StonesJournal

The St. Louis Cardinals complete another move in their sell-off trilogy by moving on from aging star first baseman Willson Contreras before his dinner date with Father Time.

Written By: AJ Stone (12/22/25)

The Cardinals continue their Chaim Bloom collusion with the Boston Red Sox in yet another move that sends a productive player to Beantown. Following the Cardinals’ decision to send Sonny Gray to Boston, which netted them some nice pieces in the return, St. Louis decided to reconvene with the redder of the two Sox and get another deal done. This time, sending over veteran first-baseman Willson Contreras and cash considerations for young starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins and two minor-league pitching prospects.

Contreras has remained a very productive player, specifically offensively speaking, throughout his Cardinal tenure. His 2025 campaign saw him produce an OPS near the .800 mark, and he remained well above league average in most offensive categories on his Baseball Savant page. Contreras never had an OPS+ below 123 as a Cardinal, and after moving to first base, his defense improved to being, dare I say, elite. Contreras slots in well in a Red Sox lineup that looked destined to add Pete Alonso, and this pivot not only immediately improves their lineup but also allows Boston to not stop here, as they still have plenty of money in the bank.

The first of three pitchers coming to The Lou in return for the fiery first baseman is Hunter Dobbins. The young pitcher possesses a six-pitch mix that amounted to a 4.13 ERA in his 2025 season. Dobbins excels at limiting walks, remaining off the barrel, and owns a fastball velocity above the major-league average. The young righty will likely need to add some strikeouts to his repertoire for him to maintain consistent success at the big league level. Although he doesn’t currently jump off the page at you, he has plenty of team control and a good foundation to build on for a Cardinal team looking to the future.

Of the two minor-league pitchers to come back to St. Louis in this deal, right-hander Yhoiker Fajardo is the more intriguing. A young, fire-balling right-hander, Fajardo was once the highest-paid player in his recruiting class from his homeland of Venezuela. He currently has a fastball that touches 97mph and a tight slider that ranges from the low to the mid 80s. Before being shipped away from Boston, Fajardo was working on adding a sweeper to his pitch-mix, along with a kick-change that he picked up rather efficiently. Having an effective changeup offering and two different sliders could give Fajardo true starter upside and make him a matchup nightmare for hitters of both handedness. Walks have been a slight problem as they usually persist with any young pitcher. Despite this, Fajardo still tossed 51.1 innings to the tune of a 2.98 ERA in 2025. His raw potential is through the roof, and he’s likely to slot right into the Cardinals’ top 30 prospects ahead of the 2026 season.

The final piece in this deal was minor-league pitching prospect Blake Aita. The 6’4, 215-pound right-hander is an imposing presence on any mound he dwells on. Aita put together a really solid 2025 campaign for the Red Sox’s high-A affiliate, throwing 64.1 innings with a 3.78 ERA. He has shown prominent spin rates on his fastball, sweeper, and cutter, and has lots of promise to miss bats, although his current K/9’s aren’t very intriguing. Aita is outlined as a player who screams reliever, and he’s actively good in the sense of having organizational depth in the pitching department.

New Cardinal’s general manager Chaim Bloom has picked an obvious direction with a flurry of sell-off moves. St. Louis has chosen the route of rebuilding, and although the road to success might not be a near-sighted one, the Redbirds should thrive again if they go about their business in a coherent manner.