Cardinals Could Still Have Intriguing Trade Chip in JoJo Romero

The Yankees would be the perfect landing spot in a trade for Cardinals closer JoJo Romero...

Sep 16, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher JoJo Romero (59) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have dominated the beginning of their rebuild by trading four aging veterans for a haul of prospects this offseason.

Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, and Sonny Gray have all been traded to clear money off the payroll, add prospects to the organization, and get younger. But the Cardinals might not be done making moves yet.

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Mark Morales-Smith of Fantasy Sports OnSi put together a mock trade that would finish the Cardinals offseason by trading JoJo Romero to the New York Yankees in exchange for prospects Dax Kilby and Kyle Carr.

Yankees are the perfect landing spot for JoJo Romero

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jojo Romero (59) throws a pitch during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

"The Yankees want to win the World Series, and they want to win it this year. This is a team that's always in win-now mode, and are mired in one of their longest championship droughts in franchise history," Morales-Smith wrote. "If they are going to compete in a loaded AL East, then go on to knock off a National League powerhouse in the World Series, they need to build a team that is dominant at every position.

"St. Louis isn't considered a serious contender quite yet, but they are heading in the right direction after showing improvement last season. Adding a potential young star like Kilby could help them compete for years, while Carr projects to be a solid MLB contributor, even if he isn't viewed as a high-upside strikeout guy, he can eat up innings and have success once he's ready to be called up."

This is the final move the Cardinals would need to make.

Keeping Romero on the roster doesn't make much sense. He's a star reliever who doesn't project as a long term answer in St. Louis. He's likely heading to a new team once his contract runs out.

Locking down games for a team that isn't exactly pushing for a World Series isn't the most important role on the planet either. Instead, the Cardinals could land two more talented prospects for their farm system.

The Yankees need to add to their bullpen after losing Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. While this duo may not have thrived last year, they were still two of the team's top bullpen arms. The Yankees need to replace them and adding a lefty like Romero is the perfect idea.

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