While the St. Louis Cardinals Major League transaction log remains frozen during the winter months, there are a number of former Cardinals who are also experiencing a slow offseason on the free-agent market.
Tyler O'Neill, Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew Kittredge, and other former Cardinals have found new homes this offseason, and yet, there are plenty of Cardinal alumni who are waiting for the right team, or in some cases, any team to call and secure their services. Today, I want to look at some former Cardinals (not their impending free agents) who were beloved by the fan base and are still looking for their next Major League job.
Here are 8 former fan favorite Cardinals who are still looking for a job as Spring Training nears
1) Kolten Wong
Things have not gone well for Kolten Wong as of late. After a terrible season with the Seattle Mariners in 2023, Wong secured a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks last year, failing to get a big league at-bat before being released on May 24th.
Still, Wong wants to continue playing, and he recently told the Foul Territory podcast that he's even willing to play internationally if that is the best route for him.
During Wong's eight seasons in St. Louis, he won two Gold Gloves, finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, and even finished 20th in NL MVP voting in 2019, when he slashed .285/.361/.423, putting up an incredible 5.1 bWAR in his first Gold Glove-winning season. Wong set the bar extremely high for defense at second base in today's game, and if it wasn't for the emergence of Tommy Edman, I bet he would have been around a lot longer.
Part of the Cardinals' NL Pennant-winning team in 2013 and NLCS appearances in 2014 and 2019, Wong was a huge part of the Cardinals' most recent success in franchise history and remains a fan favorite today.