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Cardinals: Day 3 of Winter Meetings brings first move and catcher rumors

By Josh Jacobs |
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 03: Catcher Willson Contreras #40 of the Chicago Cubs looks on during the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on June 03, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 03: Catcher Willson Contreras #40 of the Chicago Cubs looks on during the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on June 03, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
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Day 3 changes the narrative on catcher a bit while adding a relief pitcher in free agency

The Winter Meetings are one of the busiest times of the year, with Monday’s updates from San Diego already feeling like old news for the St. Louis Cardinals. The club still remains heavily linked to different catchers, but a new favorite may have emerged. There is still talk of the Cardinals in the shortstop market, the Chicago Cubs made their first splash, and the club made their first signing of the week as well.

Here are all of the things you need to know from Day 3 of the Winter Meetings.

Cardinals are most heavily linked to Willson Contreras and Sean Murphy

I posted a larger breakdown on the Cardinals reported pursuit of Willson Contreras here, but the gist of it is that multiple industry insiders see the Cardinals as getting closer and closer to signing the former Chicago Cubs’ catcher. You can see a list of various sources that have linked the Cardinals to Contreras, but one report I did not even mention in that piece was from Jeff Jones of BND.com

Yet, there still remains strong connection between the Cardinals and Athletics over a Sean Murphy trade. At certain points during the meetings, it has seemed inevitable that Murphy would become a Cardinal, and there is still a strong chance that St. Louis acquires him. John Denton of MLB.com sees the Houston Astros competing with the Cardinals for both of the big name catchers they are linked to.

We will keep you updated as the hours go on if there is any official movement from the Cardinals in regards to catcher, but let’s talk about the newest addition to the Cardinals roster.

St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak speaks with the media prior to a game against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak speaks with the media prior to a game against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Cardinals make their first signing, RHP Guillermo Zuniga

The Cardinals have been rumored to look at improving their bullpen this off-season, and they took their first step in doing so by signing RHP Guillermo Zuniga to a deal for the 2023 season.

It is an interesting move for St. Louis, as Zuniga has never pitched above the AA level but has now secured a Major League contract with the Cardinals. You may be wondering why the Cardinals would sign Zuniga to this kind of deal, but the underlying metrics from @CardinalsReek and @WillSugeStats on Twitter show promising abilities from the 24-year old.

Not a major signing from the Cardinals but could pay huge dividends this season. This is a very low risk signing with potentially a high reward, so this remains and intriguing signing for St. Louis. Meanwhile, their rivals in Chicago made a bigger splash with a much riskier free agent that the Cardinals had been connected to.

Oct 5, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 5, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Chicago Cubs Sign Cody Bellinger and Jameson Taillon

The last interesting piece of news is the Chicago Cubs’ making their first big splash of the off-season, signing former National League Most Valuable Player Cody Bellinger to a 1-year, $17.5 million dollar deal on Tuesday.

While the Cardinals had been linked to Bellinger due to their desire to add a left-handed bat and him working with Cardinals’ bench coach Matt Holliday a few days ago, once his reported asking price of close to $20 million came out, it was clear that St. Louis would not be going after the struggling outfielder. The 27-year old remains a great defender in the outfield and solid baserunner, but has struggled in a major way at the plate since his shoulder injury in 2020.

The risk for Chicago is there, but it is also a one-year deal, so if Bellinger flames out, he’ll be off the books for them after the season. It will be interesting to see if Bellinger is able to have a career resurgence in Chicago, as if so, he’ll help improve the Cubs by a lot next season and earn himself a big contract after the 2023 season.

The other big move that the Cubs made around midnight central time was signing RHP Jameson Taillon to a 4-year, $68 million deal, which brings Chicago another reliable arm for their rotation. Taillon is not a front-line starter by any stretch, posting a 3.91 ERA in 32 games last season, but will be an upgrade over the Cubs current rotation options.

Stay tuned for updates on all things Cardinals’ Winter Meetings. For real time takes and analysis, follow me on Twitter @joshjacoMLB.

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