The St. Louis Cardinals made some noise over the weekend after being quiet at the Winter Meetings. They signed veteran right-hander Dustin May to a one-year contract to bolster their starting rotation.
But the work is far from finished for St. Louis. They still have trades to make and needs to address for 2026, even though they are rebuilding. Their top trade chip is second baseman Brendan Donovan, who was an All-Star in 2025.
The top trade suitors are the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants. The Kansas City Royals also have interest, but Ken Rosenthal notes that the path is easier to San Francisco and Seattle and that what the Royals would offer them is not what they’re looking for.
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Cardinals Not Interested In Royals All-Star
“To make a deal happen, the Royals probably would need to orchestrate a three-way swap, trading left-hander Kris Bubic for prospects they could redirect to the Cardinals. Bubic, projected to earn $6 million in arbitration before becoming a free agent, is of little interest to St. Louis, a rebuilding club,” Rosenthal wrote.
Bubic was an All-Star himself in 2025, going 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA. However, an arm injury cut his season short at 20 starts, and he is also in the final year of his contract.
Because of that, the Cardinals are likely looking for something different. If they’re going to acquire a starting pitcher via trade, they need to make sure that it’s a younger arm with more years of club control.
Perhaps the Royals could offer Noah Cameron. In that case, a deal could work, but not for Bubic.
Chaim Bloom has made clear that the Cardinals’ goal is to rebuild and gain assets for the future, and Bubic doesn’t exactly fit that mold. But the Royals do have plenty of young and controllable arms that could be of interest to St. Louis.
St. Louis needs more upside, and while Bubic has it, his contract status complicates things for the Cardinals, who need a little more certainty heading into 2026 than what Bubic could provide.
It will be interesting to see if the two Interstate 70 rivals connect for a potential trade, but it’s clear that Bubic is not somebody the Cardinals see as an option for next season or beyond.
More MLB: Cardinals Still Have Third Brendan Donovan Suitor After Mariners, Giants
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