This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Back in September 2022, with the Cardinals basking in the glow of an NL Central Division crown and champagne flying all about their clubhouse, then-president of baseball operations John Mozeliak talked candidly of how rebuilding had not ever been a consideration in St. Louis for decades, and that’s just how he and the organization wanted to keep it.
Fast forward to 2025 and three non-playoff seasons later, and the Cardinals now find themselves squarely in rebuild mode — an often-trying process that guarantees a team nothing in terms of length or heartache throughout, but something that can be fulfilling if conducted properly. Cardinals fans, among the most loyal and passionate in MLB, have not endured the kind of full-scale rebuild process coming to Busch Stadium in ’26 in more than three decades.
Still, he doesn’t want a pity party for a Cards club used to adding — not subtracting — talent at the Winter Meetings.
“Nobody who gets in this game has any guarantees, but the more fully that we commit to what we need to do, the better it will go and the quicker we will get there,” Bloom said. “I don’t view this as something that’s about patience. I view it as something that we have to attack with purpose, attack with urgency and we have to do that every day.”
Here are some things to watch out for from Bloom and the Cards when the Winter Meetings run from Monday through Wednesday in sunny Orlando:
Burning question for the 2026 season: Which vets will be left when Spring Training opens?
Bloom made his intentions of building for the future known when he dealt Gray and approximately $20 million for two young, unproven pitchers and a player to be named. Who’s the next to go? Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman are all available for the right return.
Will the Cards have to package Donovan with Arenado to rid themselves of the $37 million left on the 10-time Gold Glover’s contract (minus the $5 million to be paid by the Rockies)? Fans are right to wonder why the franchise would trade Donovan, the club’s lone All-Star in 2025 and arguably its most popular player. Donovan, who turns 29 on Jan. 16, will likely land a substantial raise in salary arbitration and he can be a free agent after the 2027 season.
Because the Cardinals aren’t likely to be World Series contenders again until at least 2027 or ’28, they’d be smart to deal Donovan while his value is at its peak. Would the Mariners surrender Bryan Woo? What if the Cards could land Miami’s Eury Pérez, Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee or Pittsburgh’s Jared Jones or Bubba Chandler (the No. 14 overall prospect in MLB)?
On the pitching side, standout lefty reliever JoJo Romero should fetch a nice haul of prospects if Bloom can find the right deal.
What’s the biggest need? That will depend largely on who is traded, but the easy answer is a veteran pitcher who can anchor the staff
The Cardinals traded Gray and aren’t expected to pursue free agent Miles Mikolas — two proven starters who combined for 22 wins, 63 starts and 337 innings in 2025. The Cards need a veteran to pair with young pitchers Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy and Fitts.
Tyler Mahle, who was 6-4 with a 2.18 ERA in 16 starts with the Rangers last season, might fit on a one-year deal. Or would the Cards dare splurge in free agency to bring former Cards prospect Zac Gallen back into the organization?
Prospect to know: 2B/SS/3B JJ Wetherholt
This is an easy one with Wetherholt, the top-ranked prospect in the system nearly two years running and the No. 5 overall prospect in MLB. Wetherholt, who will get every chance to make the big league roster out of Spring Training, slashed .306/.421/.510 (.931 OPS) with 17 homers, 28 doubles, 59 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 109 games with Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in 2025.
He was one of six players across the Minor Leagues to slash more than .300/.400/.500, while also stealing at least 20 bases — and the first Cards Minor Leaguer to do so in 59 years (Ted Savage, 1966).
Player to watch in Rule 5 Draft: LHP Pete Hansen
Double-A Springfield standouts Leonardo Bernal (Cards’ No. 4 prospect), Joshua Baez (No. 12) and Brycen Mautz (No. 22) were added to the MLB 40-man roster and protected from Rule 5 exposure, but Hansen — another Double-A standout in 2025 — was left unprotected.
The third-round Draft pick in 2022 out of Texas went 8-5 with a 3.93 ERA and an incredible 123-to-37 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He allowed one earned run in five innings of his one playoff start as Springfield won the Texas League title.
MLB’s Draft Lottery has giveth and taketh from the Cardinals in the past two years. In 2023, the Cardinals had the fifth-best odds at the No. 1 pick (8.3%), but they dropped to seventh and nabbed Wetherholt. In 2024, they had the 13th-best odds at the No. 1 pick (0.8%), but they surged to the No. 5 pick and selected hard-throwing left-hander Liam Doyle, now the No. 2-ranked prospect in the system.
This time around, the Cards have the eighth-best odds at No. 1 (2.35%). The Guardians defied the odds and won the top pick for the 2024 Draft despite having the ninth-best odds (2%). With a lucky bounce of the ball, Bloom and the Cards could end up with another top 5 pick to enhance the building process.
