Since the 2023 trade deadline, the St. Louis Cardinals have shifted strategy by trading veteran players for prospects. Driven by management changes aimed at rebuilding the farm system, these transactions targeted long-term depth rather than immediate major league impact.
Early calculations show a temporary net loss in total Wins Above Replacement for the Cardinals, particularly in trades with Boston and Arizona. However, because many acquired prospects are still developing, the final success of the rebuild will take several years to fully evaluate.
Remember the shock back at the 2023 trade deadline when the Cardinals SOLD OFF PLAYERS? It was something fans were not accustom to. Sure, they’d send a Major League guy out everyone once in a while, but it was normally to get other Major League guys back.
One of the things we’ve seen in the last few years as selling off veterans for prospects; especially in the post-John Mozeliak era. Here are all of the trades where the Cardinals sent off veterans for prospects since the 2023 deadline.
The first set of trades are 100% Mozeliak’s; these were before Bloom was rebuilding the minor league system and taking over as team GM.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Genesis Cabrera | 0.1 | Sammy Hernandez | — |
| Blue Jays | 0.1 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
Cabrera was with the Blue Jays for a season and a half before becoming a free agent. He pitched with mixed results and saw a little minor league time.
Hernandez hasn’t gotten close to the Majors. He hasn’t gotten above Hi A but is in the Arizona Fall League to see what he can do. I’m not expecting to see him with the Cardinals, so this could be a slight win for the Blue Jays.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Jordan Hicks | 0.5 | Adam Kloffenstein | 0.1 |
| Sem Robberse | — | ||
| Blue Jays | 0.5 | Cardinals | 0.1 |
Hicks pitched well for the Blue Jays before hitting free agency at the end of the season. He ended up with a disastrous contract with the Giant and has joined both Sox teams over the life of the deal.
Kloffenstein was non-tendered after 2024 and has signed minor league deals with the Blue Jays (2025) and Yankees (2026)
Robberse hasn’t been able to stay healthy since the trade; in the 2.5 seasons with the Cardinals, he’s pitched in 32 games, mostly at Memphis. His numbers haven’t been great, but we haven’t been able to see exactly what the Cardinals saw when they traded for him.
We might be done with this one; Robberse was non-tendered after 2025 and resigned on a minor league deal. I believe he’s a minor league free agent, so he could move elsewhere, meaning this deal would have gone in favor of the Blue Jays.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Jordan Montgomery | 1.8 | John King | 1.3 |
| Chris Stratton | 0.4 | Tekoah Roby | — |
| Thomas Saggese | -0.2 | ||
| Rangers | 2.2 | Cardinals | 1.1 |
Montgomery and Stratton both pitched well down the stretch; both became free agents and haven’t seen much success since then.
King pitched for the Cardinals through the 2025 season, when he was non-tendered and ended up signing a deal with the Marlins; he was released towards the end of the season.
Roby hasn’t pitched yet for the big league club, but is one of their Top 10 prospects. He’s pitching in the AFL right now.
Saggese was co-headliner of the deal with Roby, and hasn’t lived up to the hype…yet. He looked good after a mid-season demotion and could get some value for the club as a utility player next season, as long as he continues to build on that late season success.
Right now, the Rangers have the edge, but this one isn’t over yet.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Paul DeJong | -0.8 | Matt Svanson | 0.4 |
| Blue Jays | -0.8 | Cardinals | 0.4 |
DeJong was with the Blue Jays for 20 days before being released and signing with the Giants; he was worth -0.4 with the Giants. He’s bounced around since then.
Svanson looked really strong in 2025 and was considered a big part of the 2026 bullpen, until the wheels fell off. They aren’t ready to give up on him yet.
As of right now, the Cardinals are up 1.2 WAR in this deal; that could change if Svanson continues to pitch as badly as he did in 2026.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Jack Flaherty | -0.6 | Cesar Prieto | -0.8 |
| Drew Rom | -1.0 | ||
| Zack Showalter | — | ||
| Orioles | -0.6 | Cardinals | -1.8 |
Flaherty was pretty bad down the stretch for the Orioles; he became a free agent after the season. He’s signed with the Tigers a couple of times and has been slightly better than he was in Baltimore.
