One Free Agent the Cardinals Cannot Afford to Lose

This is St. Louis' only free agent, and he must be retained.

Sep 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom in the dugout before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals season is over. With a 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, they were swept and finished the season 77-85, only one game worse than they had in 2025. The Cardinals will have some work to do in the offseason if they want to improve in 2027.

They still may be a year or two away from contention. Only one player on this year's roster is set to become a free agent this winter, and that is right-hander Ryne Stanek, who was signed to a one-year contract prior to the season.

He has a club option for 2027, and St. Louis would be wise to pick it up.

Why Cardinals should keep Ryne Stanek

The Cardinals' biggest weakness in 2026 was their bullpen. The team had a 4.41 bullpen ERA this year, the fifth-worst in the National League. Stanek himself didn't set the world on fire, posting a 4.02 ERA in 70 appearances. However, his numbers were soured by a slow start to the season, and he got better as the year went on.

To fix the bullpen, the Cardinals need to add some veterans to the mix that are reliable, and even potentially an arm or two with closing experience to take the pressure off of Riley O'Brien.

Keeping Stanek would be an easy solution to start the work on fixing the bullpen. His option won't cost the Cardinals much, and they would be keeping a reliable veteran for next season. That also makes their offseason work a little bit lighter, as they would already have an arm in the bullpen that is ready to go for 2027, and then they could add a few more pieces in free agency or via trade.

The Cardinals have a lot of starting pitching depth, so they should be covered there for next season. The bullpen though, needs work, and keeping Stanek would be a good first step to fixing it before they go out looking for other arms.

The Cardinals may choose to let Stanek walk, but it would be wise to keep him around just so the bullpen has enough veteran arms and is covered for next season. It should be interesting to see how Chaim Bloom attacks the offseason, but it's clear that the bullpen is their biggest weakness.

Having Stanek back helps ensure that the Cardinals have enough higher-leverage arms for the 2027 season.

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