A budget version of the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals' roster

Infielders

First base: Alec Burleson
Second base: Nolan Gorman
Third base: Nolan Arenado
Shortstop: Masyn Winn
Catcher: Ivan Herrera

The 2026 rendition of the Cardinals' infield largely mirrors the 2024 version sans one player: Alec Burleson. The Cardinals' best hitter this year moves from the outfield to the dirt at first base. Nolan Gorman stays at second, Nolan Arenado mans the hot corner for another year, and Masyn Winn continues his ascendancy at shortstop. Ivan Herrera becomes the team's primary catcher.

Most of the infield was easy to select; Winn isn't moving off shortstop anytime soon. He's the player of the future there for the Redbirds. Alec Burleson's transition to first base seems imminent given Paul Goldschmidt's free agency. Nolan Arenado will stay at third base, as that's his position to lose.

It got tricky at second base. Nolan Gorman has not been good this year. He took a step back defensively, and his wild swings offensively have led fans to tire of him already. I could honestly see the team trading him in the near future, but that's not a part of this exercise. Other players who could overtake Gorman at second base would be Thomas Saggese and newly drafted JJ Wetherholt.

This infield boasts decent defensive metrics, though one can only wonder how Nolan Arenado will age at the hot corner. Masyn Winn's defense isn't a concern, and Alec Burleson has graded out as a neutral defender at first according to defensive runs saved and ultimate zone rating. Given a full-time job there, and he could become a plus defender. Don't expect Ivan Herrera to be behind the plate for all 162 games. A 60/30/10 split with him as the primary backstop seems likely and Willson Contreras seeing 10% of the starts by then.

Arenado is on the hook for a cool $27 million in 2026. Masyn Winn is still going to be in pre-arb, so he'll cost $780,000 (though he could reach arbitration by then if he receives certain awards this year). Ivan Herrera won't be in arbitration by then either, so he'll cost the league minimum. Alec Burleson will enter his first year of arbitration that year, and I think he could garner around $5 million that year on the high end. Nolan Gorman will also be in his first year of arb, so let's assign him a round $5 million as well. The infield will cost around $40 million.