Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado is becoming more open to the possibility of waiving his no-trade clause. “I think I have to be,” Arenado said to Katie Woo of The Athletic. “That’s something I’ll discuss with my agent and my family.” Right-hander Sonny Gray made similar comments to the media this week.
The signs coming out of St. Louis indicate that major changes are on the horizon. Woo reported last week that many within the organization have been told to expect the club to embark on a multi-year rebuild with significant roster turnover.
It was around this time a year ago that the first signs of a major shift came to light. In late September of last year, the Cards announced that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak would be stepping down after the 2025 season. He would be replaced by Chaim Bloom, though Bloom would spend the 2025 season overhauling the club’s player development systems.
The Cards planned to cut payroll coming into this season but found that hard to do. Players like Gray and Willson Contreras were unwilling to waive their no-trade clauses and be sent out of St. Louis. Arenado was a bit more open to the possibility but gave the Cards a list of five clubs he would approve a trade to: the Dodgers, Yankees, Padres, Red Sox and Astros.
The Cards and Astros did line up on a deal at one point but Arenado used his no-trade clause to block it. At the time, the Astros had just traded Kyle Tucker to the Cubs. Arenado said he was open to joining the Astros but wanted more clarity on their post-Tucker plans. No deal eventually came together and he stayed a Cardinal.
The 2025 season opened with the Cards having done very little in the winter. The lack of trades was also accompanied by a lack of free agent activity. Their only big league deal was a $2MM guarantee for reliever Phil Maton.
They used the campaign to evaluate younger players without finding much success. Iván Herrera hit well but some injuries and shaky defense led to him spending most of the year as a designated hitter. Jordan Walker got almost everyday playing time but struck out in 31.9% of his plate appearances and slashed .215/.275/.299 for a 63 wRC+. Nolan Gorman also got lots of playing time but found similar results, with a 33.1% strikeout rate, .204/.297/.372 line and 88 wRC+. Victor Scott II can run and play the field but provided subpar offense. Masyn Winn’s offense declined, though that may have been related to his knee injury.
There were disappointments on the pitching side as well. Matthew Liberatore got 29 starts with pedestrian results, including a 4.21 earned run average and 18.8% strikeout rate. Andre Pallante had a passable first half with a 4.49 ERA but has a 6.64 ERA in the second half. Michael McGreevy’s 91 innings resulted in a 4.35 ERA. With those underwhelming performances and others, the club has produced a middling 78-81 record thus far.
While the Cards ended up largely standing pat last winter, it now appears they are firmly picking the rebuild lane. Woo says many in the organization expect the rebuild to take at least two to three years. As such, it’s understandable that players like Gray and Arenado would be more open to getting out of the way. Gray is about to turn 36 years old and has just one guaranteed year left on his deal. Though he may not want to uproot his family, from an on-field perspective, it would surely be preferable to go to a club planning to win.
Along similar lines, Arenado will be turning 35 in April and is only signed through 2027. “I think the discussion I’ll have with my agent for sure is that the list will be different,” Arenado said this week, referring back to last year’s five-team list. “I would really like this not to go the way it did last year,” Arenado said. “At some point, I’ll talk to Chaim, and then we’ll hopefully have a good plan on how we need to approach it. I’ll be very open about it, and I know he will too.”
What’s unclear is how much interest other clubs will actually have in Arenado. His fielding is still graded as solid but he’s coming off his worst full-season offensive performance since he was a 22-year-old rookie. He slashed .236/.289/.371 this year for a wRC+ of 82, indicating he was 18% below average at the plate.
“The way I played this year, it looks old and washed,” Arenado said. “But I don’t feel that way. My defense is still there. I’m seeing the ball fine. There are some things where my body isn’t in the right spot, and I need to get it there because I still feel like I can be a really impactful player.”
