Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Rotation Could Be a NIGHTMARE in 2026!

Starting point is 00:00:00 What are the scariest things about the St. Louis Cardinals as we move towards 2026? Get your popcorn ready. This is Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I am J.D. Halfren, also known as Freddie Kruger today, former National Radio Sports anchor, born and raised in St. Louis, and a lifetime Cardinals fan.

Starting point is 00:00:34 for Lockdown Cardinals. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. A big thank you going out to our everydayers who have been here with us the entire season and now into the off season. Of course, if you're new to the show, welcome a board.

Starting point is 00:00:47 Happy to have you here. I'm not normally dressed like this if you're watching on YouTube, being that it is Halloween, though, my favorite holiday, I got to dress up. So doing the Freddie Kruger thing here today. I hope you enjoy the content. This is a show serving Cardinal Nation

Starting point is 00:01:00 and giving you all the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to you by Fandul. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bed wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So download the app today. Happy Halloween. Everybody, enjoyed the candy, enjoyed the costumes tonight. We got World Series.

Starting point is 00:01:19 Game 6 is tonight in Toronto. So that's pretty cool. Can the Blue Jays finish off the upset over L.A? Today's episode, we're going to go over some of the new staff decisions that have been made over the last 24, 48 hours that have been announced. I know people raised an eyebrow or two or maybe even a fist in anger and shook it at the sky when you found out about Yaddeer Molina. But we will start today with something that's kind of in the theme of Halloween here. Scary things about the Cardinals upcoming 2026 season. Now, before we get into it, obviously things are going to change as we move on into the offseason.

Starting point is 00:02:00 Things will get picked up where like free agents, trades, things are going to change. things are going to happen. But as of right now, here on October 31st, these are the things that I'm a little scared about. Now, there are plenty of areas that the Cardinals need improvements after their second losing season in the past three years. We went over some of those concerns and questions in yesterday's episode with Jeff Jones. Big shout out to Jeff Jones for joining us yesterday. A lot of great information in yesterday's episode. He was fantastic. So if you missed it, make sure you go back and check it out. So I guess we should start with what I believe is the scariest thing.

Starting point is 00:02:38 At least it sends shivers down my spine thinking about the upcoming season. To me, it's the number one thing. It's the starting rotation. I have and I will always believe that good pitching can win you more games than a good offense and subparre pitching. So as we head into 2026, the Cardinals have some decisions to make. and not a whole lot of strong options at their disposal right now because some of the guys that we were hoping would be ready by 2026

Starting point is 00:03:09 have dealt with injuries. But let's start with Sunny Gray. Sunny Gray, who has been the best pitcher on this pitching staff in the last two seasons could be traded to a contender. They find something that works out for both the team and Sunny. Then they're going to probably pounce on that. He's got significant salary next year. final year of the contract. There's also the team option for the season after that.

Starting point is 00:03:38 But Sonny wants to play for a consider. The Cardinals aren't where they thought he was going to, or aren't where he thought they were going to be at this point and voiced those concerns at the end of the season last year. Losing head would make this an even bigger issue because as of now, you don't really have anyone that at least I would consider a top of the rotation type of guy. Some fans don't think Sonny Gray is a top of the rotation type of guy, which is certainly debatable. They want better than him. And that's fine. I mean, I wish we had a starting rotation like the Dodgers.

Starting point is 00:04:11 I wish that was something that was possible. But we don't. Don't have that. So Sunny Gray, if he's still here, which is a possibility as well, great. If he's not, it makes the rotation look a little, a lot more frightening, right? Because you have Matthew Livertore, former first round pick, who is now in year two of being a starter. You hope he'll progress.

Starting point is 00:04:36 You hope he'll stay healthy. We know how it is with pitchers. You just never know. Had those fatigue issues last year, but first year being a full-time starter, almost kind of expected that he was going to wear down a little bit. But there are some good things to build off of. It's not like he was a bag of hot garbage.

Starting point is 00:04:54 But he went 8 and 12, 4.21 ERA. The ERA plus was at 97. Remember, league averages 100. So that's a tick below league average. So you hope that he will make the jump and be better than that next year. Michael McGreevy, another former first round pick. He was like a breath of fresh year, right? You had been through the Eric Fetty stuff.

Starting point is 00:05:17 You've seen what Palante was doing. You had your issues with Michaelis. And when McGreevy came on board, it was like, all right, this is a new face, a new kid. Former first round pick, we saw a little bit of him. in 2020 or 2024. I get all my ears confused. 2024. So we've been kind of itching to have him back up on the big league club.

