Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals players: who played for both

Who played for both the Royals and Cardinals?

111 players played for both the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals between 1969 and 2025, including Darrell Porter, Carlos Beltran, Vince Coleman and Terry Pendleton. 47 of them played for the Royals first and 62 for the Cardinals first; 2 played for both in the same season.

Did you know?

  • Cookie Rojas is the earliest on this list to complete the pair: Royals first, then the Cardinals from 1970.
  • Randal Grichuk is the most recent: Cardinals first, then the Royals from 2025.
  • Darrell Porter played the most games across the two: 555 for the Royals and 537 for the Cardinals.
  • 13 of them had two or more separate spells with one of the teams, such as Luis Alicea.
  • Most common positions on this list: P (57), OF (21), C (15), 3B (5).

How many can you name?

Name players who played for both the Royals and the Cardinals. The surname is enough. 0 / 111

All 111 players, most games for the two first

Seasons and regular-season games with each franchise (1876–2025). A gap of a season or more starts a new spell.
PlayerPosRoyalsCardinals
Darrell PorterC1977–1980 (555 g)1981–1985 (537 g)
Carlos BeltranOF1998–2004 (795 g)2012–2013 (296 g)
Vince ColemanOF1994–1995 (179 g)1985–1990 (878 g)
Terry Pendleton3B1998 (79 g)1984–1990 (927 g)
Cookie Rojas2B1970–1977 (880 g)1970 (23 g)
Jon JayOF2018 (59 g)2010–2015 (757 g)
Luis Alicea2B2001–2002 (207 g)1988, 1991–1994, 1996 (566 g)
Lonnie SmithOF1985–1987 (302 g)1982–1985 (459 g)
Paul DeJongSS2024 (37 g)2017–2023 (698 g)
Gary Gaetti3B1993–1995 (309 g)1996–1998 (380 g)
Dan QuisenberryP1979–1988 (573 g)1988–1989 (96 g)
David HowardSS1991–1997 (547 g)1998–1999 (98 g)
Dane IorgOF1984–1985 (142 g)1977–1984 (499 g)
Jamie QuirkC1975–1976, 1978–1982, 1985–1988 (582 g)1983 (48 g)
Felix JoseOF1993–1995 (257 g)1990–1992 (310 g)
Eli MarreroC2005 (32 g)1997–2003 (525 g)
Gerald Perry1B1990 (133 g)1991–1995 (417 g)
Craig Paquette3B1996–1997 (195 g)1999–2001 (305 g)
Mark Grudzielanek2B2006–2008 (336 g)2005 (137 g)
Steve BraunOF1978–1980 (136 g)1981–1985 (330 g)
Orlando Cepeda1B1974 (33 g)1966–1968 (431 g)
Randal GrichukOF2025 (43 g)2014–2017 (404 g)
Al HraboskyP1978–1979 (116 g)1970–1977 (330 g)
Clint HurdleOF1977–1981 (359 g)1986 (78 g)
Greg HollandP2010–2015, 2020–2021 (394 g)2018 (32 g)
Lindy McDanielP1974–1975 (78 g)1955–1962 (337 g)
Tommy PhamOF2024 (23 g)2014–2018, 2024 (385 g)
Gregg Jefferies1B1992 (152 g)1993–1994 (245 g)
Kerry RobinsonOF2006 (18 g)2001–2003 (354 g)
Rick AnkielOF2010 (27 g)1999–2001, 2004, 2007–2009 (344 g)
Vada PinsonOF1974–1975 (218 g)1969 (132 g)
Trevor RosenthalP2020 (14 g)2012–2017 (328 g)
Reggie SandersOF2006–2007 (112 g)2004–2005 (228 g)
Mark LittellP1973, 1975–1977 (123 g)1978–1982 (193 g)
Brandon MossOF2017 (118 g)2015–2016 (179 g)
Nelson BrilesP1974–1975 (42 g)1965–1970 (234 g)
Brayan PeñaC2009–2012 (264 g)2016 (9 g)
Tony CruzC2016 (4 g)2011–2015 (259 g)
Jose CardenalOF1980 (25 g)1970–1971 (237 g)
Joe HoernerP1973–1974 (52 g)1966–1969 (206 g)
Carl TaylorC1971–1973 (152 g)1970 (104 g)
Seth ManessP2017 (8 g)2013–2016 (245 g)
Jeff SuppanP1998–2002 (138 g)2004–2006, 2010 (110 g)
Joe McEwingOF2005 (83 g)1998–1999 (162 g)
Larry SuttonOF1997–1999 (181 g)2000–2001 (56 g)
Mike DifeliceC2003 (62 g)1996–1997, 2002 (167 g)
Michael WachaP2024–2025 (60 g)2013–2019 (165 g)
Ray SadeckiP1975–1976 (8 g)1960–1966, 1975 (217 g)
Mike PerezP1997 (16 g)1990–1994 (205 g)
Jason LaRueC2007 (66 g)2008–2010 (141 g)
Luis OrdazSS2000–2002 (126 g)1997–1999 (79 g)
Brad ThompsonP2010 (16 g)2005–2009 (187 g)
Craig Wilson3B1993 (21 g)1989–1992 (182 g)
Scott Cooper3B1997 (75 g)1995 (118 g)
Mike MacDougalP2001–2006 (162 g)2010 (17 g)
Richie ScheinblumOF1972, 1974 (170 g)1974 (6 g)
Dennys ReyesP2004 (40 g)2009–2010 (134 g)
Bob StinsonC1975–1976 (142 g)1971 (17 g)
Moe DrabowskyP1969–1970 (76 g)1971–1972 (81 g)
Alberto CastilloC2004–2005 (63 g)1999 (93 g)
Danny JacksonP1983–1987 (119 g)1995–1997 (36 g)
Ted AbernathyP1970–1972 (144 g)1970 (11 g)
Frank DiPinoP1993 (11 g)1989–1990, 1992 (138 g)
Mike Fiore1B1969–1970 (132 g)1972 (17 g)
Garrett HampsonOF2024 (113 g)2025 (35 g)
Jonathan BroxtonP2012 (35 g)2015–2017 (112 g)
Cory BaileyP2001–2002 (90 g)1995–1996 (54 g)
Chris StrattonP2024–2025 (69 g)2022–2023 (62 g)
Ricky BottalicoP2000 (62 g)1999 (68 g)
Eric RasmussenP1983 (11 g)1975–1978, 1982–1983 (115 g)
Bob McClureP1975–1976 (21 g)1991–1992 (103 g)
Todd WellemeyerP2006–2007 (40 g)2007–2009 (83 g)
Wilson DelgadoSS2000–2001 (47 g)2002–2003 (55 g)
John HabyanP1993 (12 g)1994–1995 (83 g)
Don HoodP1982–1983 (57 g)1980 (35 g)
Victor MarteP2009–2010 (30 g)2012–2013 (52 g)
Mike MayersP2023 (6 g)2016–2019 (73 g)
Pat BordersC1995 (52 g)1996 (26 g)
Ted SavageOF1971 (19 g)1965–1967 (55 g)
Andy HasslerP1976–1978 (60 g)1984–1985 (13 g)
Jamey WrightP2003, 2009 (69 g)2002 (4 g)
Luke WeaverP2022 (14 g)2016–2018 (58 g)
Orlando SanchezC1984 (10 g)1981–1983 (59 g)
Francisco PeñaC2014–2015 (9 g)2018 (58 g)
Larry McWilliamsP1989–1990 (21 g)1988 (45 g)
Bob HeiseSS1977 (54 g)1974 (3 g)
Tom BrunoP1976 (12 g)1978–1979 (45 g)
Nick WittgrenP2023 (27 g)2022 (29 g)
Rawly EastwickP1980 (14 g)1977 (41 g)
Octavio DotelP2007 (24 g)2011 (29 g)
Brett TomkoP2008 (16 g)2003 (35 g)
Steve Scarsone2B1999 (46 g)1997 (5 g)
George KottarasC2013 (46 g)2014 (4 g)
Kelly StinnettC2004 (20 g)2007 (26 g)
Kip WellsP2008 (10 g)2007 (35 g)
Ted PowerP1988 (22 g)1989 (23 g)
Miguel BatistaP2000 (14 g)2011 (26 g)
Tom MurphyP1972 (21 g)1973 (19 g)
Sean LoweP2003 (28 g)1997–1998 (10 g)
Blaine BoyerP2018 (21 g)2009 (15 g)
Aurelio LopezP1974 (8 g)1978 (25 g)
Chris ZacharyP1969 (8 g)1971 (24 g)
Bob ShirleyP1987 (3 g)1981 (28 g)
Jacob BarnesP2019 (15 g)2023 (13 g)
Sidney PonsonP2009 (14 g)2006 (14 g)
Brian BarberP1998–1999 (16 g)1995–1996 (10 g)
Mike JacksonP1972–1973 (16 g)1971 (1 g)
Lance ClemonsP1971 (10 g)1972 (3 g)
Aaron BrooksP2014–2015 (4 g)2022 (5 g)
Anthony VenezianoP2023–2024 (4 g)2025 (2 g)
Stan ClarkeP1989 (2 g)1990 (2 g)