Prieto has been up a few times with the Cardinals and never has gotten a shot to really establish himself; he’s been a below average player in those instances. If the Cardinals were to move on from one of Bryan Torres or Jose Fermin, Prieto might get a longer look.
Rom only saw MLB time with the Cardinals right after the 2023 trade; he mist significant portions of the 2024 and 2025 season with injuries. He was DFAed after 2025, signed with the Brewers for 2026, then claimed off waivers by the Athletics in August where he’s been semi-useful as a reliever.
Showalter was released in early 2026.
This deal hasn’t really worked out for either team, but the Cardinals could recoup a little value if Prieto ever gets a real shot. The Orioles are winning this deal right now.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Tyler O’Neill | 2.9 | Nick Robertson | 0.0 |
| Victor Santos | — | ||
| Red Sox | 2.9 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
O’Neill was pretty much the player the Cardinals ran out there; homers and injuries. He spent a season in Boston before signing a multi-year deal with the Orioles.
Robertson made 8 appearances for the Cardinals before they designated him for assignment, ultimately losing him on waivers to the Angels. He’s made 1 more MLB appearance (2024 for the Blue Jays), but has bounced around the minors for the most part.
Santos was released in August 2026 and is currently a free agent.
This one easily went to the Red Sox.
(The Cardinals made some ill-advised trades in 2024 for veterans – Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham, Shawn Armstrong. Fortunately, none of the deals cost anything as far as prospects go.)
I’m thinking these are more hybrid deals between Mozeliak and Bloom; Mo was the GM/POBO while Bloom was rebuilding the minor league system. I think Mo pulled these deals off with Bloom as a consultant.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Steven Matz | 0.5 | Blaze Jordan | 0.3 |
| Red Sox | 0.5 | Cardinals | 0.3 |
Matz was a good bullpen piece for the Red Sox down the stretch, which turned into a 2-year contract with the Rays; he hasn’t looked as good bouncing between the Rays rotation and bullpen this year.
Jordan saw quite a bit of time at third before going down to an injury, but I don’t think the Cardinals saw enough to commit to him as a starter. He could be a good source of power off the bench with the occasional start at the corner infields.
The slight edge goes to the Red Sox right now, but I expect Jordan to be worth about a win or so over the next few season.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Ryan Helsley | -0.9 | Jesus Baez | — |
| Nate Dohm | — | ||
| Frank Elissalt | — | ||
| Mets | -0.9 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
Helsley looked lost in his time in New York and didn’t return after the season; he ended up in essentially a 2 year deal with the Orioles that has gone almost as bad as his time in New York.
The flip side of the deal has been amazing.
Dohm and Elissalt have both progressed as expected, but Baez has taken a huge step forward this year. At Double A, he crushed the ball; unlike the other Baez (Joshua), there aren’t concerns right now about his strikeout rate. The Mets were down on him for his attitude and sold low; the attitude hasn’t been an issue so far.
The Cardinals are the winner’s right now, even if none of these guy make the majors.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Phil Maton | 0.2 | Skylar Hales | — |
| Mason Molina | — | ||
| Rangers | 0.2 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
Maton didn’t look as strong in the Rangers bullpen as he did in the Cardinals, but was a positive addition for Texas. He joined the Cubs in the off-season, where he hasn’t been as effective.
Neither Hales or Molina have made it to the majors, but both chart as top 50 prospects in the system, with Molina working his way up the list this past season at Double A Springfield.
This is almost a wash at this point, and if either prospect is somewhat valuable, the Cardinals could take it.
Now these are the trades that Bloom was responsible for, with the goal of adding depths to the system. As of now, he added a little more than depth.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Sonny Gray | 4.3 | Brandon Clarke | — |
| Richard Fitts | — | ||
| Patrick Galle | — | ||
| Red Sox | 4.3 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
At first glance, the Sox look like clear winners; Gray was one of the best pitchers in the AL and the Red Sox got a deal with the Cardinals covering a good chunk of his salary. He’s a free agent, so that value won’t grow anymore.
The flip side is the potential quality the Cardinals got in return. Clarke is a top 10 guy in the system and took a step forward in 2026. He’s getting a little top 100 in the game talk.
Fitts missed most of the season due to injury, but his 3 starts at Memphis looked good. Expect to see him in 2027 if nothing else goes wrong.