Starting point is 00:05:41 And then when he came up, yeah, he went through a couple of tough games. All rookies do normally, unless you're, tray you savage. But I think we, I think we all like his makeup, right? You know,

Starting point is 00:05:53 we kind of like the type of duty is on the mound. And he just kind of gave you a confident feeling when he was, the starting pitcher. You just felt like he had a better chance to win than most of the guys in the rotation. So he ended up winning more than a lot of them. He went eight and four with a 4.42 ERA and 16 starts. The ERA plus a surprising 93. So that's below average as well. You hope he can improve on that. That would be great. But he's also, you know, one of those guys that's in the mold of a Miles Michaelis and Eric Fetty type of guy where it's not about,

Starting point is 00:06:31 strikeouts. It's not about, you know, swing and miss. It's about weak contact, putting the ball on play, making them hit the ball to get out. It's not about strikeouts with Michael McGreevy. So that's one thing that, you know, we worry because we've seen a lot of those guys come through and you're like, oh, can we just get somebody who has some swing and miss? And McGreevy's not that guy. He's just not, he's not built that way. So, and then talk about scary, the Andre Palante a 2025 season. That was one we would like to forget all together. 31 starts, which, if we're being positive, 31 starts, that's great, right?

Starting point is 00:07:10 31 starts with Michael McGreevy, any starter that you can get for 31 starts. That's positive. That means they were healthy. But he had a 6 and 15 record. He had a 5.31 ERA. His ERA plus was 77. Having to start somebody like that 31 times is a problem. Almost everything about his season was disappointing.

Starting point is 00:07:32 Almost every category went in the wrong direction for Andre Palante from 24 to 2025. His hits per nine up. Home runs per nine up. Walks. We're about the same, which is still an issue. Strikeouts per nine went down. It was, if I were to compare it to a scary movie, it wouldn't even be in the Freddie Kruger night.

Starting point is 00:07:59 nightmare on Elm Streets or the Michael Myers or the Friday the 13th, it's worse than that. It's like terrifier style where it's just blood and guts and gore and gross. It was gruesome. It was gruesome last year. Now, does one year wipe out any of the good that he did in the first three seasons with the Cardinals when he was a reliever and then he came into the rotation? Does it wipe all of that out? In some fan's eyes, yes.

Starting point is 00:08:27 Like they were over it. had his chance. Way to an egg. Move on. Get him out of here. Find somebody better. We'll see. I mean, there's probably going to be a role for Andre Palante next year,

Starting point is 00:08:40 whether it's in the rotation or in the bullpen. They'll try to figure something out because he's got some arm talent. Let's be honest. But last year was really, really bad. But that is it. As far as starters from this past year, like guys who made starts. Like, that's it.

Starting point is 00:08:58 It's still around. The Cardinals were very lucky in the fact that most of the year, their starters answered the bell every fifth day. Problem was a lot of those starts were very good. The only person still around that actually made a start and is under contract still is Kyle Leahy, who, as we've talked about numerous times, we'll have a shot at a rotation spot. They're going to stretch him out, but there's no guarantee that he's going to win that spot. If he doesn't, back to the bullpenny goes. But they would love to see if that's something that they can pull out of him and have him be a part of this rotation.

Starting point is 00:09:29 Jeff Jones told us yesterday that he expects the Cardinals to sign a couple of starters. He absolutely does. Thinks that they're going to get into the free agent market and sign a couple of guys. John Denton, who covers the team for MLB.com, kind of reiterated that thought in his newsletter that he put out. And he also listed some names that could be in their price range. So we're going to discuss those next. I have to take the Freddie Krueger glove off. I'm right-handed.

Starting point is 00:09:54 And Freddie Krueger is too. And I can't use the mouse with the Freddie Krue. Grueger glove on. So apologies, the whole costume here is not going to be as cool as it was just a little bit ago. But just forgive me. Okay. We're going to go through those starters that John Denton mentions. We'll do that next year on Locked on Cardinals. All right. Now we've got to take this holiday thing off real quick because there we go. All right. Now we're set. This episode brought to you by Price Fix. You and I would make decisions each and every day. I made a decision to wear a claw on my right hand a few moments ago. But on price picks, being right can get you paid, which is great. We like money. Don't miss out on the excitement of this sports season, whether you're following the NFL, the NBA, or both, heck, both, which is something I do. There's no better time to jump in on the action.