That performance doesn’t pair well with his contract. He is going to make $27MM next year. The Rockies are covering $5MM of that and there are deferrals, but it’s still a hefty commitment. He’ll then make $15MM in 2027 as well.
Even putting aside the complication of Arenado’s no-trade, the Cardinals would surely have to eat a decent chunk of that money to facilitate a deal. It’s unclear if they would prefer to simply jettison as much of the commitment as possible or if they would rather eat even more in order to secure a notable prospect return.
There are potential ramifications elsewhere on the roster as well. In Woo’s reporting from last week, she brings up the possibility of players like Lars Nootbaar or Brendan Donovan being available in trades this winter. Both players are can be controlled via arbitration through the 2027 season. If the Cards are indeed embarking on a multi-year rebuild, it makes sense to listen on players who are only controlled for two more seasons.
Nootbaar is wrapping up a down year at the plate. The outfielder came into 2025 with a career .246/.348/.425 batting line and 116 wRC+. This year, he has a .237/.326/.366 line and 97 wRC+. That obviously cuts into his appeal but presumably there are clubs who would bet on a bounceback. He is making $2.95MM this year and will get a bump in the next two years.
Donovan’s production has been more steady. He has a career .282/.361/.411 line and 119 wRC+. This year’s .287/.353/.422 line and 118 wRC+ are right around his normal range. He also provides defensive versatility, with experience at all four infield spots as well as the outfield corners. He is making $2.85MM this year. The affordability and positional flexibility make him a fit on almost any club.
Other trade possibilities could arise this winter as well. As mentioned, Contreras didn’t want to waive his no-trade clause last offseason, but perhaps he will follow the path of Gray and Arenado in becoming more open to it. He’s been moved off the catcher position but can still hit. Alec Burleson is controlled for three more seasons, slightly longer than Donovan and Nootbaar, but is coming off a nice breakout campaign which could allow the Cards to sell high. Herrera is still controlled for four more seasons but the questions about his catching ability perhaps make him a better fit elsewhere. Reliever JoJo Romero is only controlled through 2026.
The details will surely become more clear in the coming weeks and months but it appears the main path has been selected. The rebuilding road will be a new one for the Cards. In the earlier parts of this century, they were on the cutting edge of player development, which allowed them to be consistently competitive. They’ve only had two losing seasons since 1999, though this year may be a third. They believe they have fallen a bit behind in those development areas and need to reset.
Bloom will be in charge of hitting that reset button. His previous tenure with the Red Sox saw the club amass an impressive collection of young talent, including guys like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Wilyer Abreu, Connelly Early and others. Bloom was fired before most of those guys reached the majors but they are now helping the Red Sox re-emerge as a contender. The hope will be for the Cards to follow a similar script, though it’s possible the next few years could be painful for the big league team.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
I really can’t see much of a market for him. Cards would have to eat money and the return will be light.
Nolan probably wishes he was playing for the cheating Astros now. I honestly think Yankees dodged a bullet, not getting him. McMahon is terrible at the plate, but hopefully, next year will be better. If not, Lombard will be ready mid-season.
Probably a good move he didn’t go to Houston because they are also on the verge of a big rebuild
Their last dance was last year
You’re going to be really disappointed next season.
Mlbnyyfan- he would’ve been a disaster in NY, I said it from the time there were talks about it. I just imagined him trying to pull balls into Death Valley out in left center that just die at the warning track. Watching him this year, he looked like he had no pop in his bat and quite frankly, kind of out of shape (backs up his comments a little bit). I don’t think they’ll get much if anything for him at this point but we shall see
I don’t know if it’s so much as out of shape, but just old and breaking down. He’s almost 35 and had a shoulder injury this year. He’s sort of having the career progression you’d see from a player entering their mid-30s.
Get over the Astros. A NYY fan should know the NYY have cheated just like Boston and also the Astros. Arenado would have done better as a NYY or an Astro in 2025.
It is way more fun to call them dirty cheats. They got caught. Although Boston did too and you never hear about it.
