ST. LOUIS -- A second significant offseason trade between the Cardinals and Red Sox -- one that sends veteran first baseman Willson Contreras to Boston for MLB right-hander Hunter Dobbins and pitching prospects Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita -- was approved by MLB and became official on Monday afternoon.
The Cardinals, who are in the beginning stages of the kind of full-on rebuild not seen in St. Louis in more than three decades, agreed to throw in $8 million to offset some of the $36.5 million -- $18 million for 2026 and $18.5 million for '27 -- owed to Contreras. There is a club option for 2028 that has since been renegotiated to $20 million with a $7.5 million buyout, per a source familiar with the negotiations. Also, Contreras received a $1 million bonus from the Red Sox for waiving the no-trade clause in his contract to make the deal possible.
TRADE DETAILS
Cardinals get: RHPs Hunter Dobbins, RHP Yhoiker Fajardo (was Boston’s No. 23 prospect in the MLB Pipeline rankings) and Blake Aita
Red Sox get: 1B Willson Contreras, cash
Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, the chief baseball officer in Boston from 2020-24, lauded Contreras’ willingness to work out a trade, and he thinks the ultra-competitive 33-year-old will thrive in Boston.
“This wasn't something where he was looking to leave, and I think he felt that way up until the deal. This wasn't something that he sought,” Bloom said of the catcher-turned-first baseman. “In that [season-ending] conversation he did say if, in the course of me doing my job, something comes to us that we thought was in the best interest of the Cardinals, to take it to him and he'd make a decision.
“At the end of the day, he chose to do it, and he was a total pro.”
Bloom dealt Contreras to his former team -- just as he did with veteran right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray for two pitchers in late November. The Cardinals also traded left-handed pitcher Steven Matz to the Red Sox in late July and signed free-agent pitcher Dustin May away from Boston last week.
“We knew, even as we were discussing Sonny with them, that they had interest in Willson, but it wasn’t something front-burner with them at that time,” Bloom said. “[The Red Sox] flagged a real interest in Willson, and we were able to have a lot of back-and-forth with them as this heated up. We did have a head start on who they had, but it was just about finding the best match.”
The Cardinals, who have missed the playoffs each of the past three seasons, continue to hold trade talks surrounding All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan, lefty relief specialist JoJo Romero, 10-time Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado and veteran outfielder Lars Nootbaar. A double-digit number of teams have inquired about Donovan and Romero, per a source, and those potential trades could net St. Louis a higher grade of prospects in return to fuel its rebuilding process.
While the Cardinals have added six pitchers via two trades and a free-agency signing, Bloom said the club is on the hunt for position-player depth, especially those who hit right-handed. With the lefty-hitting Alec Burleson expected to garner most of the work at first base, Bloom said he hopes that the Cardinals can add an outfielder with pop from the right side of the plate.
Among the players expected back in 2026, Burleson, 27, could be the most experienced position player. He has played 88 games and 606 1/3 innings at first base in his four MLB seasons and is expected to evolve into the everyday starter at first.
Meanwhile, a projected pitching staff of Kyle Leahy (28 years old), May (28), Andre Pallante (27), Matthew Liberatore (26), Richard Fitts (26), Dobbins (26) and Michael McGreevy (25) is heavy on youth and light on MLB experience.
Like May and Fitts, Dobbins pitched for the Red Sox in 2025 and had his season marred by a major injury. Dobbins, an eighth-round pick by the Red Sox in 2021, won his MLB debut against the Cardinals on April 6 and he beat the Yankees twice over a seven-day period in June. However, he tore the ACL in his right knee while covering first base July 11 and will be limited physically in Spring Training with the Cardinals.
“He’s coming along nicely, he has a checkup in a couple of weeks and we’re hopeful he’ll get clearance to return to the mound,” Bloom said.
The headliner of the trade for the Cardinals could prove to be the 19-year-old Fajardo, a native of Venezuela who landed a $400,000 signing bonus from the White Sox in 2024. The 6-foot-3 right-hander, who has a fastball that has touched 97 mph, has already been traded twice despite striking out 83 batters in 72 innings in 2025 while playing at the Rookie and Single-A levels.
Said Bloom: “There’s some physicality there and he throws hard. … It’s really impressive for someone to have just two pro seasons and be where he is.”
In the months after the retirement of legendary catcher Yadier Molina in 2022, Contreras was lured away from the rival Cubs and to St. Louis with an $87.5 million free-agent contract. Similarly, Gray was brought to St. Louis on a $75 million free-agent deal following the 2023 retirement of former staff ace Adam Wainwright. Now, both are gone to the Red Sox, who play in St. Louis April 10-12 in the season ahead.