Cardinals Sign Bligh Madris To Minor League Contract

The Cardinals have signed first baseman/outfielder Bligh Madris to a minor league deal earlier this week, according to reporter Chase Ford.  The deal apparently doesn’t include an invitation to the Cards’ big league Spring Training camp.

Madris (who turns 30 later this month) is a veteran of three MLB seasons, appearing in 72 games with the Pirates, Astros, and Tigers over the 2022-24 campaigns and hitting .204/.273/.286 in 228 career plate appearances in the Show.  He has spent his last two seasons in Detroit’s organization on minors contracts, and after getting into 21 big league games in 2024, Madris spent the 2025 season entirely in the Tigers’ farm system.

Injury problems limited Madris to just 60 games last season, with the final 10 of those contests coming on a rehab assignment with A-level Lakeland.  The Tigers released Madris in August, and he didn’t resurface until he started posting big winter-ball numbers in Mexico.  This recent production and perhaps Madris’ solid career Triple-A production (.252/.343/.440 with 59 home runs in 1803 PA) seems to have caught the Cardinals’ eye as the team builds out its minor league depth.

St. Louis is known to be looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder, but Madris swings from the left side.  He has primarily played right field during his pro career with a good dose of work as a first baseman and left fielder.  Madris played mostly first base in 2025, though that could’ve been a nod to his health situation rather than necessarily a sign of a bigger-picture position change.

Being limited to first base wouldn’t be great for Madris’ chances of returning to the majors, and it also doesn’t help his case that the Cardinals have left-handed hitting starters at first base (Alec Burleson) and in left field (Lars Nootbaar).  Madris does have a minor league option remaining, since the Tigers never called him up to the bigs in 2025.