The 2026 MLB offseason is going to end up being a pivotal one in deciding the outcome of the St. Louis Cardinals’ future for the next few seasons. For St. Louis, this has already been demonstrated by the fact that they are willing to trade players like Lars Nootbaar, Sonny Gray, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Arenado.
For the Cardinals to be open to trading all these players, it is clear they are trying to make room for a major move. With arguably the biggest need on their team being to improve their pitching, it can be assumed that this is the area they will be the most aggressive in with trying to secure a star player as their ace.
With that, there is one player that makes sense for the St. Louis Cardinals to sign and that is Dylan Cease.
*THIS IS A PREDICTION, NOT A REPORT*
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Dylan Cease Signs With the St. Louis Cardinals
With 2026 MLB Free Agency, Dylan Cease is one of the best free agent pitchers on the market, despite having a down year in 2025. Cease ended up with a, 8-12 record, 4.55 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 11.5 K/9 in 2025. Yet, over his entire career, he has had a 65-58 record, 3.88 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 10.9 K/9.
There is reason to believe that Dylan Cease can bounce back in a new situation away from the San Diego Padres in 2025, and where he can do so is with the St. Louis Cardinals.
While on the surface, the Cardinals don’t seem like an ideal team, especially after a season in which they had a 78-84 record, but for Cease, he could be the one that helps ignite the change the team needs to get back on track.
As the Cardinals enter a new era with Chaim Bloom as the president of baseball operations, it is clear he intends to change the team around by breaking the old mold, which included not spending big in free agency. St. Louis needs to fix their pitching, and the way they can show they are making this a priority is by signing Dylan Cease.