The St. Louis Cardinals appear to be entering a rebuilding phase this offseason. After spending several years stuck in the middle of the standings without truly competing for a World Series, the team’s aging roster and inflated payroll have caught up with them.
This shift has been brewing for some time — the Cardinals passed on signing major free agents last winter, hinting at the start of a rebuild. Following a few deadline trades that sent away players on expiring contracts, the team now seems prepared to continue that process by exploring trades involving some of their veteran players.
Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray could be moved in the offseason. Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, and multiple other Cardinals players could end up traded, too. But before the Cardinals could make any offseason moves, they lost a pitcher.
As MLB free agency began, the Cardinals saw pitcher Anthony Veneziano depart after choosing to test the open market. His time in St. Louis was brief, appearing in only a handful of games for the club.
Veneziano first reached the majors in 2023 with the Kansas City Royals and later split time between the Royals and the Miami Marlins in 2024. After pitching in 24 games for Miami, he joined the Cardinals in 2025 for a short stint before hitting free agency once again.
There are a lot of players electing free agency at this point in time. Not a lot of those players are very impactful because if they were, they wouldn’t be able to make a decision like this. The team would keep them on the roster.
But Veneziano is an exception. He’s quite talented and has produced some solid results at the big league level. The Cardinals could regret losing him in free agency, especially if he signs with another National League club and has some success.
Veneziano shouldn’t have any trouble finding a new team.
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