The St. Louis Cardinals don't have as clear-cut of an offseason this year ahead as they did in 2025.

Last year, it was pretty obvious what the strategy was going to be. Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom was transparent and made it known that he would be shopping veterans. He did just that and the Cardinals traded Brendan Donovan, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado away. This offseason, the Cardinals don't have the clear-cut, obvious trade candidates that they did last year. Nolan Gorman is someone who would make a lot of sense to move on from.

But who else? Well, someone who would be an intriguing trade chip is righty Andre Pallante. Stick with us here. It would surely be surprising to see Pallante get moved this winter, but if the Cardinals want a big return, he's someone whose trade value is at a peak right now.

Should St. Louis Trade Andre Pallante?

Pallante had a 5.31 ERA in 2025 in 31 starts. He turned it around in 2026 and had a 3.83 ERA in 29 starts. He looked much more like the guy who broke out in 2024 with a 3.78 ERA in 29 outings. But what version would the Cardinals get in 2027? On the bright side, you'd hope that he could be the guy who was very good in 2026. There is a chance he could look more like the 2025 version, though.

That's why you don't shut down the idea of a move. Pallante has two seasons of team control left and is coming off a very good season. With the free agent market weak this offseason, this would be a good year to try to capitalize in the trade market. Pallante would bring a solid return.

If the Cardinals were to move on, they would still have a lot of 2027 rotation options. Michael McGreevy and Kyle Leahy would be locks in that scenario. Quinn Mathews would be up there as well. The Cardinals still have Matthew Liberatore and a handful of top pitching prospects, including Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin, Tekoah Roby, Jurrangelo Cijntje and Brandon Clarke. Arguably, the Cardinals should be in the market for a veteran hurler as well, like Shane Bieber or Dustin May.

If you rolled into the 2027 season with McGreevy, Leahy, Mathews, either Roby or Cijntje and either Bieber or May, they would be in great shape, plus have whatever they would get back in a deal for Pallante.

Pallante was great in 2026, but that doesn't mean that the Cardinals shouldn't consider a deal.