Bleacher Report predicts a very odd lineup for Cardinals in 2026

The St. Louis Cardinals start a new era of baseball with Chaim Bloom as the new President of Baseball Operations. However, according to Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, the Cardinals’ projected Opening Day lineup appears to be more of the same. 

Bleacher Report’s projected Cardinals Opening Day lineup is almost verbatim from 2025

The projected lineup for the 2026 lineup, from Reuter, is as follows: 2B Brendan Donovan, C Iván Herrera, LF Alec Burleson, 1B Willson Contreras, DH Nolan Gorman, 3B Nolan Arenado, RF Lars Nootbaar, SS Masyn Winn, CF Victor Scott II.

From Reuter: “Fitting all the pieces together becomes easier if Iván Herrera can make a successful return to catching after he was limited to DH duties in 2025 while nursing knee and hamstring issues. This lineup could look a lot different if they decide to blow up the roster, but for now, it's hard to know exactly what direction this club is going.”

Reuter predicts that the Cardinals will keep All-Star Brendan Donovan. Back on November 13th, the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Guardians expressed interest in Donovan. Both of those teams would fit Donovan, as the Royals’ outfield batters posted a 73 wRC+, last in MLB, and the Guardians ranked 29th in OBP last year.

The next notable projection in the lineup from Reuter is the Cardinals’ keeping Arenado for 2026. This one is arguably the most eye-opening, since Arenado appears on his way out of St. Louis for next season. 

With the Cardinals heading toward a full-on rebuild, holding onto Arenado doesn't make much sense. In fact, the veteran third baseman admitted at the end of the regular season that it might be time for a chance.

One notable omission from this projected lineup is top prospect JJ Wetherholt. According to MLB’s Jonathan Mayo, Wetherholt’s chances of making the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster appear high, but the only question will be where on the infield Wetherholt would play. That answer could potentially come about during the Winter Meetings. 

Reuter’s Opening Day lineup for the St. Louis Cardinals looks to be the same as last season's, but with Chaim Bloom in charge, I have a hard time believing we will see a repeat of 2025’s lineup.