Cardinals' Jose Barrero: Invited to Cardinals' camp
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Barrero signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Saturday and received an invitation to spring training, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.
Barrero owns just a .497 OPS across 447 plate appearances in his major-league career, and his offensive woes followed him to Triple-A last season, where he slashed .188/.277/.345 over 49 games. His chances of contributing for the Cardinals will remain low as long as he continues to struggle at the plate, though the 26-year-old may still see a healthy amount of playing time with Triple-A Memphis.
Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Move to rotation not considered
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The Cardinals are not mulling a move to the rotation for Helsley, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
All 239 appearances for Helsley at the major-league level have come in relief, but he came up through the minors as a starting pitcher. While there has been some speculation the Cardinals might consider giving the 30-year-old another chance to start, it does not appear that is in the plans following Helsley's major-league-leading 49 saves in 2024. They will, however, reportedly entertain trade offers for Helsley, who is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility.
Cardinals' Nolan Arenado: Trade possibilities to be explored
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The Cardinals are expected to gauge trade interest in Arenado this month, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that at least one of the team's four players with no-trade clauses is open to the club exploring trade interest from other teams. It seems that player is Arenado, who is owed $74 million over the next three seasons (with $10 million of that being covered by the Rockies). Arenado will turn 34 in April and fell off to a .272/.325/.394 batting line with 16 home runs in 2024, although he was a Gold Glove finalist at third base. There would figure to be plenty of interest in the eight-time All-Star even as he's coming off a down season, although trade talks will be complicated since Arenado can essentially dictate his landing spot.
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Cardinals' Pedro Pages: Splitting catching duties
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Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that Pages and Ivan Herrera will split catching duties next season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Willson Contreras will be a first baseman and designated hitter moving forward, clearing a path to playing time at catcher. Pages was the preferred option over Herrera down the stretch of the 2024 season while Contreras was hurt, mostly because he's viewed as a much better defender. The 26-year-old Pages slashed .238/.281/.376 with seven homers over 68 contests this past season.
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Cardinals' Ivan Herrera: Set to split time at catcher
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Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that Herrera and Pedro Pages will share playing time at catcher next season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Willson Contreras is moving into a first base/designated hitter role, clearing the way for Herrera and Pages to handle catching duties. Herrera is much more intriguing of the two from an offensive standpoint, having slashed .301/.377/.417 in 85 games over the last two seasons with the Cardinals. However, his defense -- and particularly his throwing -- have drawn scrutiny, to the point that Pages leapt him on the depth chart down the stretch.
Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Moving to first base
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Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that Contreras will be a full-time first baseman and designated hitter next season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Mozeliak added that it's unlikely Contreras will do any catching at all in 2025, with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages set to split duties behind the plate. Contreras has played 11 games at first base in his career, with his last start there coming in 2019. Contreras has slashed a robust .263/.367/.468 with 35 home runs over 209 games in his two seasons in St. Louis, but he's had trouble staying healthy and his defense at catcher has often drawn criticism. The move enhances Contreras' fantasy outlook for 2025 since he should be in the lineup more often, and it also bumps up the playing time projection for Herrera and Pages.
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Cardinals' Michael Gomez: NRI pact with St. Louis
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Gomez signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Wednesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Gomez, 28, spent the 2024 season at Triple-A Durham in the Rays organization, holding a 5.01 ERA but with 68 strikeouts over 55.2 innings. He'll compete for a bullpen job in spring training but will likely begin 2025 at Triple-A Memphis.
Cardinals' Packy Naughton: Re-signs on minor-league contract
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The Cardinals re-signed Naughton (elbow) to a two-year, minor-league contract Monday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Naughton announced the move himself on his Instagram account and also revealed that he will be sidelined until 2026 after having Tommy John and flexor surgeries on his left elbow in July. That's in addition to the flexor surgery he underwent in June of 2023. The left-handed reliever holds a 4.98 ERA and 48:22 K:BB over 59.2 innings covering parts of three seasons at the major-league level. He will turn 29 in April.
The Cardinals claimed Munoz off waivers from the Marlins on Friday.
Munoz, 24, posted a 6.53 ERA and 70:42 K:BB over 82.2 innings in 2024, serving up a whopping 26 home runs. The right-hander will provide rotation depth in St. Louis.