Time for fans to get over the Astros. Seriously.
Lombard is 20, hitting under a .700 OPS at AA.I don’t know why anyone thinks he’ll be ready to supplant ANYONE in 2026.
Sure but they still gotta move him. Better to rip the Band-Aid off now than when his value has tanked further. The Yankees love overpaid players past their prime, so that’s one number to call.
The Yankees have no room for him. Where’s he going to play 3b 1b are already penciled in next year.
There’s no shot the Yankees are trading for Arenado. I’m so happy they didn’t over the offseason too. Would’ve loved it when he was with the Rockies, but he’s pretty much a replacement level player now. McMahon plays better defense
Same with Sonny Gray. They can move him without eating money but there’s no excess value on the deal. They should kick in money in that deal to get something good back
The Cardinals Owners were once the “Pride of the National League!”
The DeWitt Ownership of the past was dedicated to not just Winning the NL Central Division, They were determined to “Win Championships!”
Is it the DeWitt Ownership who has actually tanked the Historic St. Louis Cardinals?
Seems so!!!
Mozeliak’s actions or lack thereof —— had to be approved by them or it wouldn’t have ever happened!!!
What does an expensive 2 WAR third baseman even get you to rebuild with considering you’ll also have to cover some of that contract?
A free roster spot to give younger players playing time.
Well considering the Rockies got very little help when Arenado was good, I’d suggest that St. Louis should take any offer that comes their way and move on.
The Rockies traded him coming off a poor year and he was owed a ton of money. This is a much smaller risk.
He is a much worse player now and is still owed a ton of money compared to his production. It is a shorter risk, but not much of a smaller risk.
Its a much smaller risk its only 37 million not 200 million or whatever it was before. Much smaller reward sure but smaller risk.
King: It’s just as big or more so now that he’s old and washed up.
You seem to be a bit delusional about the Cardinals.
Its a smaller risk its just a smaller reward as well. And frankly its highly unlikely hes worth the money at this stage of his career.
You a Mets fan right? They gonna make the playoffs? 400 million dollar payroll good gosh I hope so.
As hard as it may be to believe, we as fans have no control over or involvement in outcomes on the field.
The Rockies traded him prior to his age 30 season and that down year was Covid shortened 2020.
Yes he has a tiny bit of value left. Its not even on a scale worth mentioning as far as when he was traded from Rockies. Going into his age 35 season even with COL paying part of contract it will primarily b a salary dump.
As far as holding him so he can restore value, even if he becomes half of his former self the trading in the next offseason becomes even more of a salary dump move.
FYI, STL was ready to tear it down last season Arenado nixed a trade while Contreas and Gray publicly stated they would not wave NTC’s. That effectively delayed what is coming. Teams rebuild it is often the right thing to do, odd that you have such trouble accepting it. Since you are only a fan of sports news and dont wven watch I ll try and help, these players with the supporting cast at best get them to fringe contending not perennial contenders.
Nope, not a Mets fan. Rockies fan. Pretty sure the playoffs are out of reach this year.
Yeah, only 37M when he’s worth about 7M. What’s 30M bux?
How can u have a 2 was when below league average at the plate (+97) ?
A 97 OPS+ is only about league average production. He’s still a good defender at third base. Slightly below average offense+above-average defense seems like a 2.0 WAR player to me.
Idk. He’d have trade value at 2 war imo. Wonder how that ranks out of all 3rd basemen 🤔 It’s either a salary dump or they pay his salary down for lotto tickets
Stl. had a -0.6 WAA for their third base position last season, which was 23rd in baseball. I would say a 2.0 WAR 3B playing 150 games would put you just below league average. I don’t think Arenado can play that well though. There is no market for a below average player making $27m next season.
He might be open now, but he dont need to think about it, no one will take him now. Screwed up last off-season not taking the Trash-stros offer.
