Greetings to ya on this Thursday. We’re two weeks from Christmas, and getting closer to putting another year into the book of life. There is so much to appreciate, even with our collective struggles and challenges and crises. As for Christmas and Santa, I’m more naughty than nice. But what the hell, I’ll just buy my own presents.
Let’s get to The Bits …
THE WINTER MEETINGS: Yawn! I like a good nap in the wintertime, so the lack of trade action at the overly hyped Winter Meetings didn’t bother me at all. The Cardinals have 73 days until playing their first Grapefruit League game in 2026. And that said, one of the best trades the Cardinals ever made was acquiring Jim Edmonds during spring training in 2000. But by the way, a small percentage of Cards fans were carrying on, you’d think the team’s freedom to make trades ended as soon as the Winter Meeting closed down. I don’t need Chaim Bloom to make fast trades to pacify the impatient among us. I need him to make good or even great trades. In 2 and ½ days of the conference in Orlando, no trades were made by any MLB team. None. So please relax.
ABOUT THE RULE 5 DRAFT: The Cardinals selected a pitcher of note, Marlins right-handed pitching prospect Matt Pushard. The Cards also lost one notable pitcher in the Rule 5 draft, with the Yankees taking STL prospect Cade Winquest. (This was the first Rule 5 pick by the Yanks since 2011).
WHAT BASEBALL AMERICA SAYS: The best prospect-watching operation in the business, Baseball America, put Pushard on the “most likely to stick” list, which was limited to five of the players chosen. And BA put Winquest among the five picks on their “least likely to stick” list.
According to Baseball America analyst Geoff Pontes, Pushard “jumped off the page in the first go-round of our Rule 5 research and was featured in our 1.0 preview. He was a tricky decision for the Marlins and looked like a sure thing to be picked. Pushard has upper-minors experience, success, and stuff to match.”
Pushard, age 28, had a 28.5 percent strikeout rate in Triple A ball last season, pounded the strike zone, gave up 3.3 walks per nine inning, got lots of soft contact, and generated a 43.5% ground-ball rate.
WHAT FANGRAPHS SAYS: Analyst Brendan Gawloski wasn’t as positive about Pushard. “The stuff is mostly average,” he wrote. “He sits in the mid-90s with a hard slider and a distinct curve. Neither is going to reliably generate a ton of chase down and out of the zone, and he’s more of a groundball pitcher than a strikeout guy anyway. But there’s big league utility in pitchers who can get quick outs without walking the world. Whether that’s enough to break camp with the Cardinals remains to be seen, but Pushard should have a big league future somewhere, probably in an up-down or low-leverage capacity.”
As for Winquest, FanGraphs analyst Eric Longenhagen wrote this: “Of all the pitchers taken in the Rule 5 Draft, Winquest might have the best long-term chance to remain a starter … Winquest’s fastball spins up around 2,600 rpm on average, but none of his breakers has anything near that kind of grease … His control gives him a better chance to stick than some of the other draftees this year, but he may not have a second plus pitch in his bag and just end up a fastball-heavy reliever.”
STUFF THAT ANNOYS ME: Speculation that the Cardinals could trade third baseman Nolan Arenado to Philadelphia – but only if Chaim Bloom agrees to take Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos in return. Why in the hell would Bloom do that? Here’s a “scouting report” on him.
– Castellanos turns 34 in March. He’ll be paid a guaranteed $20 million in 2026, the final year of his contract.
– He’s in decline offensively. His onbase percentage slipped to a dreadful .294 in 2025. His slugging percentage has deflated 76 points, to .400 over the last three seasons. Last season he chased pitches out of the strike zone at an alarming rate of 41 percent.
– He may be the worst defensive player in the majors. Why do I say this? Since 2017, Castellanos is minus 66 in defensive runs saved, minus 77 in Outs Above Average and minus93 in Fielding Run Value. As right fielders go, other than the ghastly defensive metrics I just presented here, Castellanos is Larry Freaking Walker.
– In a game on June 25 of last season, Castellanos mouthed off at Phillies manager Rob Thomson after being subbed out for a defensive replacement in right field. Thomson benched Castellanos for the next game, citing an “inappropriate comment” made by Castellanos after he was pulled from the game. Castellanos must have been fired up to prove that Thomson was wrong to bench him. Umm … no. In the 45 games that followed the benching, Castellanos hit .200 with a paltry .316 slugging percentage and gruesome .565 OPS – and struck out 29 percent of the time.
Sarcasm alert: Yeah, this is exactly what the Cardinals need to get this rebuild off to a great start and also give their young players a strong leader to follow. (NOT).