Galle hasn’t looked as impressive, but has only thrown less than 55 innings as a pro. The jury is still out.
Right now, this deal goes to Boston; this is one where we need to give it 5 years to see the true winner.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Willson Contreras | 4.6 | Blake Aita | — |
| Hunter Dobbins | 0.7 | ||
| Yhoiker Fajardo | — | ||
| Red Sox | 4.6 | Cardinals | 0.7 |
Like the Gray trade, this looks pretty lopsided. Contreras is continue to be a good player at first base and the Red Sox have him for another year at least (2028 club option). He’ll be worth close to 10 WAR if the option isn’t picked up. The Cardinals also threw $8M to cover some of his salary, much less than they did with Gray.
Aita quietly put together a solid season across Hi A and Double A, but he’s not the prize of this deal.
Dobbins looked like a rotation piece for 2027, but ultimately went down to Tommy John surgery in early September. He will start adding value again in 2028.
Fajardo is the long-term piece here. He doesn’t have the upside of Clarke, but has a higher floor. He looked solid all season, but looked a little better in his first taste of Double A. Note he struck out 130 hitters in 101 innings.
The Sox are ahead in this one too, but it’s another one that we might not know the final verdict until 2030 or so.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Nolan Arenado | 3.4 | Jack Martinez | — |
| Diamondbacks | 3.4 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
Arenado had a nice bounce back season in Arizona, but that should be expected with the change in ballpark; Chase Field has a Park Factor of 103, while Busch is 97. More importantly, Chase Field is 93 for homers and Busch is 76. It also worth noting that all of his WAR was from offense, as his dWAR was -0.1. He under contract for another year, so a 5.0 WAR could be realistic.
While the Cardinals got a few good pieces for Gray and Contreras, the return for Arenado was a single mid-level prospect. Martinez had a good season and could get MLB time in 2-3 years if he keeps progressing.
Right now, this is in Arizona’s favor; I don’t see Martinez doing enough to get higher than that.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Brendan Donovan | 0.5 | Jurrangelo Cijntje | — |
| Colton Ledbetter | — | ||
| Tai Peete | — | ||
| Mariners | 0.5 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
Fans hated dealing Donovan, but he reminded us why it was the right time; he’s injury prone. He missed significant time in 2026 (only playing in 38 games), and struggled to really get going. He still played well, sitting at an OPS+ of 125, but he definitely wasn’t what Seattle expected. He’s a free agent after this coming season, so he’ll build on his WAR.
This deal probably brought the most back for the Cardinals.
Cijntje is a top 10 prospect in the system, throwing with both arms and looking better than the numbers showed. He’s got a double digit K/9 and has elite velocity. He’s borderline top 100 in the MLB.
Ledbetter seemed like a throw in on the deal, but he posted solid numbers at Memphis; he could be the next outfielder to get a look. He plays all 3 positions and could be the 4th outfielder of the future; he could also take over center if they like him more than Nathan Church (or his free agent replacement).
Peete might be the best of the bunch. He hit .296 across 3 levels and hit for decent power; he’s also slashing .361/.452/.639 in the AFL right now. He is a centerfielder, so he’s a strong spring away from stealing a roster spot.
Like the other deals involving high level prospects, we won’t know the winner until a few years from now.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Andre Granillo | -0.4 | George Soriano | 0.1 |
| Nationals | -0.4 | Cardinals | 0.1 |
This was kind of a weird trade; Granillo looked like a potential piece of the Cardinals ’26 bullpen and was dealt in a surprising deal right when spring training was starting. Granillo saw limited action in the Nationals bullpen before he was lost on waivers to the Tigers.
Soriano looked very good early in the season, but came back to Earth as the year wore on; he pitched more in 2026 than any previous year, so he could have tired out. What is encouraging is his lower H/9 and HR/9 MLB numbers while keeping his BB/9 in line with last season; he also saw a very slight bump in his K/9.
Right now, the Cardinals are the winner; it’ll really depend on which version of Soriano we see in 2026 to see how this deal really works out.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Nick Raquet | -0.1 | Brayden Smith | — |
| Orioles | -0.1 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
Much like Granillo, Raquet looked like he could get innings in the Cardinals bullpen; he was designated for assignment early in the season and dealt to the Orioles. After a few appearances, he spent most of the season in the minors before being released September 1.