He’s coming off the worst year of his career. Why trade him now? He was playing hurt last year. If hes healthy in 2026 he will bounce back. Why would a team bet on that happening?
This site is obsessed with the Cardinals rebuilding but it hasn’t happened and probably won’t. All last offseason article after article and what happened? Nothing.
Last year a lot relied on players that had no trade clauses, and this time around they’re publicly saying they are more willing to leave.
Gray is owed 40 million dollars and is coming off a year with an ERA over 4.
Arenado is coming off the worst year of his career.
How much value do you think these guys have?
I don’t think value matters, the front office has an idea of what they want to do, and the players that didn’t want to leave last year, are publicly saying they want to this time around. It doesn’t matter whether I think they should stay or go, the signs are all pointing to shedding payroll. I don’t think they care about receiving any value back, just the ability to take more money off the books.
How much value do you think they have taking up roster spots on a team that needs to clear spots for young players?
They won’t receive any value. The value is whatever amount of $ they save and the ability to give a young player more abs. Prieto and Saggase aren’t likely ML starters but giving those guys an opportunity might make more sense than playing a 34 year old who is declining.
Maybe there’s truth to the rumors the team is going to be sold.
The difference is Gray still has good perpherials. Above-average K% and exit velocity, career-low BB%, sub-3.50 FIP, xFIP, and SIERA, .332 BABIP this year despite a career mark of .289. There’s a good chance he rebounds.
Arenado’s perpherials say this is who he is. Second year in a row with an xwOBA of .295, lowest walk rate since 2015, below the 15th percentile of exit velocity and barrel rate. Even his defensive metrics aren’t what they used to be. +5 DRS and +2 OAA are still good, but we’re talking about a guy who averaged +13 DRS and +11 OAA per 1000 innings from 2015-2022.
Gray should still have plenty of value. He has the highest K/BB ratio in the league this year. Who cares if his ERA is a little over 4 if he’s clearly still a very good pitcher?
If they don’t trade Gray, Arenado, and Contreras it really doesn’t change the fact that they’re still rebuilding.
There’s no serious core there right now. Winn is a nice young player but he didn’t take a step forward. Nootbaar regressed. Gorman doesn’t look like a long term piece any longer. Jordan Walker has been a disaster. I’d trade Donovan because his control is dwindling and he’s coming off another solid season.
The core of this team is weak. The farm is decent but there isn’t enough there knocking on the door to change what this team is. I don’t expect them to spend any money this offseason. They need to grow more talent internally.
They don’t have any value in and all of the cases have negative value. They will have to eat money to get rid of each of the 3.
Arenado they will need to include at least 11 million to move him in my opinion. If Bregman leaves redsox maybe they take on Arenado but he won’t be their first or 2nd option.
Most likely the teams going after Gray would be luxury tax payors and the contract AAV for luxury tax purposes resets after a trade. MLBTR had a great article on this yesterday or day before. Acquiring him would add a ridiculous number like $60 mil or something like that to the luxury tax number due to the back-loaded nature of his deal. Unless the Cards throw in like 20-30 mil idk if he’s going anywhere
That’s a great point. Which makes it far more likely a team like Baltimore could get him cheaper.
Arenado and Gray have zero value. Now, if the Cardinals are willing to eat $10m of Arenado’ remaining contract and $15m of Gray’s remaining contract, then they have some value.
Agreed. They don’t need a rebuild. If they had a middle of the road rotation last season, they’re in the playoffs. They could use upgrades in the order but they don’t need a rebuild.
You have to have an owner that’s willing to spend some money to improve his team. The Cardinals don’t have that. They have done nothing to improve since their last playoff game 3 years ago.
It’s an interesting pivot point right now. Their attendance is down 1.2 M from their norms of just 5-10 years ago. My guess is that is a loss of maybe $120M in revenue.
They have to either spend more a good bit more or a good bit less.