THE CARDINALS HAD SOME BAD LUCK? WELL, SO WHAT? In the MLB Draft Lottery held in Orlando, the Cardinals fell into the 13th selection spot for the June, 2026 draft. Based on the odds going in, the Redbirds should have ended up in a more favorable slot. Before the proceedings, the highest (but not guaranteed) probability for St. Louis was the No. 8 selection.
While I understand the frustration and disappointment out there, let’s remember what happened in last year’s draft lottery. The Cardinals had the 13th-best odds but got the lucky bounce up to the No. 5 choice. And the Cards were thrilled to unexpectedly land lefty pitcher Liam Doyle, viewed as the best pitcher in the draft by Keith Law (The Athletic) and other draft evaluators. In 2024, they drafted 7th overall and came away with future star infielder JJ Wetherholt.
Waiting for No. 13 to come around in the next draft isn’t a big deal. You make the best of it. You trust your scouts, your analytics, your eyes, and information provided by people who have coached or otherwise guided the potential draft picks you’re looking at.
Here’s a partial list of MLB players that came off the board at No. 13 overall:
– Pitcher Andrew Painter, 2021, and he’ll be in Philly’s rotation next season after rehabbing from elbow surgery. He has “ace” potential.
– Matt Shaw, 2023, who was a Gold Glove finalist at third base in 2025 as a Cubs rookie. After a slow start at the plate, Shaw slugged a robust .522 with 11 home runs after the All-Star break.
– Zach Neto, 2022. The Angels’ shortstop averaged 25 home runs and 28 stolen bases over the last two seasons.
– Patrick Bailey, 2020, who won the Gold Glove as the Giants’ catcher last season.
– Trevor Rogers, 2017, Marlins. The left-handed starter had a fantastic 2025 season for the Orioles, pitching to a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts.
– Josh Lowe, Rays, in 2016. The right fielder slammed 20 homers and slugged .500 during the 2023 season.
– Trea Turner, 2014. The Padres drafted him and traded him to the Nationals. In 11 MLB seasons with the Nationals, Dodgers and Phillies, Turner is a three-time All-Star, received MVP votes in three seasons, won a batting title and a silver slugger, has 315 stolen bases – and a career .478 slugging percentage and .827 OPS. Turner starred on the 2019 Washington team that won the World Series.
– Hunter Renfroe, 2013, by the Red Sox. All and all he’s had a solid 10-year career, hitting 192 homers and slugging .461 while playing for seven different teams.
– Brandon Nimmo, 2011. Drafted by the Mets, the center fielder spent 10 years with the team and was a regular in the outfield. Good OBP, good slugging percentage, and an .802 OPS. Nimmo hit 20+ homers for three straight seasons starting in 2023. The Mets traded him to the Rangers last month.
– Chris Sale, 2010. Despite being slowed by injuries, the lefty is one of the best starting pitchers of his generations. Drafted by the White Sox, Sale pitched for them for seven before moving onto the Red Sox and Braves. He has 145 wins, 2,579 strikeouts, is a nine-time All-Star and received Cy Young votes in eight different seasons – winning the award as a Brave in 2024. He’s a Hall of Famer for sure.
– Paul Konerko, 1994. Drafted by the Dodgers that year, Konerko went on to play 16 seasons for the White Sox during his 18 years in the majors. He was a six-time All-Star, received MVP votes five times, clubbed 439 homers, and drove home 1,412 runs. Konerko came up big for the 2005 World Series champ Red Sox – cranking five homers, 15 RBIs and a .612 slugging percentage in the postseason.
– Manny Ramirez, 1991. Cleveland drafted him, and Ramirez had great seasons for the Guardians and Red Sox during a 19-year MLB career that featured 555 home runs 1,831 RBIs, 12 All-Star selections, nine silver sluggers and two World Series titles for Boston. Ramirez, implicated in the PED scandal, hasn’t received the necessary support from Hall of Fame voters to make it into Cooperstown.
I think the Cardinals have a chance to draft a good or even great talent with the 13th pick in 2026.
SOMETHING ELSE THAT ANNOYS ME: I don’t blame Notre Dame for being offended by the football team’s exclusion from the 12-team playoff. I believe the Fighting Irish belonged. But the Whining Irish aren’t lovable. They went way too far when their athletic director threw a tantrum by blasting the ACC – simply because the ACC campaigned for Miami to make the playoff. The ACC did nothing wrong there because Miami is a full-time member of the ACC.
Notre Dame, on the other hand, uses the ACC to supply games (and a lot of easy wins!) on their annual football schedule. And uses the ACC to house all of Notre Dame’s non-football sports. And Notre Dame joined the ACC for one football season, pandemic-disrupted 2020. And then Notre Dame said bye-bye to the conference that was beneath their mighty stature.
