Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Reunion Possible As St. Louis Looks For Right-Handed Bat

The St. Louis Cardinals could use one more right-handed bat...
Patrick McAvoy|
Aug 28, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chaim Bloom, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox on the field before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Aug 28, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chaim Bloom, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox on the field before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

Will the St. Louis Cardinals add another bat before the 2026 season comes around?

St. Louis has done well adding pitching but still could use one more right-handed bat with Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras no longer with the organization. The Cardinals already have looked like a team with a surplus of left-handed batters and now that's even more on display with two starters from the 2025 team gone.

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On Saturday, Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom was asked whether the club could add a bat -- with Harrison Bader's name specifically brought up -- and he noted the team has "room" for a righty, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals could use another bat

Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Harrison Bader
Oct 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Harrison Bader (2) hits an RBI sacrifice fly against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning during game one of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

"The first question asked him if the Cardinals planned to be the 'farm team to MLB,' suggesting that the Cardinals would develop young players into everyday players or All-Stars and then trade them or lose them as free agents," Goold wrote. "Brendan Donovan was offered as an example. Bloom said that was not the goal, not the model they planned to build. The questions pressed on from there. A fan asked if they planned to add any offense. (They’re looking, Bloom said.) Another fan noted that center fielder Harrison Bader remained a free agent. That got applause from the crowd.

"Bloom said the Cardinals 'have room for a right-handed' outfielder, and that Bader is a possibility. He declined to answer when a fan asked what Bader was seeking as a contract."

Bader would be an intriguing pickup. In 2025, he slashed .277/.347/.449 with 17 homers and 54 RBIs in 146 games played with the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies. Cardinals fans will remember Bader as he spent the first five-plus seasons of his career in town before being traded to the New York Yankees.

If not Bader, other options out there in free agency who are right-handed and can play in the outfield are Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Hunter Renfroe, and Austin Hays, among others.

More MLB: Brendan Donovan's Exit From Cardinals No Longer Sure Thing

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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