# 2027 Cardinals Salary Matrix

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/2027-cardinals-salary-matrix/
- Published: 2026-10-12T14:00:00-05:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

The 2027 St. Louis Cardinals roster planning includes managing impending free agents
and several arbitration-eligible players. Key decisions involve Ryne Stanek’s club
option and non-tender or trade possibilities for players like Nolan Gorman and Pedro
Pagés before the tendering deadline.

The team’s salary matrix tracks payroll projections through 2035, highlighting active
roster contracts and retained financial obligations for former players. Offseason
updates will reflect official arbitration tenders, free agency decisions, and potential
non-tenders among pre-arbitration players.

### 2027 Cardinals Salary Matrix, Free Agents, and Arbitration Eligible Players

Welcome to the 2027 [Cardinals](https://www.mlb.com/cardinals) salary matrix. Rather
than just throwing the spreadsheet on the page, I’m also listing the free agents
and some details around the arbitration eligible players. It’s also worth checking
out the Off-Season Calendar for dates like free agency starting, the arbitration
tender deadlines, and more.

#### Impending Free Agents

 * [Ryne Stanek](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stanery01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br):
   Stanek does have a $6M club option ($1M buyout) for 2027 and it’s a 50/50 shot
   that it’ll be picked up. He was worth $-0.3M based off [Fangraphs Dollar Value](https://www.fangraphs.com/players/ryne-stanek/15947/stats/pitching),
   but $6M isn’t much for a league average reliever. Eating a $1M isn’t the end 
   of the world either.
 * [Ramon Urias](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/u/uriasra01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br):
   Technically a Cardinals free agent, even though he was released prior to the 
   end of the season. Being released, the team ate his $500k buyout for 2027.

The 2026-27 qualifying offer is reportedly [$23.15M](https://x.com/Joelsherman1/status/2107893114840977649);
I don’t expect that either of these guys would receive a QO (Urias probably isn’t
eligible for it since he was released). If they were to get one, I’d fire the front
office.

#### Arbitration Eligible

The following players are arbitration eligible and [MLB Trade Rumors](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/projected-arbitration-salaries-for-2027.html)
has projected the following salaries for 2027, which have been plugged into the 
Salary Matrix:

[⌊Cardinals Jordan Walker⌉⌊Cardinals Jordan Walker⌉[

Jordan Walker taking pre-game grounders at short.

 * **[Alec Burleson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/burleal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)**(
   4.029): $8.3MM
 * **[Nolan Gorman](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gormano01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)**(
   4.055): $3.4MM
 * **[Iván Herrera](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/herreiv01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)**(
   3.034): $5.5MM
 * **[Kyle Leahy](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leahyky01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)**(
   2.140): $2.8MM
 * **[Matthew Liberatore](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/liberma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)**(
   3.144): $3.6MM
 * **[Pedro Pagés](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=pagespe02,pagespe01&search=Pedro+Pagés&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)**(
   2.166): $1.3MM
 * **[Andre Pallante](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pallaan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)**(
   4.145): $7.5MM
 * **[Jordan Walker](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walkejo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)**(
   3.044): $5.1MM
 * **[Masyn Winn](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/winnma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)**(
   3.045): $3.3MM

Of these guys, I expect that Gorman and Pages won’t be tendered a contract; that
is if neither one is traded before the tendering deadline. There could be a market
for both; Gorman as a “change of scenery candidate” while teams are always looking
for capable catchers, be it starter or backup.

The team could also non-tender some pre-arb players, but it’s hard to predict which
ones could be let go.

#### Salary Matrix

Below is the salary matrix from 2026 to 2035. Bolded players are on the 40-man roster.
There is a key for the colors if you scroll to the right.

You’ll notice that guys like [Nolan Arenado](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/arenano01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)
and [Willson Contreras](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/contrwi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2026-10-09_br)
are still on the matrix; that because the Cardinals are covering salary still (see
the notes tab for details).

This will be updated throughout the off-season and into the 2027 season, so bookmark
this and check back often.

_See anything incorrect? Have questions about salaries? Throw anything payroll related
in the comments._

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