The St. Louis Cardinals have been open about the fact that they are open to adding another right-handed hitter before the 2026 Major League Baseball season.
President of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said as much while speaking toTom Ackerman on “Sports on a Sunday Morning” on KMOX Sports on Sunday.
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“Yeah we are,” Bloom said when asked if he’s looking for a righty bat. “I sound like a broken record here. We haven’t lined up on it just yet. I think I said this last time. There’s a couple of guys that we’ve made some runs at whether it was trades or free agency where it didn’t line up with certain guys for various reasons. We’re going to continue to do that. Nothing up our sleeve at the moment. I expect that this is something that we’ll probably actually go into camp as we continue to look and improve our roster.”
The Cardinals are looking for one more bat
Oct 9, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos (8) reacts after striking out in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The Cardinals are clearly still looking and Cardinals insider John Denton threw an intriguing name out there while joining “The Lou Sports Talk:” Nick Castellanos of the Philadelphia Phillies.
“Within minutes of that call ending, I had someone text me a name that kind of opened my eyes,” Denton said. “The Phillies are willing to give away Nick Castellanos to anybody who will take some of his contract. Like, if the Cardinals would eat half of his contract, the Phillies would be turning somersaults. He’s a guy, you know, who is going to be a free agent, he’s motivated to want to have a good season. Him and Philly have kind of, they’re at wits’ end with one another. He’s not a good right fielder. But, listen, you’re probably not going to have Lars Nootbaar until May, June is my guess. Maybe you go get Castellanos.
“You get a veteran guy who can hit in the middle of the order. A guy who is motivated to have a good season. You can get him for half price. Maybe even three-fourths off. The Phillies are just looking for somebody to take him and take some of the money. Maybe you go get him and let him butcher left field the way he’s butchered right field in Philly for the last few years. But he does give you that legitimate bat that can hit in the middle of the order. So, when [Chaim Bloom] is talking about veteran, right-handed hitter. That was one of the first names that came to mind for me. Maybe they don’t want to take on that kind of money. Maybe it’s somebody on a lower level, but Castellanos would make a lot of sense for a lot of reasons.”
Castellanos is a two-time All-Star who the Phillies have been openly trying to move all offseason. He has one season left on his five-year, $100 million deal. His payroll breakdown for the 2026 season is $20 million, per Spotrac. He’s a career .272 hitter with 250 homers and is just 33 years old. In 2025, he slashed .250/.294/.400 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs. If the Cardinals could get a guy like that on a discount to fill the right-handed hole in the lineup, it would be a phenomenal move. Castellanos is a 13-year veteran who also has plenty of playoff experience. He’s the type of guy who around the trade deadline could bring back a pretty penny.
St. Louis should be on the phone with Philadelphia right now.
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