Notre Dame apparently believes the ACC exists only to service Notre Dame, bow down to Notre Dame and be used as Notre Dame’s footwipe. Notre Dame has gotten nothing but preferential treatment from everyone in college football for decades and decades. Will this ever end? Yo, Notre Dame: Shut up, sack up, and put your team in a conference, full-time, instead of coasting along to feast on an easy schedule.
Want to know why Notre Dame doesn’t want to be in a power conference? Since having a scheduling agreement in place with the ACC since 2014, the Irish are 46-10 in games against ACC squads – which includes a 36-5 mark against unranked ACC opponents. That’s a lot of easy wins.
When playing ranked teams from the SEC, Big Ten, the old Pac 12 and the Big 12 power conferences during the regular season since 2014, Notre Dame’s record is 7-13. Notre Dame has done well against ranked ACC teams during the regular season (10-5) but the ACC isn’t the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, or the Pac 12 as it once existed.
FREE-AGENT FREE-FOR-ALL: Except that nothing is “free” except the rumors about free-agent signings. I’m keeping a running tab and given the way teams are throwing the money around, I’m not sure why the team owners and the players would fester with grievances about the state of the game. The MLB Economy looks good to me. As of noon on Thursday, 38 players have signed contracts that total 61 seasons, for a collective amount of $963 million in salary. A lot of the deals are one-year commitments for less than $5 million, but let’s look at the higher end of the market.
Dylan Cease, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwaber, Josh Naylor, Edwin Diaz, Devin Williams, Cody Ponce, Ryan Helsley, Emilio Pagan, Kyle Finnegan, Mike Yastrzemski and Raisel Iglesias have signed contracts totalling 35 years for $810 million.
That’s just 12 players! And still to come are deals for eight of the top 12 free agents as identified by The Athletic. The money will be flowing in at a high level for Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, Framber Valdez, Cody Bellinger, Ranger Suarez, Tatsuya Imai, and Michael King. And a little ways down on the free-agent rankings are Zac Gallen, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, J.T. Realmuto, Merrill Kelly, Ryan O’Hearn and Jorge Polanco. Let it rain.
CONGRATULATIONS! The St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame has announced the list of new inductees for 2026, in a dinner-ceremony scheduled for Feb. 4 at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis.
Here’s the list, in order, as presented by the STL Sports Hall of Fame.
– The DeWitt baseball family. That makes three – the late Bill DeWitt Sr., Cardinals chairman Bill Dewitt Jr, and current Cardinals chairman president Bill DeWitt III.
– Pat Maroon, the hometown hero who helped lead the Blues to the 2019 Stanley Cup triumph and later played a key role on two Stanley Cup winners in Tampa Bay.
– Laila Anderson, the St. Louis Blues inspirational Super Fan.
– Todd Worrell – as the Cardinals closer he won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1986 and received and was selected as an All-Star in 1988.
– Dan Rolfes, 12-time state basketball champion coach at Incarnate Word.
– Bob Ramsey, St. Louis U basketball broadcaster for 40 terrific years.
– Tina Hutchinson, High school and college basketball superstar.
– Al Joyner, 1984 Olympic Champion
– Mike Jones, the linebacker however known as “The Tackle” for his Super Bowl-winning stop short of the goal line for the 1999 St. Louis Rams.
– Devon Alexander, the former WBC and IBF boxing champion.
– Bob Sundvold, the all-time winningest men’s basketball coach at University of Missouri-St. Louis.
– The St. Louis Hummers Professional Softball Team, which competed in the league’s world series in three straight years, 1977-1979.
Thanks for reading …
And please pardon my typos …
–Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015.
Before that Bernie spent a year at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Dallas Cowboys during Tom Landry’s final season (1988) plus the sale of the team to Jerry Jones and the hiring of Jimmy Johnson as coach.
Bernie has covered several Baseball Hall of Fame managers during his media career including Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver, Joe Torre and (as an interim) Red Schoendienst.
Bernie covered every baseball Cardinals’ postseason game from 1996 through 2014 and was there to chronicle teams that won four NL pennants and two World Series. He provided extensive coverage on the “Greatest Show” St. Louis Rams and has written extensively on the St. Louis Blues and Mizzou football and basketball.
Bernie was/is a longtime voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
You can access his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STLSportsCentral, catch him regularly on KMOX (AM or FM) as part of the Gashouse Gang, Sports Rush Hour, Sports Open Line or Sports On a Sunday Morning shows.
And you can catch weekly “reunion” segments here at STL Sports Central featuring Bernie and his longtime friend Randy Karraker.