5 most tradeable Cardinals players with GM Meetings underway

The St. Louis Cardinals and the rest of MLB are in an interesting spot as the lockout in weeks away but the annual GM Meetings begin on November 10. The three day event in Las Vegas is certain to have plenty of headlines, but teams may be less willing to be aggressive on the trade or free agent market until more there is more clarity on the 2027 season.

With GMs and other decision makers locked in a hotel for three days, there are sure to be plenty of conversations that set up the framework for later deals. There still may be some leaders who wish to leave the desert after making a splash, but Chaim Bloom has already signaled towards a hampering of expectations on major roster turnover. Even with the knock down from the POBO, there are still players on the Cardinals roster that have be generating enough interest for Bloom to consider pulling the trigger to build St. Louis for the future.

Cardinals have plenty of supplemental pieces that could dealt to improve their big league roster

The Cardinals used the 2026 season to find out as many answers as they could about their current 40-man roster before deciding what they needed to do to field a consistent contender in the future. Based on that baseline for last year, the organization has to feel that the season was a success despite falling short in the win column and missing the postseason again.

Some of those players now look to be building blocks for that next contender, while others have made their mark as quality major leaguers but their talents may be better used in another team's system. The Cardinals continue to prioritize affordable, team-controlled assets, but there is a surplus at a few positions that could be used to fill needs in the lineup and on the pitching staff.

Andre Pallante

Any time I mention Andre Pallante as a trade candidate, I am always sure to mention that my thoughts towards trading him are because of having little faith in his career outlook. Because of the bounce back season that Pallante had in 2026, he has worked his way from non-tender candidate to rotation mainstay. The reason that Pallante continues to be brought up as a trade piece, though, is due to his rising cost relative to his future ceiling.

Next year, Pallante is expected to earn about $7.5 million based on his arbitration projection. To most teams, that figure would not push the organization to dealing him. For the Cardinals, however, Bloom is still weighing out how he wants to build the roster while also keeping payroll in mind. Also working against Pallante is the depth of talent in the upper minors' pitching rotation, meaning he could be replaced with potentially more talent at a lower rate.

A Pallante trade would allow for the Cardinals to cash in while his value is likely at its highest and get controllable major league talent in return.

Pedro Pages and/or Jimmy Crooks

Moving to Pallante's partners in crime, everyone knows that the Cardinals have the catching depth throughout the organization to make plenty of other teams jealous. That enviable talent, though, is on the prospect side as two of the major league catchers in St. Louis might have caught their last pitch.

Now that Leo Bernal has taken over the everyday job and Rainiel Rodriguez continues to be showered with praise, the Cardinals may now feel comfortable to move on from their other options to plug other roster holes. Two of the catchers the Cardinals used in 2026 before looking towards the future, Pedro Pages and Jimmy Crooks, could be on their way out.

For Pages, there is little need to aggressively shop the backup backstop as the Cardinals transformed him into that role after promoting Crooks and then Bernal. With the switch-hitting Bernal taking the majority of the starts next season, keeping Pages around as a leader and teacher for the youngsters would not be the worst thing for the team. On the trade market, Pages would probably net a low-level return, but the Cardinals may do him right and try to find him another starting role across the league.

Moving to Crooks, the former top 100 prospect would be attractive to more teams than Pages but his poor performance in the majors in a limited sample may scare some other organizations away. Crooks has a solid glove and tons of pop from the left side, but he was unable to make contact consistently enough to hold off Bernal's ascension to the bigs. With Bernal being three years younger and seen as a more complete catcher, St. Louis should dangle Crooks to cash out while his value remains.

Riley O'Brien

The final two names on this list are players I would personally shop but not be in any rush to move on from them. Beginning with Riley O'Brien, coming into last season, I viewed him as a sell-high candidate at the deadline, especially as he came into his own and became an NL All-Star after seizing the closer role. Even with that honor and the hefty save total, the metrics did not favor O'Brien and his ability to maintain that level of performance all year.

As we all remember, the second half was miserable not just for ROB, but for the entire bullpen as the Cardinals limped to another below .500 finish. O'Brien was able to tally up the saves, but his eight blown saves and command issues point to him being ill-casted as a closer. O'Brien is still under team control for a few more seasons, but he will be 32-years-old next season with an extensive injury history. The Cardinals could opt to have him run it back as the closer, but are also running the risk of things getting worse for him and the bullpen.

The drawback of trading O'Brien is that it makes an already bad bullpen even worse, so the Cardinals should only entertain these offers if a reliever is coming back in return or if they spend on the relief market.

Ivan Herrera

Finally, my least likely to be traded option is Ivan Herrera, despite plenty of calls for him to be offered up to other teams. In 2026, Herrera was given every opportunity to seize the starting catching role, but his arm strength never improved enough to control the running game and keep him behind the dish. Along with the heavy workload, his offense took a step back but he was able to play in all but one game.

With Bernal taking over the catching spot and the DH spot ready and waiting for Herrera, the Cardinals should not be in any rush to take the first offer for Herrera. He has enough of an offensive profile for St. Louis to bet bigger on his future at the plate rather than swapping him for a lottery ticket who could hopefully reach the same level with the bat as Herrera has.

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