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Starting point is 00:12:02 If you enjoy daily Cardinals content, you can follow the podcast on X at L1 underscore Cardinals. We're also available on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram at Locktown Cardinals. talking about John Denton's newsletter, which listed some of the offseason things that the Cardinals are going to be dealing with this year. He goes into arbitration. He goes into the 40-man roster, people who need to be added. Also mentioned some free agency names, which is what I want to talk about now. We touched on it a little bit yesterday with Jeff Jones. Again, if you did not see that episode, get over there and check it out because it's good. Great information coming from Jeff Jones, who covers the Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:12:38 But here's what John Denton said about the Cardinals and free agency. Says, will they be active in a free agency? Active, yes, aggressive, no. With Michael is likely gone, Palante and Quinn Matthews coming off shaky seasons and Roby, talking about Tocoa Roby injured, the cards must pursue pitching to fill out their rotation. Some pitchers who might fit their price range, Zach Allen, Chris Bassett, Austin, Gombor,

Starting point is 00:13:08 or Gulp, Mac Scherzer. Could veteran leaders Andrew Kittridge or Phil Maton return to the bullpen, question mark? Now, we've talked about Zach Allen here on the show a couple of times recently, right? Zach is a guy that used to be in the organization, got traded as part of that Marcelo Zuna deal, was very, very good with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Remember, the Marlins shipped them to Arizona after the Cardinals gave them to Miami. and was very, very good for a number of seasons, starter in the All-Star game, not that long ago.

Starting point is 00:13:45 And then the last couple of years, things have gone in the wrong direction for Zach. Jeff Jones yesterday, when I brought up Zach Allen's name, said that he'd be surprised if the Cardinals were going to invest into a multi-year deal with anybody. Because the opinion is that Zach Allen will command three to five years. somewhere in that vicinity is what somebody will sign him to. So if the Cardinals aren't interested in multi-year deals,

Starting point is 00:14:14 it kind of wipes him off the board, right? But as I brought up to Jeff yesterday, I was like, well, you know, Heinblum said that if they see somebody that fits the mold of what they want, that they'd be willing to invest, he just said he'd be surprised if that actually happened. But to hear his name mentioned again by John Denton, at least to me says it's not,

Starting point is 00:14:37 something out of the realm of possibilities, but I would still say that the chances of landing him are very, very slim. Chris Bassett is going to be 37 years old next season, currently pitching in the World Series with the Blue Jays, has been pitching well. He's a guy that I've been a fan of since he was with the A's during their Oakland years. He was a late bloomer. So when you see his name and you're like, how the hell is he 37 already? Well, he didn't really get his major league career going until 2019. And he was already 30 at the time. So late bloomer, a guy that I've had interest in for a while and, you know, I was bummed when he went to the Mets. And now he's with Toronto. And the guy's just been kind of a winner, you know, the last few years.

Starting point is 00:15:26 So a guy that, if I'm the Cardinals, I'm definitely looking at. You mentioned Austin Gomber, who used to be with the Cardinals as well, was a part of that deal to get Nolan Arnado, a massive disappointment in Colorado just last season. He was 0 and 7 with a 7.49 ERA before getting released, ended up signing a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs. This is a guy where I'm like, you know how we use that phrase low-hanging fruit? Like that's fruit that's on the grass, bro. Like I don't know.

Starting point is 00:15:56 Come on. This would be a signing that would drive fans bonkers. It would drive me bonkers. We don't need reclamation projects and hope they work. I need somebody I can rely on. I need somebody steady. Austin Gomber, I know it's Colorado, but he hasn't been good there, and he wasn't even that much better on the road. So it's not like his splits were crazy and he just got his brains beaten when he's pitching at Coors Field. It just wasn't good anywhere. So no. Last name, Max Scherzer, and as I've said before, this dude

Starting point is 00:16:28 loves winning. He loves winning. And at the stage of his career, the only reason I could see him with the Cardinals is that if in his heart, he just wants to put on the birds on the bat, that he wants to sign with the Cardinals, his hometown team, before he retires. Now, as a fan, I would love that. I'm sure you would too, as a fan.

Starting point is 00:16:58 Did my stuff go away again? There we go. I need to keep my spooky stuff up there. There we go. I would love it. Who wouldn't want Max Scher on their team? I would love having Mad Max here. I think that would be awesome.

