Friday was the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players or non-tender them. The St. Louis Cardinals cut ties with catcher Yohel Pozo and pitchers John King, Sem Robberse and Jorge Alcala.
Around Major League Baseball, there were some other players that were surprisingly non-tendered by their teams, including a former Cardinal. The Texas Rangers chose to non-tender 2023 ALCS MVP Adolis Garcia.
With Garcia now gone from Texas, the Cardinals may have a chance to fix a grave mistake made by John Mozeliak prior to the 2021 season and bring back a player who started his career in St. Louis back in 2018.
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Could Cardinals Fix A John Mozeliak Mistake?
Sep 27, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Texas Rangers designated hitter Adolis Garcia (53) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
After the 2020 season, Mozeliak designated Garcia for assignment, and he was picked up by the Rangers. Granted, a lot of other teams gave up on Garcia and didn’t show interest, and even the Rangers designated him before reclaiming him.
However, letting him go proved to be a mistake for the Cardinals, as many of their outfielders didn’t pan out, and the ones that left such as Garcia and Randy Arozarena turned into stars after departing.
But with Garcia now a free agent and Lars Nootbaar potentially out for a chunk of 2026, the Cardinals could do the unthinkable and bring back Garcia, potentially on a short-term contract so that he can rebuild his value.
St. Louis once had a logjam of outfielders, but now are missing a right-hander power bat from that group. Garcia could provide that for St. Louis and also not force them to completely deviate from their rebuild.
If they’re out of contention by the deadline, Garcia could be an interesting rental trade piece as the Cardinals try and rebuild for the future.
But Chaim Bloom did not rule out any additions as long as they served the long-term plan of the Cardinals. Bringing back Garcia would allow them to at least temporarily correct a major mistake made by Mozeliak years ago.
The two-time All-Star hit .227/.271/.394 with 19 home runs, 75 RBI and a .665 OPS with the Rangers in 2025. But perhaps a change of scenery could help him get his bat going again and rediscover his old form from the 2023 ALCS.
We’ll see if the Cardinals show interest.
More MLB: Cardinals Cut Ties With 28-Year-Old Catcher Among 4 Non-Tenders