Cardinals' Reliever Acquired in Nootbaar Trade Could Reach MLB by '27

A student of the game, president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom will regale anyone who will listen about how it was the St. Louis Cardinals and then-team president/GM/field manager Branch Rickey that invented the Minor League system in 1919.

Frustrated with his inability to nab young talent through open bidding – sound familiar, Cardinals fans? – Rickey convinced owner Sam Breadon to purchase controlling interests in Minor League franchises in Houston and Fort Smith, Ark., that would develop and produce young talent for the big-league club.

Bloom, who just completed his first season while running the Cardinals’ front office, has done extensive studies on Rickey’s work more than a century ago and how many of the franchise’s 11 World Series titles were fueled by a Minor League system that was far more developed than any other in baseball for decades.

When that system fell into disrepair, it was Bloom’s job to fortify a player development process that the Cardinals know must be their lifeblood in a free-agency world. Rightly so, Bloom made re-tooling the franchise’s Minor League system his top priority – in terms of adding coaches, evaluators, analytics staff and top-tier players.

While trading veterans Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan and later Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Lars Nootbaar, Bloom’s return was more than a dozen prospects and draft picks. All his work, while adding prospects such as Alexander Frias, Josiah Ragsdale, Tai Peete, Trevor Condon, Tegan Kuhns, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Yhoiker Fajardo, Sandro Santana and Daniel Eagen, allowed the Cardinals’ Minor League system to zip to No. 2 in the MiLB rankings, per Baseball America and No. 4, per MLB Pipeline.

Add those newcomers to a group of top prospects that includes Rainiel Rodriguez, Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin, Tekoah Roby, Jesus Baez and Mason Molina and it's easy to see why Cardinals' fans are confident that brighter days are ahead for the organization. 

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be breaking down the top 30 prospects in the Cardinals’ Minor League system. Today’s prospect capsule is on left-handed starting pitcher Mason Molina, wo earned a promotion from Double-A to Triple-A last June 30 and he was one of Memphis’ best pitchers over the final month of the season.

Player name: Sandro Santana

Age: 21

How acquired: The Cardinals acquired right-handed pitcher Daniel Eagen, right-handed pitcher Brian Curley and Santana from the Dbacks in exchange for left fielder Lars Nootbaar on Aug. 3, 2026

2026 statistics at High-A Hilsboro (Dbacks), Double-A Amarillo (Dbacks), Double-A Springfield (Cardinals) and Triple-A Memphis (Cardinals): 46 games, 5-2, 1.97 ERA, 64 IP, nine holds, six of nine in save opportunities, 34 hits, 14 earned runs, three homers allowed, 101 strikeouts, 31 walks, .155 batting average against.

MLB Pipeline rankings: NR MiLB/No. 24 with Cards 

Key numbers: Following the trade that brought him to the Cardinals, the 21-year-old Santana proved to be a nightmare for opposing hitters. He pitched in eight games with Springfield and foes hit just .074. Then, after a promotion to Triple-A Memphis, foes hit just .036 against his 95-97 mph fastball and his frisbee-like slider.

Looking back at 2026: Santana, a native of the Dominican Republic, signed with the Diamondbacks for $15,000 in January of 2023 – just two months before his 18th birthday. Now, three years later, he seems to be blossoming into a promising reliever who might reach the big leagues in 2027. Several draft experts were shocked that Arizona was willing to include the lefty in the deal to acquire Lars Nootbaar, but the Cardinals were able to talk the Dbacks into the deal. At 5-10 and 150 pounds, Santana doesn’t look especially impressive on the mound. However, he is able to generate incredible torque on his arm from a three-quarters arm slot. His fastball is lively and his hard-biting slider runs away from lefties and in on righties.     

Looking forward to 2027: Just 21 years old, Santana could potentially get to the big leagues in 2027 if he continues to shut down hitters as he did throughout 2026. Lefties hit just .106 against him with 47 strikeouts and 11 walks. Meanwhile, righties weren’t much luckier as they hit just .190 with 54 strikeouts and 20 walks. When he got into situations with runners in scoring position, Santana limited the opposition to .137 hitting with 26 strikeouts and just five walks. With the Cardinals in desperate need of relievers who can retire left-handers and create more swing-and-miss, the 21-year-old Santana could find himself pitching at Busch Stadium in 2027.