Starting point is 00:17:15 I think it would be something fun for the fans. I think they would enjoy that. Would Max enjoy that coming to a team that isn't in a spot right now that they plan on contending next year? They could surprise people. We know that. I mean, he did sign with the Blue Jays

Starting point is 00:17:31 who were 20 games under 500 last year. now he's in the World Series. So we think that Toronto is supposed to be better than that. But I just feel like I'd expect him to sign with a team that has a better shot at winning them in the Cardinals right now. But if he wants to be a Cardinal and he wants to play in St. Louis before he retires, come get some Mad Max. Let's go. If you want to hear another scary notion, John Denton also says that in this newsletter, Miles Michaelis, a Cardinal since 2018,

Starting point is 00:18:01 is the team's lone free age of the soft season. He's been very open to a return, but the club might be ready to move on after three forgettable seasons, an all-star in 2018 and 22. Michaelis has been too often victimized by homers and two-strike kits over the past three seasons when he posted ERAs of 4.78, 5.35, and 4.84. However, he has been a very dependable workhorse

Starting point is 00:18:28 and made at least 31 starts, of the past four seasons. If the Cardinals can't replace him with a younger, more promising pitcher, the club could look to bring Michaelis back on a one-year deal. Like, come on. Come on. Can we not, can we not do better? Can we not do better than Miles Michaelis, Andre Palante or Austin Gomber?

Starting point is 00:18:59 at this point, like why does it seem like the Cardinals are like begging for scraps? Like go get dudes. You can do better than this. It's like the wet blanket that was the Kyle Gibson Lance Lens signings in 2023 all over again. That's what it would be like if they went down this path. No, stop it.

Starting point is 00:19:25 Do better. Are you trying to drive the remaining? fans who do come to your games away. No, thank you. No, thank you. Be better than that, please. Other scary thoughts for this offseason. What if Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker fall flat again? Where does the extra offense come from?

Starting point is 00:19:47 The offensive production from the outfield was awful. Exorcist, green vomit awful last year. And right now, there doesn't appear to be, any in-house bats that are ready to help out in any capacity. You've got some prospects. Joshua Baez was obviously a breakout star, but he was a double A. Chase Davis, former first round pick, has not had the breakout numbers that you're hoping for by this point, considering he was a college player.

Starting point is 00:20:20 And he was also at AA. So these dudes haven't even produced Memphis yet, AAA. So to expect them to do something for you. in 2026 seems unlikely, right? Jeff mentioned yesterday that he'd expect them to sign a bat, but again, who are they going to get on a one-year deal that would make that much of an impact? I mean, going through the free agent names,

Starting point is 00:20:47 there's not a lot out there. It's genuinely on the shoulders of the guys already in the room, already in the clubhouse to step up. And if they don't, uh-oh. Scary, scary stuff once again. We're going to go over the staff announcements because a lot of staff management type of stuff was announced over the last couple days, plus the Yadi news, which made some people sad. So we'll talk all about it next on Locked on Carpals. The NBA is back and there's no better place to get in on the action than Fandall, the official sports been a partner of the NBA.

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Starting point is 00:22:52 YouTube channel or wherever you listen to your podcast. This could be the last night, game six of the World Series tonight. So we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. Katie Wu from the Athletic updated us on the staff news that the Cardinals announced. the changes that they've made, which we'll have link in the description and the show notes just like John Denton stuff. So if you missed it, here's what we got for you. The Cardinals hired Joe Douglas. Yeah, let's get a picture of Heim Blum up there. There he is. The Cardinals hired

Starting point is 00:23:29 Joe Douglas to oversee the professional scouting department and Jacob Buffa as a international scouting director. The first two significant hires under new president of baseball operations, time bloom. Douglas spent eight seasons in the Pirates organization and most recently served as the head of player analysis while Douglas will help facilitate the Cardinals player acquisition process overall. His main responsibilities will involve working with the pro scouting staff under assistant general manager and scouting director Randy Flores. Buffa, a Missouri State University graduate who co-founded a baseball performance facility in St. Louis spent seven seasons in the Houston an Astros organization.

Starting point is 00:24:07 That's going to make some people happy because everybody whines and complains about ever since everybody went to the Astros organization, the Carls have sucked and Houston's been good. Here, you get a guy from Houston now. According to the Astros Media Guide, he was responsible for building the organization's first performance science department and in his recent role oversaw biomechanics, sports sciences, and player development. The front office changes indicate significant operational shifts under Bloom, who has said he'd prefer to add positions rather than subtract.