That’s not accurate. It’s not how much you spend but how you spend it. Milwaukee payroll 15 million less than the Cards and that’s working out. Mets are over 2x the cards and it may not work out. Mariners getting a bye with half the Mets payroll. Throwing good money at a bad problem never fixes anything. Bloom is an improvement as he knows how to build a farm system and then get fired before he sees it pay off.
Please name me one assets of the hand they excel at? No power, no speed, no on- base ability, no SP. They need to rebuild and infuse more talent at each side of the ball.
“All last offseason article after article and what happened? Nothing.”
Nothing happened because 3 guys they wanted to move either invoked their NTC, or let the team know they would. I agree no rebuild happened this year, but also no real additions were made to the roster either.
Had those guys been traded the team would have started a rebuild, or at least a retooling. But them invoking their NTCs forced the Cards to tread water in 2025.
Jean you are a Giants fan. Your team has the exact same record as the Cardinals yet here you are acting as if my team should sell and your team should not.
Thats lame
But he’s right on the part the Cardinals didn’t add anything last offseason. The only Major League contract they signed was Phil Maton. He’s a good set-up man, but a set-up man wasn’t going to make-or-break the Cards this year.
The Cardinals did nothing last offseason and STILL have the same record as the Giants who picked up that albatross contract of Devers and signed other players.
So who needs to rebuild?
I’m not claiming the Giants don’t need to rebuild.
They signed Maton because signing no FAs gets them a union complaint.
I am not acting like your team should sell. I don’t care. All I’m doing is trying to interpret their lack of any moves to improve the roster other than trying to move some older expensive vets. That says to me they’re looking to rebuild or retool.
What’s lame is conflating two teams going in different directions only because their standings are similar. There’s only one game difference between the Cards and Giants, and the Rays and the Marlins. So does that make all those teams the same in how they operate? Saying they’re the same completely lacks insight.
The Giants extended Chapman, signed Adames, traded for Devers, acquired some younger players like Gilbert and Butto, and promoted their top prospect. That says to me the Giants aren’t planning a rebuild.
I never said either team should rebuild. I’m only stating my opinion that one is, and the other isn’t based on what they’ve done.
King: He’s highly unlikely to bounce back. There you go with your Cardinals delusions again.
Arenado’s OPS dropped to .772 after his MVP season, then .712 last year, and now is at .660. Sure, he was injured this year, but he was declining in performance since 2023.
I’m really surprised the Cardinals won 78 games this year, they looked more like a 65-70 win team.
I agree. Considering how little they did last offseason, they definitely exceeded expectations.
I wish they had only won 65 games, would have put them in better draft position.
I wish the same for the Giants. But with the draft lottery now in use, a good pick is still possible.
Both of them could’ve seen the writing on the wall and moved last offseason. Arenado is close to worthless now.
Yeah, I’m sure they’ll be lining up for him…
Talk about a day late and a dollar short. Well , half right. Dollars are not really a concern unless he can’t manage his money
I give it 60/40 he’s still on the roster next season.
Too late pal.
Waited until he had no value lol.
Nobody wants to play for the Cards until they get a decent GM and manager
@wifflemeister
Fully agree, definitely on the manger don’t want or need a “yes man” running the team. On the gm/pbo I would like to see what I can do the few years he was in bos not really enough to go on if he’s decent or not.
Everyone is talking about “value”… the value that is brought by trading them are the positions they dont occupy.. money that has to be eaten by doing rhis doesnt matter… arebano is old, gray is old, Contreras is getting old. The cardinals need to get young, athletic and talented.. they need to open roster spots from veterans.if you want “value” then you trade burly and Donnie and Herrera possibly. Noot is a lottery ticket. The cards have had a log jam of good but not great players for way too long. It’s time for a change
Freeing up lots of spots gives the kids a chance to play and open a couple spots for those 1 year bounce back/flip at the deadline deals with players, that in the end helps speed up rebuilds. Like Phil maton type deals
The Card’s bigger problem, which was mentioned in the article, is that most of the young guys flopped. They actually behaved a lot like a rebuilding club, in that they gave so much playing time to young players. Too many of them didn’t perform, leaving them with a quandary. Bloom will get this righted, but his toughest task is evaluating his own young players
The Cards got old real fast. As crappy as the Rockies organization is at least Nolan was part of a playoff win in Denver. Move him to the Yankees and then slide McMahon down to 15th in the lineup.
