
Cardinals counterintuitive holiday shopping list could leave a hole in tradition
From Best Podcast in Baseball by St. Louis Post-Dispatch
December 24, 2025 · 48 min · Season 13 · Episode 39
About this episode
The episode discusses the Cardinals' unconventional holiday shopping list and the implications of recent player trades.
There should be ballads written about Willson Contreras' brief time with the Cardinals. From his arrival as the All-Star eager for the challenge of following Yadier Molina, to that weird week when he took fly balls in left field and stopped catching, to the injuries and fractures and ultimately his move to first base, out from behind home plate without skipping a beat at the plate. Contreras brought both joy and fury to the Cardinals' lineup and clubhouse, and at some point his absence will be felt by the teammates who remain. But he won't be a alone. In a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball, recorded on Christmas Eve, Post-Dispatch editor Nathan Mills and baseball writer Derrick Goold discuss the Cardinals' counterintuitive shopping list for the holidays and what is missing from it and possibly from the clubhouse during his reboot of an organization. The Cardinals traded a starter (Sonny Gray) only to sign a starter (Dustin May) a few weeks later; they traded a right-handed bat from the middle of the order (Contreras) only to suggest a few hours later that they would now look for a right-handed bat to add to the roster. The Cardinals are swapping All-Stars for pitching depth and…
People in this episode
Host: Nathan Mills
Guest: Derrick Goold
Topics covered
- Cardinals
- holiday shopping
- baseball trades
- team dynamics
- leadership
- player transitions
Keywords
- Willson Contreras
- Sonny Gray
- Dustin May
- Cardinals
- baseball trades
- leadership
- holiday shopping
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Cardinals, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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