A Former Blue Jays All-Star Might Be the Perfect Answer to the Cardinals’ Rotation Problem .MH
The St. Louis Cardinals should sign the former Toronto Blue Jays ace…
There have been two things abundantly clear about the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason: the organization is active in the trade market and is also looking to add pitching.
St. Louis president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has discussed both of these points publicly already this offseason. The trade rumors have gotten most of the headlines this offseason and that will continue to be the case. There are a handful of players on the roster right now generating trade interest, led by Brendan Donovan.
The Cardinals should sign Alek Manoah
On the pitching side, one player the Cardinals should arguably consider in the open market is former Toronto Blue Jays All-Star Alek Manoah. This is a guy who is just 27 years old and has a season under his belt in which he logged a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts (2022). But, each season since has been somewhat of a mess.
In 2023, he made just 19 starts and pitched to a 5.87 ERA. In 2024, he logged a 3.70 ERA in five starts for 2025. Manoah made 10 starts down in the minors in 2025 in the Blue Jays’ organization and had a 3.96 ERA. Seven of those 10 appearances were in Triple-A, and he had a 2.97 ERA over that stretch.
While this is the case, he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays in September and quickly landed with the Atlanta Braves as the regular season was winding down. He became a free agent last week, though, as Atlanta non-tendered him ahead of the Nov. 21 non-tender deadline.
Now, Manoah is a free agent and should be the exact type of player Bloom and the Cardinals target. He has serious upside. As a rookie in 2021, he had a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts for Toronto. Then, he looked like one of the best overall pitchers in baseball at 24 years old in his second season.
He would be a perfect lottery ticket for the Cardinals because he’s young, has upside, and shouldn’t be expensive after a roller coaster of a few years.
