There appeared to be no fairy tale ending in store for the St. Louis Cardinals' feel-good story of 2025 when the team declined to tender a contract to backup catcher Yohel Pozo. A fan favorite in St. Louis given his background and his enthusiasm on the diamond, Pozo was also popular with media, as he received the Darryl Kile Good Guy Award from the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Pozo excelled as a pinch-hitter for much of the season and performed decently as a backstop, especially with his framing, which landed in the 73rd percentile according to Baseball Savant.