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Cardinals: Latest updates on rumored catching targets for St. Louis

By Josh Jacobs |
Willson Contreras of the Chicago Cubs greets Yadier Molina (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Willson Contreras of the Chicago Cubs greets Yadier Molina (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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The latest rumors on the catching market are interesting for the Cardinals

With the retirement of Yadier Molina, the St. Louis Cardinals have made finding their new starting catcher their number one priority this off-season. The last time the Cardinals had to fill this big of shoes was after Albert Pujols left in free agency in 2011. Although Molina was nowhere near his prime like Pujols was, the legacy he leaves behind will be a heavy burden to carry.

St. Louis has been rumored and linked to a number of catchers over the the last few weeks, and the hot stove is only beginning to heat up. Per John Mozeliak’s comments though, the organization is keen on addressing catcher as quickly as possible, so I will not be surprised if the club’s answer at that position comes sooner rather than later. I went ahead and gathered what the industry has been saying about the Cardinals targets at catcher for a current update on where St. Louis lands in their pursuit of a backstop.

Front-runners for Willson Contreras

On November 17th, Jon Heyman once again linked St. Louis to the former Cubs catcher, having this to say in his story on the New York Post.

The Cardinals are pursuing free-agent catcher Willson Contreras and look like a potential landing spot for the former Cub. While the Astros and other are linked to Contreras, St. Louis is among teams at the forefront of talks. This would be a double blow to the Cubs, as St. Louis is their biggest rival. Oddly enough, the Cubs never made Contreras a multiyear offer covering free-agent years. The Astros are interesting, as former GM James Click had a deal for Contreras in place that was nixed by owner Jim Crane. So with Crane running things for now, he seems like an unusual fit. The Cardinals are more logical, having lost future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina to retirement.

Rumors of Contreras being a target for St. Louis began a few months ago, as more and more comments were made from Contreras’ own camp and the industry about his interest in the Cardinals. While many have turned their attention to the trade market for the Cardinals big splash at catcher, there still appears to be a lot of smoke for Contreras to be the heir to Molina’s throne.

What will be most interesting to watch here is who else continues to be linked to the 30-year  old catcher in the coming days and weeks. Contreras was once thought to get a 4-5 year deal with an AAV of $20 million+, but with many teams looking toward the trade market for their guy, his price will likely come down to the $15-$18 million AAV range. Even with lower than expected payroll projections for St. Louis, the Cardinals would be strong players with this price range.

Aug 17, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (12) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 17, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (12) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Lots of competition for the best available catchers on the trade market

As St. Louis continues to explore the trade market as well, there have been a lot of teams interested in acquiring the same names that the Cardinals have been linked to. Teams like the Guardians, Astros, Red Sox, White Sox, and Rays are among the teams most often named, but other clubs are monitoring the market as well.

Oakland’s Sean Murphy is the name that is garnering the most interest, causing his price-tag to rise significantly among league insiders. The 28-year old is under team control through 2025 and is one of the best all-around catchers in baseball, so the Athletics will be asking for a haul to part with their star catcher. The club does have top prospect Shea Langeliers waiting in the wings, but they will not trade Murphy without bringing in as much value as possible.

While St. Louis still remains one of the top names attached to Murphy, the amount of competition they will be facing may cause them to bow if the price gets too high. Mozeliak has been adamant that they are exploring all options, so they will not overpay if there are other quality options available.

Looking to the Toronto catchers, Jon Morosi and others around the industry still expect the Blue Jays to deal one of their catchers over the off-season.

Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen are more likely to be dealt than Gabriel Moreno, with Blue Jays beat writer Kaitlyn McGrath being among the many linking Kirk and Jansen to the Cardinals. Outfielders Lars Nootbaar and Dylan Carlson have been heavily linked in a deal with the Blue Jays as the club looks to revamp their outfield after the trade of Teoscar Hernandez. 

Christian Vazquez (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Christian Vazquez (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /

Lower tier options the Cardinals could pursue

If the Cardinals do not end up going for one of the top tier options on the free agent or trade market, there are a variety of names that they continue to be linked to.

Heyman, in his same story about Contreras, linked the Cardinals to Christian Vazquez and Mike Zunino along with Jansen and Murphy. Vazquez and Zunino would represent quality stop-gap options for the club as they wait for Ivan Herrera to develop into the long-term solution for the club.

Even lower on the totem pole of options, the likes of Omar Narvaez, Martin Maldonado, Tucker Barnhart have been linked to St. Louis as free agents and Katie Woo suggested James McCann as an option. It would really surprise no one if the Cardinals ended up getting one of these lower tier options, but with all the smoke about so many upper tier catchers, it would really be a huge disappointment.

The Cardinals need an upgrade to their offense, and with multiple options at catcher who can do that, it just seems too perfect for St. Louis to grab one of the big names on the market. It’s one thing if there was only one big option available to compete for and the Cardinals were outbid, but St. Louis has no excuse not to make a splash here.

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