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Chaim Bloom has been able to accomplish most of the items on his wishlist in his first offseason running the St. Louis Cardinals, but one potential addition to their 2026 roster still looms in the rumor mill.
Bloom has repeatedly stated that the club is open to adding a right-handed hitting outfielder to their roster to help add some diversity to a left-handed-heavy lineup, with multiple options already being linked to them this offseason. The latest MLB insider update has a hyper-productive platoon bat linked to the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are interested in adding Austin Hays to dramatically improve their production against left-handed pitching
Jon Heyman shared that the Cardinals are one of a few teams that have expressed interest in outfielder Austin Hays, a name that we have linked the Cardinals to on the site repeatedly this offseason.
Hays, 30, has eight big league seasons under his belt and has become a regular platoon option over the last few years. While Hays struggles against right-handed pitching (88 wRC+ in 2025 and 97 wRC+ for his career), he has excelled against left-handed pitching. In 807 career plate appearances against southpaws, Hays has a 124 wRC+, and in 2025, he slashed .319/.400/.549 with a 155 wRC+.
Hays can play adequate defense in the corner outfield spots, and if he were to sign on with St. Louis, he'd likely be a bat off the bench that starts against lefties whenever they are on the mound. Given the fact that Ivan Herrera is their lone high-end right-handed bat on the roster, adding someone with the kind of firepower that Hays has against lefties would be really helpful from a competitive standpoint next year.
There are other right-handed outfield bat options out there, so the Cardinals could certainly choose to go in a different direction, or Hays may just prefer an opportunity with a true contender or one that has more consistent playing time available. The Cardinals likely wouldn't have an everyday role available for Hays, nor would they be a contender, so I'm not sure they'd be at the top of his list.