From the SABR Lahman Baseball Database (CC BY-SA 3.0), 1876–2025. A season counts when the player played at least one regular-season game for the franchise.Cardinals seasons include the St. Louis Brown Stockings (1882), St. Louis Browns (1883–1898) and St. Louis Perfectos (1899).

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Questions

How many players have played for both the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals?

111 in the Lahman Baseball Database from 1969 to 2025, including Darrell Porter, Carlos Beltran, Vince Coleman and Terry Pendleton. A player counts when he played at least one regular-season game for each franchise.

Who was the first player on this list to play for both?

Cookie Rojas: Kansas City Royals first, then the St. Louis Cardinals from 1970.

Who has played for both recently?

Paul DeJong, Randal Grichuk, Tommy Pham, Michael Wacha, Garrett Hampson and Chris Stratton and 1 more, with a season for one of the two in 2024 or 2025.

Does a player count if the team has moved or changed its name?

Yes. Seasons count for today's franchise, the way the Lahman database links every team-season to a franchise. Cardinals seasons include the St. Louis Brown Stockings (1882), St. Louis Browns (1883–1898) and St. Louis Perfectos (1899).

Careers from the SABR Lahman Baseball Database (CC BY-SA 3.0). Team logos are trademarks of their respective teams (logos via TheSportsDB). Independent and not affiliated with MLB or any team. Credits