As the 2026 MLB season approaches, Dani Wexelman is heading home.
On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals announced that Wexelman will join its broadcast team as a host and reporter for the upcoming campaign. The St. Louis native previously served as a studio analyst on SNY’s Baseball Night in New York and SportsNite, and had performed various baseball-related broadcasting duties for ESPN.
“Pinch me. Hi @Cardinals, I’m coming home,” the Missouri alum posted to X, along with a heart emoji, along with a screenshot of the announcement.
According to a release, Wexelman will make her debut on the Cardinals’ broadcast team in a pair of Spring Training matchups. During the regular season, she’ll share reporter duties with Jim Hayes, who is entering his 25th season covering St. Louis baseball and will make his own season debut on Opening Day.
As for the rest of the Cardinals’ TV broadcast team, Chip Caray returns as the team’s play-by-play man, with Brad Thomson and Stefan Caray serving as analysts. St. Louis is one of the franchises that recently terminated its contract with the struggling Main Street Sports Group, with the team taking its media rights under MLB’s umbrella.
Earlier this week, the Cardinals announced that all of their games will be available to fans on Cardinal.TV for a season-long price of $99.99. According to a recent report by Cardinals beat reporter Josh Jacobs, the team projects that its revenue from local media rights will take a significant hit, dropping from $60 million in 2025 to an estimated $20 million in the upcoming campaign.
Suffice it to say, there will be no shortage of changes when it comes to the Cardinals’ local broadcasts in 2026. At least one of them will be viewed as a positive in the form of Wexelman’s St. Louis homecoming.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.
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