Bendaho: Yankees aren’t going to roster both Arenado and McMahon.
Agreed – I thought the 15th in the lineup reference was satirical enough to indicate this was only mentioned in jest, i do, however, appreciate the fleecing that the Rockies incurred on the McMahon trade with the Yankees. Herring and Storz were fantastic pickups for the Rockies bleak pitching future and we were already had enough great fielding infielders hitting .210 in the lineup. Saving the $17 mil a year helps us pay down Mr. Brittle’s (Kris Bryant) $28 mil a year contract. Good trade for all.
Dust off the old Rockies uniform…
DeWitts are trying to get to a payroll of 40mil bc theyve gotten old and no longer care about trying to win and need to pocket as much as they can. I wish theyd sell to someone like Cohen who will let their gm spend. Works or not, they at least are trying. Id much rather have owners who tried and failed than those who dont and hope to get lucky once every decade.
You can definately see the difference in a owner who tries and fails then one who doesn’t try. The cards were always top 5 or 6 in attendance and now they are close to bottom third. The fans are paying attention and showing it with their wallets.
Trade him back to the Rockies. They have a 5 million dollar advantage and it would give them a chance to retire a Rocky.
Arenado, Gorman and Walker for ??? Rockies need a major shake-up
Remember how Arenado wanted out of Colorado after signing his massive deal? I think he would rather retire if forced to put on a Rockies uniform again.
No one wants you. Sorry you are stuck
Guy is probably a Hall of famer (not first ballot) but I dont see a real market for him.
I also think he gets in. He’s like a lesser Scott Rolen so he should take a while.
I could see the As trading for him or/and Gray if their payroll is too low like this last offseason. Assuming the Cards cover a significant portion of the contracts. But, at that point the cards might just hold and wait to see if they turned things around by the 2026 deadline.
@kirk completely agree with everything you said.
Not sure why he refused a trade. He’s got everything but a WS.
Blocked a trade to Houston as if he was going to land in a better spot. He got what he deserved.
Same reason Buxton is still a Twin. He’s comfortable there. Now Arenado recognizes he’s in decline and wants to win. He made his own bed rejecting the Astros.
It could also be that Arenado overvalued himself, and wanted the Astros to sweeten the deal in exchange for waiving the NTC.
So. Many. Nonsense. Comments.
No sure, honestly, but this particular thread has a lot more ridiculousness than usual 😊
My guess is the rehab to Nado’s shoulder is going to result in better play from him, but the window to prove it this year is too short. He does look significantly better right now, but just not enough ABs.
My HUNCH is, he plays better at the beginning of ’26 and he’s able to find a spot when the Cards eat a bunch of the money. I don’t know why a team would take him on in ’25 without more proof he can hit.
Dude you’re like 2 years too late this is the attitude you probably should’ve had at the end of 2023. At this point just enjoy the semi-retired life in St. Louis until they decide to pull the plug and eat the money.
Sounds like his relationship in St. Louis is getting rocky or he’s realized he wants to play for a title. Either way, the lack of impetus on his previous hot stove seems to have been incorrect.
Hey Nolan maybe you should of just shut the mouth and went already
Huh, cardinal attendance down by over a million; what happened to “the best fans in baseball?”
2 years @ $37M for a player unable to get to 1 (one) fWAR this year? You could pay off 80% of the contract and I still wouldn’t give a AAAA player for him
Hopefully he does more hitting this offseason and less kick boxing.
