President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has already made moves to finally kickstart the St. Louis Cardinals rebuild moving Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, but his next move might be to bring a right-handed power bat into the fold based on what he said earlier this week. The question is whether that bat will come in the form of a veteran free agent or a future star prospect.
If you have the time, I’d recommend watching Chaim Bloom’s online presser this week where he discussed the Willson Contreras
trade to the Red Sox. It was around the 16 minute mark that Jeff Jones asked him about what other needs he sees for the 2026 roster.
Here’s the part of Chaim’s answer that caught my attention. “On the position player side…that’s a big bat that’s leaving our lineup and we’re gonna want to try and add to our position player group…we can accommodate a right-handed hitter in the outfield…and I do still think we have a lane for an infield bat from the right side”. He went on to stress the importance of not creating a block for up and coming prospects in the minor leagues. Derek Goold followed up Chaim’s comment with an additional question about whether that right-handed bat would be a compliment to what the team already has or a regular everyday player. He said “I think it depends on what opportunities are there…it’s not just on the pitching side where we’d like to find long-term fits. That’s also something we can do on the position player side, but there’s something that may be said for shorter term fits and for the right veterans to also help the club.”
If you look at the remaining right-handed outfield bats in the free agent market, you see some former Cardinals. There’s no doubt that Harrison Bader would be a popular reunion idea for many fans, but I can’t imagine the Cardinals will be willing to offer any kind of long-term deal that he’s likely looking for. There might be an opportunity if Harrison is willing to accept a short-term deal. I’ve already seen the Kansas City Royals connected to Harrison and there’s talk that the Philadelphia Phillies might want to bring him back, too. Last time I checked, Tommy Pham is still available, but I don’t see the Cardinals going down that road again. Former Cardinal Randall Grichuk is a free agent, but his power numbers were down last season. Would he be up for a St. Louis return?
I have to wonder if the power bat that Chaim Bloom envisions adding to the St. Louis Cardinals will be in the form of prospects. The problem is most of the highest-ranked prospects are lefties and the top 6 are shortstops. This doesn’t abide by the Cardinals mantra of seeking a right-handed bat, but I have to wonder if the San Francisco Giants could be convinced to include Bryce Eldridge in a Brendan Donovan trade package if Alec Burleson were also a part of it? That takes one left-handed bat out of the Cardinals lineup and adds one that could be part of a new core that the Cardinals build around. No, not a right-handed bat, but I’d see Eldridge as the kind of player that could make the lineup more frightening in a year or two.
Based on the stated desire for a position player bat with some pop, I think it will be interesting to watch the next moves that Chaim Bloom and his team make if Brendan Donovan and JoJo Romero do get traded as expected. I would not be surprised if the players the Cardinals get in return for Donovan or Romero include an impact bat or two, but meant for future impact and not necessarily now.
