trying to move as much money as possible or as possible in that deal. They ate $20 million in order to get a major league arm with multiple years of control plus one of the most high upside pitching prospects in all baseball for a guy that was Sunny Grace is still a good pitcher but he’s not that guy anymore that should be getting that kind of return but eat the money make it happen. I think they’re going to try and do the same thing here here with Wilson Contraras. They’re not in a rush to move him. If they don’t get the kind of offers they like, they’ll hold on to him because like Lars Newar, they could flip him at the deadline. They could send him away in 2027 if we have a baseball season and not a lockout. They’re not they’re not a rush to move him, but they would like to do it because I think to your point, Alex Burlton makes a lot of sense at first base. He improved in the corner outfield spots this past year. His numbers as a first baseman though offensively were some of the best in the league, but it is a pretty small sample size. So, I think ideally to free up more playing time for the guys around them, to free up some cash flow, to get some but most importantly to get some prospects into the system, uh, they would like to move him. I I would keep an eye on the New York Mets after losing Pete Alonzo to the Baltimore Orioles yesterday. It has already been chatter that the Mets and Cardinals are talking about Wilson Contraras trade. Um, like Aronado last offseason. It’s going to take the perfect situation for Wilson to wave his no trade clause. So, New York is something I would look at. Seattle is something I would look at. uh Milwaukee if he wants to return with his brother and have some time there, but look at situations that are going to make sense for Wilson’s family and make sense for him to contend. Josh, are you confident Nolan Aronado will not be a Cardinal in 2026? I’ll say I’m more confident than I was last off season, but if last offseason taught us anything is that we got to wait and see. Yeah. Um I do think at this point like He’s been very open that they’re not releasing Aronado, so that’s not an option. But I I think if you’re trying to trade a guy, you’re not going to openly tell people you’re gonna release them if no one trades for them. Um but I do think in or like Nolan’s expanding his list. We don’t know what that looks like, but he knows that he’s got to be less picky because he just hasn’t been the same guy recently. So I do think whether it’s a team like Boston um or Seattle or a team like a contender with a third base or no one could see an opportunity and this is where I would if you’re asking me today where I think no one’s going to play next year. I’m going to look at the Los Angeles Angels as a opportunity for him to go back to Southern California. No, it’s not a great situation, but it’s probably a little bit better than St. Louis right now contending wise, even if the organization’s more of a mess and he can maybe convince himself they can contend a little bit next year, but he gets for his family to return to his roots of Southern California. But I do think as the offseason goes on, it’s like last year. We’re going to have to wait for Alex Bregman to sign. Uh there’s still the O’heno Suarez side of things. There’s still Bo Bashette sitting out there. Once some of some of those names start to fall off the board, then teams might pivot toward Aronado. The Cardinals are not going to get anything in return for him. They’re going to have to eat a ton of money to make it happen. But again, it clears the path for other young bats. Finally, Josh, the catching position at the major league level, AAA, double A, it’s very, very interesting right now. And the fact that Ivon Herrera looks like he’s going to be a catcher once again in 2026. Give me your ranking kind of your power rankings of the ceilings of the catchers right now in the Cardinals organization. Who would be your top three based on ceiling? That’s a tough question. Um, I’m going to I’m going to cheat a little bit. I’m going to put them into tears because I think it’s hard to put them. Well, I guess studies to the first two names. Ivon Herrera, but then right now Rodriguez, who I don’t know if many Cardinal fans know yet, is potentially one of the best prospects in all baseball coming up right now. This dude is going to 19 years old or is going to turn 19 soon and has one of the most powerful bats in all baseball uh in the minor league levels. He was in the high up to low A for the first time this past year. And scouts are looking at him and this dude knows how to hit the baseball like no other as a teenager. and he has a chance to stick behind the play. He also has defensive question marks like Ivon Herrera does, but in different types of ways. He’s got a really good arm. He just needs to work on the game call and blocking side of things. This guy can stick behind the play. He has a chance to be a true superstar. But Ivon Herrera shown that ability at the plate already. It’s just we know the defensive deficiencies for him. So, I’d put them in the same category as Ivon Herrera Rell Rodriguez. Like those two and JJ Weatherhole are by far the most exciting players in the Cardinals organization right now. Um after that, I think Jimmy Crooks is really interesting. I don’t know if I would call him like a potential star in the making, but could he be a regular left-handed bat, behind the plate, uh gets rave reviews for game calling and ability to manage a pitching staff? That’s a great thing. Um so I’d probably put it in that or Leonardo Bernal is probably in that same class with Crooks, but I think as a higher ceiling, a switch hitter again, won a gold glove for minor league levels last year and has a lot of upside in his bat. His double A numbers didn’t look great this past year, but he was by far one of the youngest players at that level. So you assume if he’s going to go up to triple AAA next year. Again, the numbers might not look great, but um that happened to Yvon Herrera at different times where the Cardinal were very aggressive moving him up the system. So he’d be f uh facing way more advanced pitching than he normally would, but it ended up helping his career long term. And then for me, bottom of the packing order here is Pedro Pahes. But I do think he’s a serviceful big league catcher who knows how to manage a pitching staff, not much in the bat. I assume the Cardinals will hold on to him for at least another six months or so until they kind of figure out which of their young catchers are ready and then Pedro Pah is someone that they could potentially offload. But I think with the uncertainty of if Ivon can make it back to the catcher position and work behind the plate with how far Rhynell is and if he could be a catcher, if Bernol is going to be ready next year, Jimmy Krooks, I mean, he got a taste of big league action next last year, but clearly not ready to just hand the reigns over to. I think having Pedro Pay is a nice floor to have as the Cardinals look at the ceiling of their other catchers. Josh, where can Cardinal fans find you? I know you have a lot of live podcast that people can lock on to via your Twitter account. Yes. Uh so our dealing the Cards podcast, you can find on any audio platforms as well as YouTube. And again, this coming Tuesday, December 16th, uh we’re partnering with Brendan Donovan to raise money for the Kaufman from Fund from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Central time. We’re have different guests like assistant GM Robster Solio, um Bernie Nicholas, Derek Wool, Katie Woo, cover the Cardinals for years, former closer Trevor Rosenthal. It’s going to be a really fun night. Hopefully, we’ve got one more special guest we’re going to announce soon. So, you can find us at deal in the cards over there. Um again, I’m site expert over at Redbird Rants. You can find that online and then on Twitter, Josh 98. Uh yeah, just appreciate the follows and obviously there’s going to be a lot of stuff going on over the next few weeks, so we’ll be there to talk all about it. You better believe it, Josh. Fantastic job this morning. really enjoyed that Cardinal conversation and I have a feeling we’re going to have a lot more to talk about very very soon. So I really appreciate your time this morning. Have a great holiday. Thank you Darren. You as well. That is Josh Jacobs fanited Network Redbird Rants. Check them out at Josh Jacco98. That’s Josh Jacco98. More of the huddle coming up. It is 8:28. [Music]
Join Josh Jacobs and Darin Pritchett on the Morning Huddle as they discuss the St. Louis Cardinals’ offseason under Chaim Bloom as POBO. Who will the Cardinals trade? Will Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Arenado, and others be on the move soon?
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