The pinnacle of the St. Louis Cardinals offseason is upon us, as the MLB Winter Meetings begin on Monday, December 9th. While the baseball community's primary focus will be on Juan Soto's next destination, the excitement starts today with the Classic Baseball Era Committee (CBE) Hall of Fame ballot announcement. Tuesday will feature the winner of the MLB Draft Lottery, and Wednesday is the date of the Rule 5 Draft.
Former Cardinals Dick Allen and Ken Boyer are among the eight former players on the CBE ballot. In his only season with St. Louis in 1970, Allen batted .279, hit 34 home runs, and collected 101 RBIs. Boyer, one of the greatest third basemen in Cardinals history, played 11 seasons in St. Louis, where he won the 1964 MVP and collected over 1800 hits wearing the birds on the bat.
What will the Cardinals do at the Winter Meetings?
Baseball executives and front offices are entertaining trade ideas for Nolan Arenado, who appears to have a preferred trade destination if you've been following his Instagram account recently. ESPN's Buster Olney believes that the Cardinals will either retain a portion of Arenado's salary or add a contract via trade.
Pitching will be addressed by the St. Louis Cardinals, in addition to a potential Nolan Arenado trade. The Cardinals are already entertaining trade packages for Steven Matz, but it would not be a surprise if Miles Mikolas or Erick Fedde's names are involved in trade talks, as all three pitchers are free agents after the 2025 season. Finally, All-Star closer Ryan Helsley will likely field trade inquiries, but the Cardinals are leaning toward keeping Helsley instead of orchestrating a trade.
MLB Draft Lottery: So...there's a chance?
As my colleague Scott Plaza pointed out yesterday, the Cardinals have a minuscule 0.8% chance of landing the first selection of Tuesday's MLB Draft Lottery and an 8.9% chance of securing a top-six draft pick. In addition, the Cardinals also have a Competitive Balance Round B pick, their first since 2021.
Darlin Saladin a Rule 5 Draft candidate
On November 19th, the St. Louis Cardinals protected pitching prospects Tekoah Roby and Tink Hence by placing them on the 40-man roster. Right-handed pitcher Darlin Saladin, who bounced between Palm Beach and Peoria last season, was listed as an "Intriguing Rule 5 candidate" in the Cardinals organization by MLB.com writers Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo, and Sam Dykstra.