Smith is a utility player, and the Cardinals have a history of developing guys like this. He won’t ever be a top prospect, but the floor is high enough that he could make it to the majors.
This deal will pretty much be a wash, with the Cardinals slight favorites if Smith never makes it.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Chris Roycroft | -0.3 | Trey Pooser | — |
| Rays | -0.3 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
Roycroft did start the season in the Cardinals bullpen and was DFAed after a rough start. The Rays acquired him and ended up letting him walk on waivers to the Athletics, who have quietly gotten solid pitching out of him.
Pooser is a depth piece and probably won’t make it to the majors, but the Cardinals have seen a lot of pitchers take a step forward under the new system; maybe he’s one of the next guys?
Roycroft pitched as well for Tampa as he did the Cardinals, so that’s a win by subtraction for the team.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Dustin May | -0.3 | Alexander Frias | — |
| JoJo Romero | 0.2 | Josiah Ragsdale | — |
| Brewers | -0.1 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
The Cardinals brought May in with the sole purpose of dealing him at the deadline; the whole plan worked out pretty well too. He pitched like an ace at time for the Cardinals and brought back 2 undervalued prospects.
May’s time in Milwaukee wasn’t nearly as good; they got the guy that was not the ace, putting the deal in the negative for WAR. Romero pitched well out of the bullpen, but anything the Cardinals get out of Frias and Ragsdale put this deal in a positive…
Which should work out. Both players shined this season, across both systems; both also struggled in comparison to what they were doing in the Brewer’s system. Both players are still young and developing; their lower numbers could be any number of things, like acclimating to a new system, different coaching styles, et.
Right now, the Brewer’s are down a little bit; they won’t care if they win a World Series. Check back in 5 years or more to see how the deal ended up.
| Lost | WAR | Gained | WAR |
| Lars Nootbaar | 0.3 | Daniel Eagen | — |
| Sandro Santana | — | ||
| Brian Curley | |||
| Diamondbacks | 0.3 | Cardinals | 0.0 |
Another fan favorite dealt, and another player that benefitted in a ballpark change. Noot played well down the stretch for the Diamondbacks and they’ll have him for another season.
The Cardinals picked up 3 pitching prospects in return.
Eagen jumped into the Springfield rotation and looked really good. The ERA didn’t show those results, but he posted a sub-1.00 WHIP and 12.5 K/9. He’ll be a top 20 guy in the system in the spring.
Santana looked even better, albeit in relief. In less than 18 innings across Springfield and Memphis, he struck out 31; for the season, he struck out 101 in 64 innings. He could be in next year’s bullpen.
Curley was acquired after the season, so we don’t know how he’ll fit in with the Cardinals yet. He started for Arizona, getting as high as Double A just a year after being drafted.
Right now, the D’backs have a slight lead, but this is another deal we’ll need 5+ years to really determine who is the winner.
Most of these deals need some time to understand how the Cardinals really did. The table below shows right now how it looks:
| Team | Total Traded | WAR Lost | Total Acquired | WAR Gained | Net WAR |
| Blue Jays | 3 | -0.2 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| Brewers | 2 | -0.1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Diamondbacks | 2 | 3.7 | 4 | 0.0 | -3.7 |
| Mariners | 1 | 0.5 | 3 | 0.0 | -0.5 |
| Mets | 1 | -0.9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| Nationals | 1 | -0.4 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Orioles | 2 | -0.7 | 4 | -1.8 | -1.1 |
| Rangers | 3 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.1 | -1.3 |
| Rays | 1 | -0.3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Red Sox | 4 | 12.3 | 13 | 1.0 | -11.3 |
| Total | 20 | 16.3 | 40 | 0.9 | -15.4 |
The Cardinals cost themselves 15.4 wins over the last 2.5 years on players they’ve traded away. Like I said, we won’t get an accurate depiction of who won these trades for a few years. I’m going to watch this over the next few years to see how well Bloom has done on the rebuild.
Everyone in Boston should be thanking the Cardinals for those 12+ wins, which may get higher depending on how Contreras does next year. The D’backs should also see a bump with Arenado and a full year of Noot.
I’ll be revisiting this every off-season to see how this progresses. It’ll be interesting to track how successful the Cardinals are in this process.
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