Building a realistic Cardinals offseason that would move their rebuild forward

The St. Louis Cardinals have a busy month ahead of them, looking to get as much of their offseason business done as possible prior to the lockout. While the new collective bargaining agreement could bring forth new opportunities, there's still a realistic offseason plan the Cardinals could execute that would put them in contention next season while continuing to build for the future.

Today I want to present what would be a hyper-realistic way of approaching this offseason that would actually move the team forward in a substantial way for 2027. It involves free agent signings, trades, extensions, and, of course, some 40-man roster cleanup, and none of these are fantasyland ideas that the Cardinals could never consider. I used the viral Dealin' the GM simulator to build this ideal roster.

Here is a realistic offseason plan for the Cardinals that could have a massive impact on 2027 contention

40-man roster clean-up

To start, let's go ahead and clean up the Cardinals' 40-man roster so they can make external additions and protect a few prospects from the Rule 5 draft.

Non-tender (if they can't trade): 3B Nolan Gorman, CF Victor Scott II, and 3B Cesar Prieto

Nolan Gorman, if the Cardinals cannot find a trade suitor in the next few weeks, seems as good as gone, given his increasing salary and diminishing production. Maybe another team can unlock him, but it won't be the Cardinals. Cesar Prieto is an easy cut here as well.

Victor Scott II could survive the Cardinals' offseason moves, but given how badly he struggled in 2026, his lack of MLB production as a whole over three seasons, his quick exit from Winter League play due to struggling there too, and all of the center field options coming up for the Cardinals, my guess is they let him go.

Add to the 40-man roster: SS Jesus Baez and RHP Jacob Odle

Those non-tenders would bring the Cardinals' 40-man roster down to 36, allowing them to protect both SS Jesus Baez and RHP Jacob Odle from the Rule 5 draft and have space to make some free agent or trade additions.

Sign RHP Michael Soroka to a one-year, $15 million deal

The Cardinals are looking to add a starting pitcher to their rotation, one with some upside like Dustin May brought last offseason. While there are a lot of interesting names that could fit the bill, I'm looking at Michael Soroka in this scenario for Chaim Bloom's club.

A former top arm in the Atlanta Braves system, Soroka won't turn 30 until next August and is coming off a major rebound year in the Diamondbacks rotation. Soroka made 21 starts (22 total appearances), covering 116 innings of work with a 3.41 ERA, 3.19 FIP, and 24.1 K% with Arizona. It was the first time he threw over 100 innings since 2019, and only his second season back to starting since that year as well.

Soroka has strikeout stuff, great pitches, and really just needs the opportunity to show that his production was real and that he can make even more starts to earn a bigger deal next offseason. The Cardinals would be a great landing spot for him, and Soroka could be exactly what the Cardinals want to acquire.

Sign two veteran relievers to one-year deals

I don't envision the Cardinals getting very aggressive with adding to their bullpen this offseason. I do expect them to add someone in the Ryne Stanek mold, but I'm less convinced they'll spend big on a reliever, even on a one-year deal, and I really don't see them making a multi-year commitment.

For the "Stanek" style of signing, I'm looking at RHP Kevin Ginkel, who also pitched for the Diamondbacks in 2026, and did so with a 26.2% K-rate in 74 appearances. Ginkel struggled with giving up home runs (11.1% HR/FB rate), but you'd have to imagine that gets much better at Busch Stadium. He's still got good stuff and would be a nice fit for the Cardinals bullpen.

At 32 years old, he's not going to be snagging a long-term deal, and he made just $2.73 million with Arizona last season. Here, the Cardinals will snag him on a $6 million contract.

Even though I don't think it's super likely, I'll have St. Louis make a bigger swing here, going after RHP Evan Phillips, an electric reliever from the Los Angeles Dodgers who has struggled with some injuries. Phillips struck out 31.1% of the batters he faced in 2026 while walking just 5.7%, and has the ability to be a legit closer option for St. Louis for a year as he tries to rebuild his value.

Cardinals sign RHP Evan Phillips to a one-year, $10 million deal and RHP Kevin Ginkel to a one-year, $6 million deal

Trade Andre Pallante for assets and to create room for up-and-coming pitching

If you noticed, those moves put the Cardinals' 40-man roster at 41, so prior to one of those moves, the Cardinals would need to trade a player from their roster or non-tender another player.

