Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Lefty Reliever Emerging As Offseason Trade Chip

The Cardinals could make more trades to bolster their farm system as they plan for the future...
Zach Pressnell|
Sep 22, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher JoJo Romero (59) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
Sep 22, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher JoJo Romero (59) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have seemingly entered a huge rebuild this winter. They're adding a lot of prospects to their farm system by trading veterans from their big league club.

They moved Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox in a pair of offseason deals earlier in the winter. Earlier this month, they sent Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a one-for-one swap.

The Cardinals are heading in the right direction. They're loading up their minor league system with young talent in order to bounce back in the coming years. But there's a chance they continue looking to move on from big league talent.

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Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller recently suggested the Cardinals could look to trade left-handed relief pitcher JoJo Romero to continue their rebuild this offseason.

Cardinals could cut ties with JoJo Romero in an offseason trade

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher JoJo Romer
Sep 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher JoJo Romero (59) throws against the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

"Romero had a 2.07 ERA last season, saving eight games and tallying 24 holds, blowing just one lead along the way," Miller wrote. "He could be a closer or a set-up man, and there's no particularly good reason for St. Louis to hang onto this impending free agent while churning through their rebuild. But maybe they'll keep him for a few months, hoping to flip him for a nice haul ahead of the summer deadline."

Romero is one of the most valuable trade chips left on the Cardinals. There are players like Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar who make sense as pieces the Cardinals could move, but left-handed relievers are hard to come by in the big leagues.

Practically any contending team would be open to bringing Romero to their bullpen. He's one of the better southpaw relievers in the National League. Teams like the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox could call their phone in an attempt to bring Romero to their team.

There's a chance the Cardinals could pair Romero with Donovan or Nootbaar in a blockbuster trade. The Seattle Mariners would make sense as a fit in a deal like this.

Either way, there's no use for the Cardinals to hold onto Romero if they're not trying to contend this season.

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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