Cardinals Officially Keeping 27-Year-Old Outfielder

The St. Louis Cardinals have been one of the more active teams in baseball this offseason. That's not even just in the trade market either.

St. Louis signed 28-year-old starting pitcher Dustin May and Cardinals president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom, made it clear that the club is still looking for more.

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"We’re happy to be deeper now with Dustin on board,” Bloom said. “We’re still going to be on the lookout for more. When that happens, who it is, whether it’s via free agency, trade — I don’t know. We still want to make sure we’re insulated for the season, especially as we continue to hunt opportunities to add young talent to this core. That’s not going to stop.”

The Cardinals are keeping the outfielder

Mar 14, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Koperniak (29) chases down a fly ball during the second inning against the New York Mets at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

The Cardinals got some more positive, yet under-the-radar news, on Friday. When the Cardinals signed May, they designated 27-year-old outfielder Matt Koperniak for assignment. The team announced on Friday that he went unclaimed on waivers and is sticking around with the organization.

"OF Matt Koperniak cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Memphis (AAA)," the Cardinals announced.

OF Matt Koperniak cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Memphis (AAA).
— Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) December 19, 2025

This doesn't move the needle for the big league club right now, but you can never have too much depth on the precipse of the big leagues. Koperniak can play all over the outfield. In 2025, he saw playing time in center field in 11 games, 47 games in left field, and 53 games in right field with the Memphis Redbirds.

Overall, he appeared in 121 games and slashed .246/.317/.382 with 14 homers, 65 RBIs, nine stolen bases, 19 doubles, two triples, and 71 runs scored. Where things stand right now, there isn't a pathway to consistent big league playing time for Koperniak right now.

But with a few months to go and plenty of trade candidates still on the club, this is the type of move that could come back to be a positive for the organization after we start to see more trades pop up around the team.

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