The Cardinals don't need to trade Andre Pallante, but as stated earlier, adding a starter like Soroka makes it easier to capitalize on one of their starter's trade value, giving the Cardinals more prospect capital that they can use to make deals later or impact their own big league roster in the future.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are reportedly interested in adding cost-controlled pitching, making them an interesting trade partner with the Cardinals after their Lars Nootbaar exchange at the deadline. The Cardinals seem to have made out like bandits in that deal, acquiring Daniel Eagen, Sandro Santana, and Brian Curley, all three of whom are very intriguing arms for St. Louis long-term.

It's been rumored that outfielder Slade Caldwell was one of the players the Cardinals had in consideration as the player to be named later in the Nootbaar trade, so let's have him as part of this package, as well as RHP Junior Ciprian, a high-upside starting pitching prospect in the lower levels of the minor leagues who still needs a lot of development.

Cardinals trade RHP Andre Pallante to the Arizona Diamondbacks for OF Slade Caldwell and RHP Junior Ciprian

Extend 1B Alec Burleson and C Rainiel Rodriguez

With some increased financial flexibility, the Cardinals could use that space to lock up two members of their core long-term, one being their star first baseman and the other being their top prospect.

Before the lockout begins, I think there's a good chance the Cardinals come to an agreement with Alec Burleson on a long-term deal, and I'll estimate somewhere around five years, $90 million here for the sides to get that done. Maybe it takes more, maybe a bit less, but it should not be an issue for the Cardinals to lock him down if they really want to. Burleson has been very public about his desire to stay in St. Louis long-term.

Rainiel Rodriguez is a special prospect, one the Cardinals would be wise to lock up on a long-term deal after the new CBA is established. Colt Emerson set the MLB record for the largest extension for a player prior to his MLB debut at eight years, $95 million prior to last season, so let's look at Rodriguez topping that number at eight years, $100 million.

Cardinals 2027 Opening Day roster after realistic offseason

Lineup

1. 2B JJ Wetherholt
2. DH Ivan Herrera
3. 1B Alec Burleson
4. RF Jordan Walker
5. C Leo Bernal
6. LF Joshua Baez
7. 3B Blaze Jordan
8. CF Nathan Church
9. SS Masyn Winn

Bench: UTL Thomas Saggese, C Jimmy Crooks, OF Everson Pereira, and UTL Bryan Torres

No major changes to this lineup, but hopefully, under new leadership with Joel McKeithan taking the hitting coach job, the young lineup can take a significant step forward. And later in the season, the Cardinals could see Rodriguez, Baez, Tai Peete, Josiah Ragsdale, and other top young bats debut.

Rotation

RHP Kyle Leahy
LHP Quinn Mathews
RHP Michael Soroka
RHP Michael McGreevy
RHP Tekoah Roby/LHP Cooper Hjerpe

This is a really solid rotation, one with more upside given a full year of Quinn Mathews, Soroka's addition, and arms like Tekoah Roby and Cooper Hjerpe joining the mix. Year 2 of Kyle Leahy starting will be fun to watch as well, and the Cardinals could quickly see names like Jurrangelo Cijntje, Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin, Richard Fitts, Mason Molina, and more debut.

Some of those young arms could even factor into their bullpen late in the season.

Bullpen

RHP Evan Phillips
RHP Riley O'Brien
RHP Gordon Graceffo
LHP Matthew Liberatore
LHP Justin Bruihl
RHP Luis Gastelum
RHP Kevin Ginkle
LHP Cooper Hjerpe (piggyback with Roby)

Adding Phillips and Ginkle to that group really raises the floor here, and the Cardinals still have young arms like those aforementioned starters as well as bullpen pieces with options who can impact their relief core beyond even these eight names.

It's also interesting to have names like Matthew Liberatore, Gordon Graceffo, and Cooper Hjerpe in the mix, who could provide the Cardinals with multi-innings on any given day.

Estimated Payroll: $101m

Overall, the Cardinals see their payroll rise with the additions of Soroka, Phillips, and Ginkle, as well as getting some extensions done with Burleson and Rodriguez, and still add some talent to the farm system with the Pallante trade.

It's not a flashy offseason, but it sure feels like a "meat-and-potatoes" approach that would raise their floor and help their young talent flourish on their way to pushing for a postseason spot in 2027. The goal is still to develop their young core, and this keeps that top priority while also still allowing space for Rodriguez, Baez, Doyle, Franklin, Peete, Cijntje, Roby, and so many more prospects to make their debuts soon, if they are ready.

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