The Cardinals enter the offseason with set names at several spots around the diamond. Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt have the middle infield covered. Alec Burleson is locked in at first base. Jordan Walker will reprise his role in right field. They’re deep in catching talent with each of Leo Bernal, Pedro Pagés and Iván Herrera on the roster — to say nothing of top prospect Rainiel Rodriguez. Granted, Herrera is more of a DH option at this point, but he has enough bat to take regular reps there. Joshua Báez will probably get another look in left field, even with his strikeout troubles, after he hit a combined 41 homers between Triple-A and the majors.
Third base is very much up in the air, however. Nolan Gorman was the most frequent option at the hot corner this season but has yet to establish himself in the majors thanks to his own swing-and-miss tendencies. He’s only in line for a small raise in arbitration, but he’s a clear non-tender or change-of-scenery trade candidate. The Gorman question looms as the Cardinals consider their offseason trajectory, but Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cards are open to bringing in a short-term solution at the hot corner to help bridge the gap to prospect Jesús Báez.
There aren’t many options for the Cardinals to consider when it comes to free agency, however. Alec Bohm will reach the open market for the first time this winter. He’s coming off a down season and could be amenable to a short-term deal to rebuild some value, but Bohm is a sub-par defender at the hot corner and the Cardinals are an organization that has typically placed a heavy emphasis on strong glovework. That’s all the more important given that the current pitching staff — another area of focus this winter — posted the seventh-worst strikeout rate in baseball. Their collective 20.6% mark narrowly led the Reds (20.4%) and Nationals (20.5%).
There are certainly other players to consider, but most of the available options have either spent more time at other positions than at third base, or are former shortstops who are beginning to move down the defensive spectrum.
Longtime Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford’s glove is well below average at short; Seattle got him some looks at the hot corner as the summer wore on, and he posted scratch defense in the estimation of both Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved. Ha-Seong Kim’s glove will play all over the infield, but the former Padres/Rays/Braves shortstop is coming off a nightmare season offensively and has never really regained his form at the plate since undergoing shoulder surgery late in 2024. Utility options with experience at third base include Mauricio Dubón, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and old friend Edmundo Sosa.
The trade market is going to have several possibilities for the Cards to ponder as well, but it’s unlikely that they’d take on a high-priced veteran. The Astros shopped Isaac Paredes around last winter but ultimately held onto him. He’d be a one-year rental with a price tag north of $13MM and would cost a retooling Cardinals club controllable young talent, which doesn’t seem like a good fit.
If the Yankees are willing to eat some of Ryan McMahon’s remaining $16MM, he’d be a decent fit as a glove-first option with enough pop to create hope for a rebound in the final season of his contract. The Twins moved Royce Lewis off third base and have a crowded infield mix with Brooks Lee moving to third base, top prospect Kaelen Culpepper taking over shortstop and fellow top prospect Marek Houston nipping at his heels. Houston could well push Culpepper could to second base, which would move Kody Clemens to a utility role or to first base, where Lewis has been playing since Lee cemented himself at the hot corner with Gold Glove-caliber defense. The Giants (Casey Schmitt), Orioles (Coby Mayo) and Athletics (Zack Gelof) all have similarly controllable options who could feasibly be acquired in exchange for young pitching.
Any acquisition will be something of a bridge to the aforementioned Jesús Báez, who came to the Cards by way of the 2025 trade that sent Ryan Helsley to the Mets. Báez — not to be confused with outfielder Joshua Báez, who made his big league debut this year — topped out at Double-A in 2026 and posted a combined .283/.328/.587 batting line between that level and High-A. He smacked a combined 39 home runs with a tiny 5.6% walk rate but also a low 15.6% strikeout rate. Both Baseball America and MLB.com currently rank him 15th among Cardinals prospects.
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