Cardinals Predicted to Trade Best Reliever to Blue Jays

How will the Cards handle the trade market?

Jan 6, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; The baseball cap and jersey sit on the table before the press conference of Toronto Blue Jays Kazuma Okamoto (not pictured) at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Trades were the theme of the offseason for the St. Louis Cardinals, and that storyline won't completely disappear after games kick off.

After shipping away All-Stars Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Brendan Donovan, the Cardinals have made a sweeping transition to a team built on young, controllable talent. That unfortunately leaves lefty reliever JoJo Romero, who is on an expiring contract, as a prime trade candidate.

Coming off an age-28 season in which he put up a 2.07 ERA in 61 innings, Romero would fit just about any team's roster. Cardinals fans may be watching his outings with rapt attention just to see how much he can inflate his trade value for a contender to ship St. Louis some prime prospect talent.

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Are Blue Jays natural fit for Romero?

Sep 14, 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

On Friday, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller predicted that by the end of the season, Romero would be pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays, whose bullpen came up short in the postseason last year and is short on lefties coming into the new season.

"Any St. Louis Cardinal with fewer than three remaining years of team control is unofficially already on the trade block," wrote Miller. "Mostly, it means JoJo Romero, who figures to be the Cardinals' No. 1 option for saves in his final season before hitting free agency for the first time."

"Not only could the Blue Jays use another experienced southpaw reliever, but there's a non-zero chance they'll be looking to replace (or at least buttress) Jeff Hoffman with another ninth-inning option."

Kudos to Miller for making a prediction, especially one that makes sense. But the reality is that assuming all goes according to plan, the Cardinals will likely have their pick of five or six teams at the deadline that will be all-in on acquiring relievers.

We saw the Miami Marlins get four prospects for rental lefty Tanner Scott in 2024. Romero might not quite bring back that sort of haul, but the Cardinals have to be salivating over the prospect of bringing back a haul this July.