Arenado seems like a “have his cake and eat it too” kind of guy.
“Hmm, I don’t like the way this is going. I am part of the problem. Therefore, I will be selective and demanding in the opportunities I get.”
Pretty disconnected view, really. He’s not really the one with the leverage here. They could just eat the cost of his contract and leave him (still getting paid) to seek playing time of his own accord from the open market. His selectivity would be interesting to see then. While he may get someone else to give him money for a year in addition to that final STL paycheck, the odds of it being the five teams on his wishlist are very slim, and I’m not actually sure any team would be in the market for a declining 3B at the price he thinks he commands and the obvious sense of entitlement. It’s clear he views himself as a luxury commodity when at this point he’s approaching the bargain bin pile.
The Cardinals are not the type of team that pays big money to cut players loose, even if it’s to their own detriment. They rode the Dexter Fowler contract til they couldn’t stomach it anymore and finally traded him to the Angels at the end of spring training in ’22 for a whopping $1.5 million dollar savings. I feel like if they can’t trade him they’ll ride next season with him and cut him loose in ’27 when his salary will only be $15 mil rather than the $42 they owe in ’26-27
Oh I thought he was an FA before ‘27, nevermind. Good comment.
I love that he thinks his willingness is what stood in the way. Good luck finding a taker now
It is though? He has a full no trade clause in his contract. So to be moved to any team, he would need to waive it.
There was the rumors of the Astros deal this off-season that he vetoed, right after the Tucker trade.
My point is that he sucks now and he’s a year older. He’s not going anywhere
So many Dodger fans wanted Arenado last offseason and even more so after Muncy got off to a slow start. Never understood that. I think they thought they were getting Rockies Arenado version and didn’t see his free falling numbers at the plate.
Reports were that the Dodgers were interested but I doubt that was ever true. Arenado was interested but why would the Dodgers have been interested when they had Muncy on a team friendly deal?
Unless St Louis eats 3/4 of that contract he’s going to rot there. He should have agreed to trade long ago
Dude looks like a steal compared to Rendon.
Don’t let Arte read that. 3B is still a hole on the Angels roster and Arenado is exactly the type of washed-up slugger Arte loves
I’m not sure why any of the three (Wilson, Sonny and Nolan) didn’t want to waive their NTC’s earlier/at all until now. The Cards have not exactly been a contender over the past couple of years, and I imagine that there would have been at least one contending team that would have been interested in the three of them.
The probability that Walker and Gorman would both be busts, that Fedde was going to be so bad, that Mikolas would be so bad, that Pallante would get completely crushed after a promising first half, that Nootbaar wouldn’t progress, and that three of our top pitching prospects would need TJ at the beginning of the season…not super likely.
Those things all happened and the team still nearly finished at .500 and almost squeeked into the playoffs, despite being sellers at the deadline.
There are definite bright spots on the team and some cheap, productive complementary players who look like they’re going to have good MLB careers.
Even though this was a runway/development season, it could have gone differently with just a few things working out better. Our veteran free agents wanted to be a part of the team’s turnaround…just didn’t happen this year.
Everything except the TJ surgeries weren’t really shocking either and were actually already very obvious going into this season. And the MiLB injuries don’t matter because those players are just more of the same middle relievers they haven been plug and playing for the last decade.
Now that no one will want him.
I have very little doubt that Gray and Contreras are probably playing elsewhere next season but Arenado is a tougher sell. Career lows in just about everything offensively and the defense isn’t what it used to be. Cardinals are going to have to eat a significant portion of salary while taking back next to nothing in return
Arenado has no value with that contract, but Nootbaar and Donovan will get some interest. Cards should’ve started the rebuild last off-season. It wasn’t that hard to see this coming.
Cards blew it my not trading Donovan to the Yankees or Seattle last off season. Yankees at that time would have traded Schlitter and Warren for him likely. Now they have no need for him or Arenado, same with Seattle with Donovan.