Cardinals Double-A Affiliate Rebrands to the Ozarks Springbirds for 2027

The Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, announced an official franchise rebrand on Tuesday that will begin a new chapter as the Ozarks Springbirds.

The rebrand of the Springbirds comes with on-field jerseys and caps as well as new team logos and different colorways. The franchise, which won the Texas League title in 2025 and came within a win of repeating as champions last month, will continue to be the Double-A affiliate of the Cardinals.

“We are extremely excited to launch our new identity today,” Springbirds general manager Dan Reiter said in a release. “Our new name and logos were created with three things in mind: our city, our region and our birds to create something we can all be proud to call our own. We can’t wait to see the Springbirds take the field in 2027.”

Springbirds was a nickname popularized decades ago by Missouri Sports Hall of Fame broadcaster Ned Reynolds. Reynolds was the TV play-by-play voice of the franchise from 2005-26. The Springbirds nickname was often used int her region to differentiate the franchise from the parent club, the St. Louis Cardinals.   

Springfield went 47-22 over the second half of the 2026 season and swept Tulsa (Dodgers) to reach a second straight Texas League title game. Springfield was home to the Cardinals’ top two prospects, catcher/first baseman Rainiel Rodriguez and left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle in 2026 and the No. 3 prospect, Joshua Baez, and No. 4 prospect, Leo Bernal in 2025. Hard-throwing pitchers Tanner Franklin (No. 6) and Brandon Clarke (No. 9) also pitched for Springfield this past season, while Josiah Ragsdale (No. 11), Jurrangelo Cinjntje (No. 12), Yhoiker Fajardo (No. 13), Jesus Baez (No. 15) and Tai Peete (No. 17) starred for the Double-A squad for various stretches throughout the 2026 season.

In the team’s logo, Ozarks’ Cardinals-inspired bird logo is newly designed, and it sits beneath the club’s new nickname. The log also features components of the Springfield city flag: the top of the compass crown, three stars and a light blue background. The crown is a reference to Springfield’s long-held nickname of it being “the queen city of the Ozarks.” The light blue color that will be featured in all logs, jerseys and caps represent the Ozarks many waterways.

The franchise chose Ozarks as its geographical identifier to try and connect itself to the entire region in Southwest Missouri.

The secondary logos include a S shaped with feathers and two bird logos that will be known as the “O-Bird” and “Batbird.” The team will also feature three new jerseys for the 2027 season: Red, light blue and navy blue. Also, the Springbirds will feature a batting practice hat featuring the “O-Bird.”

“St. Louis has their Cardinals, Memphis has their Redbirds and now the Ozarks have their Springbirds,” Reiter said. “WE love where we landed with our entire brand kit and uniform combinations. We wanted to start this new chapter with an identity that was uniquely ours while knowing how important it was to our fanbase to keep the connection to with Cardinals Nation.”

As of Tuesday, the club will change its name on all its social platforms to @ozkspringbirds. In November, the team’s website will change to springbirds.com. The team is set to begin playing under the Ozarks Springbirds name on Friday, April 2, 2027 at Route 66 Stadium.