Redbird Droppings: 2 Weeks of News and Rumors

Redbird Droppings missed last week due to the holiday, so double the news and rumors

We got 2 weeks of Cardinals News and rumors to catch up on. I won’t go into Sonny Gray (as that’s already been covered on the site) but there have been other happenings with the team.

First off, the Cardinals non-tendered 4 players:

• Jorge Alcala, RHP: Alcala was designated for assignment when the Cardinals added Rule V eligible players to the 40-man roster; he was already going to be a free agent, this just sped up the process.
• John King, LHP: King’s name has been a non-tender candidate during his whole Cardinal tenure; 2025 was probably the worst season he’s had with the team, so it’s not a surprise it finally happened.
• Yohel Pozo, C: Pozo was a little surprising, but they re-signed him within days to MLB split deal. The Cardinals have some catching depth (more on that later), so re-signing him was a little bit of a surprise.
• Sem Robberse, RHP: Robberse hasn’t been up on the Major League squad yet; in fact, he’s struggled with health and hasn’t had success at Memphis. The team still sees something because they re-signed on a MiLB deal with NRI a few days after cutting him loose.

Only Alcala and King were arbitration eligible, and both were projected to make $2.1M.

4 former Cardinals were non-tendered:

• Adolis Garcia, OF, Rangers
• Andrew Knizner, C, Giants
• Roddery Munoz, RHP, Reds
• Ramon Urias, IF, Astros

Garcia is the most surprising on the surface; but if you look at his 2025 season, he wasn’t going to be worth the projected $12.1M in his final trip through arbitration (remember how upset people used to get about the Cardinals letting him walk?). Knizner and Urias had already been designated for assignment. I wouldn’t be surprised if all 4 catch on somewhere, but on MiLB/NRI deals.

The only other roster news was the team signed RHP Scott Blewett to a minor league deal; Blewett split 2025 between the Orioles and the Braves. He’s struggled for the most part in the Majors, but might make his way onto the rebuilding team.

Now the rumors:

Brendan Donovan
Interested Teams: Mariners, Pirates
Formerly Interested Teams: Astros, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Guardians, Mariners, Royals, Yankees

The Cardinals aren’t feeling pressured to move him at his point; they want to be overwhelmed in any deal to move him. The Mariners and the Pirates are the newest names to be tied to the utility player.

The team would be stupid to not take the best deal on the table; with 2 years of team control, his value is the highest right now. Waiting, even until the trade deadline, will lessen the return the team can get.

The Cardinals could shift of Lars Nootbaar or Nolan Gorman if the right deal doesn’t come along for Donovan; really, the Cardinals should be listening to deals on both of them, in addition to Donovan.

Willson Contreras
Interested Teams: None
Formerly Interested Teams: Red Sox

Contreras has had a quiet off-season until it recently came out he was more open to moving on. Look for his market to quietly grow, especially after guys like Pete Alonso and Cody Bellinger move off the board.

Alec Burleson
Interested Teams: None
Formerly Interested Teams: None

The Cardinals are on record as not wanting to move Burleson unless they blown away by an offer. There are some teams asking about him, but no traction who yet.

Nolan Arenado
Interested Teams: Angels?
Formerly Interested Teams: Astros, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees

Again, there has been no news on the Arenado front, but it’s worth watching the Anthony Rendon buyout happen and the Angels as a possible landing spot

JoJo Romero
Interested Teams: Mariners
Formerly Interested Teams: None

Romero might be right there with Donovan as the name most mentioned in trade rumors right now. The Mariners are one of the first names to pop up, as they look to fortify their bullpen. Look for more teams to pop up next week as the Winter Meetings begin.

Romero is projected to make $4.4M in arbitration and will be a free agent after the season.

Catching Depth: Pedro Pages, Yohel Pozo, Jimmy Crooks
Interested Teams: Rangers
Formerly Interested Teams: Unspecified

The Rangers looking for catchers after non-tendering Jonah Heim; the Cardinals are a possible trade partner with their depth, both at the Major and Minor League levels. They’ve been trade partners in the recent past and could match up pretty well.

Oli extension?
A rumor popped up that the Cardinals may be entertaining the idea to extend manager Oli Marmol; while that might infuriate a segment of the fanbase, it’s actually not a bad idea. Marmol is in the last year of his current contract, so he’s looking at a lame duck season; extending him give both the team and himself something to work for.

I like Oli; he’s gotten more out of bad teams than most managers could. He’s also been a guy that works with young players pretty well; he was a successful manger in the lower minors, where they work with players a lot more than in the majors.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets 2 years, taking him through the rebuild. It would allow Chaim Bloom to see what Oli can do with young players, while also giving the team flexibility to pivot if Oli doesn’t live up to expectations; team’s have bought out a lot more than 2 years.

Ryan Helsley
The only reason Helsley is being mentions is because he had some rumors tied to the Cardinals. That won’t happen now, as he’s gotten a 2 year, $28M deal with the Orioles (with an opt out after year 1). He was getting interest from the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Cubs, among others; he was also receiving interest as a starter.

Other Former Cardinals

• John Brebbia, RHP – Brebbia will join the Rockies on a MiLB deal and will be invited to camp. He spent 2025 between the Tigers and Braves, struggling with both teams.
• Casey Lawrence, RHP – the Mariners brought Lawrence up and down all last season; it looks like they’ll do it again, signing him to an MiLB deal with NRI.
• Phil Maton, RHP – Maton will join the Cubs’ bullpen in 2026; they agreed on a 2 year deal with an option for $14.5M.
• Elehuris Montero, 3B – resigned with Hiroshima Carp of the NPB for $1.25M; Montero was the headline prospect in the deal that brough Arenado to the Cardinals.
• James Naile, RHP – resigned with the KBO’s Kia Tigers for $1.8M.
• Johan Oviedo, RHP – The Pirates have dealt Oviedo to the Red Sox as part of a 5-player deal.
• Mike Shildt – the former manager shocked the baseball world by “retiring” as a manager; he’s not staying out of baseball, as he’ll join the Orioles in Player Development.
• Robert Stock, RHP – received an MiLB deal from the Mets with a NRI.

I’ll be back next week with more Cardinal news and rumors. Look for potentially a couple of days worth of columns, as the Winter Meetings will be happening.