Happy New Year! BPIB's preview of 2026 Cardinals comes out of left field

<p>What do the roster decisions made by the Cardinals ahead of opening day tell fans about their timetable to contend?</p> <p>Probably more than their letting on.</p> <p>The Best Podcast in Baseball returns from spring training and to its weekly format with a preview of the 2026 Cardinals season told through one position and how so many revealing aspects of the team radiate from it. Editor Nathan Mills joins baseball writer and BPIB host Derrick Goold on the even of opening day to discuss the many tendrils that extend from left field -- from the Cardinals' roster choices to the Cadinals' style of offense, from the Cardinals' need for power and plans for Lars Nootbaar to their debut of JJ Wetherholt and what that says about their next window to contend.&nbsp; It all extends from left field.</p> <p>Just in time for the civic holiday known as opening day it's a brand new BPIB.</p> <p>Happy New Year, as we say in the press box.</p> <p><a href="https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More Post-Dispatch podcasts</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Please consider subscribing</a>.</p> <p><em>In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.</em>&nbsp;</p>