November 12, 2026
November 12, 2026
The Cardinals’ 2026 season was supposed to be a quiet bridge between eras. Instead, a roster stripped of its stars spent half a summer chasing October, produced a Home Run Derby champion, and handed Busch Stadium a new generation to believe in. The final record read 77-85, but the numbers alone never told the whole story.
Chaim Bloom made his intentions clear in his first full year as president of baseball operations. The veterans who defined the previous era were sent away one by one. Sonny Gray waived his no-trade clause and went to Boston in November, returning Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke. Willson Contreras followed him to Boston in December, bringing back right-hander Hunter Dobbins.
The biggest name left in January. Nolan Arenado was dealt to Arizona, with St. Louis sending $31 million to cover much of his remaining salary. Then, on February 2, the club moved All-Star Brendan Donovan to Seattle in a three-team deal. That trade brought pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje, outfielders Tai Peete and Colton Ledbetter, and two Competitive Balance draft picks, as detailed in MLB.com’s report on the Donovan trade.
Miles Mikolas departed in free agency, and right-hander Dustin May arrived on a one-year deal. Oliver Marmol received an extension through 2028, a vote of confidence in the man asked to develop the next core. Outside expectations were bleak. PECOTA projected a 66-96 finish, and betting markets set the win total near 70.
The tone was set on Opening Day. Tampa Bay built a 7-1 lead on March 26, and the rebuild looked every bit as painful as predicted. Then the young lineup clawed back for a 9-7 win. JJ Wetherholt, the seventh overall pick in 2024, collected his first major league hit on a home run.
Wetherholt had seized the second base job in spring training, and he never surrendered it. He settled in as the everyday leadoff hitter and quickly became the defensive standard at his position. The Cardinals finished March and April at 18-13, already well ahead of every forecast.
On May 15, a moment from the stands became part of the season’s identity. Members of the Stephen F. Austin State club baseball team launched the “Tarps Off” movement during a game against Kansas City. The Cardinals answered with a 5-4 win in 11 innings. Marmol invited the group into the clubhouse, and the team later dedicated a right-field bleachers section to the fans.
By May 16, St. Louis stood at 27-18. The club reached nine games over .500 on May 19 and again on June 16. On June 10, the Cardinals were 37-28 and squarely in the Wild Card hunt. The rebuild, briefly, looked like a contender.
July opened with celebrations. Jordan Walker, Iván Herrera, and closer Riley O’Brien were all named to the National League All-Star team. On July 10, the club committed to its leadoff man, signing Wetherholt to an eight-year, $112.5 million extension. The deal, reported by MLB.com’s coverage of the Wetherholt extension, came with the rookie leading all MLB second basemen in bWAR.
Three nights later at Citizens Bank Park, Walker delivered the season’s most electric scene. Kyle Schwarber posted 11 home runs in the Home Run Derby final and seemed to have the crown secured. Walker trailed by three with his final regulation swing approaching. He launched that pitch out, earned bonus swings, and then hit six straight homers. The 12-11 victory, chronicled in NBC Sports’ account of Walker’s Derby rally, made him the first Cardinal ever to win the event.
The second half turned on the club almost immediately. St. Louis lost nine of its first 12 games after the break. On July 28, the Cubs pounded Michael McGreevy for seven runs in fewer than two innings. The 10-2 loss dropped the Cardinals to 53-54, their first losing record of the year.
That stretch defined the Cardinals’ 2026 season. The club went 10-18 in July, and Bloom responded at the trade deadline. May and reliever JoJo Romero went to Milwaukee for outfield prospects Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale. Lars Nootbaar was traded to Arizona for pitchers Daniel Eagen and Sandro Santana.
Alec Burleson turned the vacancy at first base into a breakout. On August 30, he drove in his 100th run, the first Cardinal to reach that mark since 2022. He was also the first left-handed Cardinals hitter to do so since Jim Edmonds in 2004. Burleson finished at .279 with 26 home runs and an MLB-leading 116 RBIs.
Walker finally became the player St. Louis had waited years to see. He hit .269 with 29 home runs, 33 doubles, and 22 stolen bases. He became just the seventh Cardinal to post a 20-20 season. Wetherholt, slowed by wrist tendinitis late, still produced 17 home runs and 4.5 WAR. Masyn Winn anchored shortstop with 22 outs above average.
One debut became a franchise heirloom. On August 15 at Wrigley Field, Joshua Báez started in left field for his first major league game. He homered in his first at-bat, then again in his second. When he went deep a third time, he became the first player in MLB history to homer in his first three at-bats. The Cardinals won 8-4, and Báez drove in five runs.
The rotation offered real progress mixed with hard lessons. Andre Pallante went 12-9 and cut his ERA from 5.31 to 3.83 after adding a splitter. McGreevy logged 168 2/3 innings with a 3.95 ERA and led the staff with 16 quality starts. Kyle Leahy posted a 3.66 ERA and a 2.84 mark over his final 76 innings.
Matthew Liberatore endured a brutal year, finishing 6-14 with a 5.23 ERA and 28 home runs allowed. In the bullpen, O’Brien held on through constant high-leverage work. He tied Mason Miller for the NL lead with 38 saves. That workload mattered, because St. Louis played 52 one-run games, second-most in baseball.
The final month offered more fight than results. On September 4 in Colorado, a heated dispute with umpire Doug Eddings over rookie Hancel Rincon’s cap boiled over. Marmol confronted the umpire, and players from both teams tilted their caps in protest. In the ninth inning, Herrera silenced Coors Field with a three-run homer for a 7-6 win.
The reprieve did not last. A three-game sweep in San Francisco followed, and on September 18 a 9-1 loss to Washington ended the playoff chase. According to MLB.com’s report on the elimination, Marmol still called it “an incredibly successful year.” The regular season closed with a sweep in Milwaukee, leaving St. Louis fourth in the NL Central, 26 games behind the Brewers.
The Cardinals’ 2026 season will be remembered for clarity rather than standings. Thirteen rookies made their debuts on the second-youngest roster in the majors. Wetherholt became a long-term cornerstone, Walker validated years of patience, and Burleson emerged as a run producer. The 2026 Cardinals season record also captures a September tribute, when Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols entered the team Hall of Fame.
The second-half collapse exposed the gaps that remain, especially in starting pitching depth. Still, a team projected to lose nearly 100 games stayed competitive for four months. For a franchise built on October expectations, that was the first real step back toward them.
7th February, 2017
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November 11th, 2026 2
November 11th, 2026 2
November 11th, 2026 2