Starting point is 00:24:39 Additional support roles under Douglas and Buffler are expected later this offseason. St. Louis will also add a director of hitting, new assistant hitting and pitching coaches and a new head trainer. This follows the news from Thursday that, you know, bench coach Daniel DeScalso, hitting coach Bram Brown, pitching coach Dusty Blake, first base coach, Stubby Clap, third base coach, Pop Warner, and assistant coach John Jay will also return to the organization as their bullpen coaches. And then there was the sad news that Katie mentioned as well. It is not believed that longtime catcher Yaddy or Molina,

Starting point is 00:25:14 who lobbied earlier this month for MLB coaching jobs, will be on the staff next year. But the Cardinals remain open to finding a role for Malina within the organization. So Jeff spoke on that last part about Yadi at the end of yesterday's episode and how he never really expected him to be a full-time member of the staff either. So if that was something you were hanging your hat on for 2020, and I am sorry to disappoint you. And I'm disappointed to you.

Starting point is 00:25:39 I think it would be great. I think it would be really cool to see Yadi back, just like everyone else. But I understand that they have a vision of how they want to retool this thing. And with or without Yadi, they're moving forward with guys that they believe will benefit the organization at this time. So I'm okay with that. You know, you know what you're doing, right? We've given you the keys to the car, let Bloom use his guys.

Starting point is 00:26:03 And then if something does work out between. the Cardinals in Yadi or maybe even Albert Pujols is still out there. I didn't see any updates on him getting the job in San Diego yet or any other former players, right? You know, Matt Holiday was in the fold for a hot minute. But, you know, if things work out with any of these people seeking positions in the big leagues, then so be it. Just because Yadi shows up doesn't guarantee winning, it doesn't. Still the same players, still the same pitchers.

Starting point is 00:26:33 it's a talent issue for the Cardinals for me. It's not the coaching staff. It's not the manager. It's getting more talent in the organization and developing them, getting them up to the big leagues. That's where I think the problems lie. And He's doing what he can do. One final nugget from Katie here as far as payroll goes.

Starting point is 00:26:55 She says at the end of the season, Cardinals chairman Bill Duett Jr. stated he would provide Bloom the resources needed to build a better team. While the organization still has plenty to configure regarding next year's payroll and needs to finalize its television rights deal for 2026, the added position suggests ownership making good on its work. So they're adding resources to hire more staff members. Will they put it into what the roster is going to look like? That's the real question. Again, I wouldn't get my hopes up for any of those big time free agents to come to town.

Starting point is 00:27:30 I agree with Jeff, who was talking about it yesterday, where it just feels like one year, two-year deal type of dudes are what they're more interested in. You've got the threat of the lockout in 2027, and things can change after that. So I get it. I understand it. It doesn't mean we have to like it as fans, right? World Series Game 6, something I do like. The World Series, it's been quite entertaining if you haven't watched any of it. Game 6 tonight, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, against Kevin Gossman.

Starting point is 00:27:58 so entertaining. Lots of history has been made during this World Series. Personally, no offense to the Dodgers or the Blue Jays. I wanted to go to a game seven no matter what. So that's going to upset Toronto fans. But that's what I want to see because it's been so good. I want one game, all the marbles, no holding back. Everybody's available. And let's see who wins. That's what I'm hoping for. Toronto's got all the momentum right now. but Yamamoto has been almost unhittable in his last two starts. So we'll see what goes down tonight. But I'm excited to watch it this evening.

Starting point is 00:28:34 But I think it'll be cool if we got a game seven. So give me the Dodgers tonight for my own selfish reasons, right? All right. That's going to wrap it up. Thank you again for making Lockedong Cardinals. You first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on X at L. underscore Cardinals and the JD Sports Radio.

Starting point is 00:28:49 TikTok and Instagram and Lockdown Cardinals. Like, subscribe on YouTube, help our channel, and love for the Cardinals grow. Like 12 subscribers. way from 13,000. Just 12. 12. We know 12 people, don't we? Let's get on that air. Let's get them subscribed. And let's hit that mark. Happy Halloween to all of you. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time on Locked on Cardinals. And don't eat too much candy and give yourself a belly egg tonight.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Rotation Could Be a NIGHTMARE in 2026!

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