{"id":555416,"date":"2026-02-05T03:30:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T03:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/555416\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T03:30:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T03:30:18","slug":"cardinals-linked-to-pair-of-veteran-hitters-as-offseason-nears-its-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/555416\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals Linked to Pair of Veteran Hitters as Offseason Nears Its End"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">The St. Louis Cardinals have had a productive offseason, though not in the conventional sense. Instead of adding, they have been tearing down their roster and trading veterans to land prospects for the future. Earlier this week, they completed a trade to send Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">However, insider Jeff Jones <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jmjones\/status\/2018742205679009868\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">reports<\/a> that the Cardinals aren&#8217;t done just yet and would like to add a right-handed hitting outfielder to fortify their depth.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\">The team could use a little more offense following the trades. R.J. Anderson of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/mlb\/news\/mlb-rumors-free-agency-trades-diamondbacks-carlos-santana-cardinals-roster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CBS Sports<\/a> mentioned two potential fits that would make sense for the rebuilding Cardinals.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6n\">If you like our content,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Cardinals aren&#8217;t done yet<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01kgmctgzn0bt54wq70n.jpg\" alt=\"Royals\" title=\"Royals\" width=\"6000\" height=\"3375\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"70\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Sep 20, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals outfielder Randal Grichuk (15) slaps hands with Kansas City Royals first base coach Damon Hollins (39) after getting on first base during the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"74\">&#8220;As it stands, the Cardinals have an outfield depth chart projected to include Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott II, Jordan Walker, and Nathan Church. Three of those four batters, or everyone but Walker, is a lefty, suggesting the Cardinals could be in the market for adding another righty to the mix. Some potential free-agent targets, then, include Randal Grichuk and Miguel Andujar,&#8221; Anderson wrote.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"77\">Andujar is probably the Cardinals&#8217; best bet if they want somebody who can boost the lineup after losing some key pieces. He hit .318\/.352\/.470 with 10 home runs, 44 RBI and an .822 OPS with the Athletics and Cincinnati Reds last season. He can also play a little third base, which helps after the loss of Nolan Arenado.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7a\">But Grichuk also makes sense. He struggled in 2025 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals, slashing .228\/.273\/.401 with nine home runs, 27 RBI and a .674 OPS. However, he is a former Cardinal, so he knows the lay of the land in St. Louis.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7d\">Neither player should cost too much for St. Louis. It should only take a one-year deal to land one of them, so it will be interesting to see where the Cardinals land in their search for a right-handed hitting outfielder. Another bat could help balance out their roster a little bit, even as they rebuild.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7g\">They still are full of lefty hitters, so it makes sense to bring in a right-handed bat. Andujar is probably their best bet, but Grichuk would also make sense for the Cardinals as they look to continue their rebuild and set their roster up for the future.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7j\">More MLB: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/cardinals\/onsi\/st-louis-cardinals-news\/2-reasons-to-have-hope-for-2026-cardinals-after-brendan-donovan-deal-curt9\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2 Reasons to Have Hope for 2026 Cardinals after Brendan Donovan Deal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The St. Louis Cardinals have had a productive offseason, though not in the conventional sense. Instead of adding,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2403],"tags":[5,160,4,673,67,4311,4310],"class_list":{"0":"post-555416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-louis-cardinals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cardinals","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-st-louis","12":"tag-st-louis-cardinals","13":"tag-stlouis","14":"tag-stlouiscardinals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116015912694100304","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}