The Cardinals officially have a new head of baseball operations for the first time in nearly two decades. As announced at the beginning of last offseason, longtime president of baseball ops John Mozeliak has stepped aside and passed the torch to former Rays and Red Sox executive Chaim Bloom, who'd previously been a senior advisor with the Cardinals. Bloom's end-of-season press conference spelled out what had already become abundantly clear over the past 12 months: this will be an offseason unlike any the Cardinals have experienced in recent memory -- the onset of what's likely to be a yearslong rebuild.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Nolan Arenado, 3B: $42MM through 2027 (Rockies paying $5MM)
- Willson Contreras, 1B: $41MM through 2027 (includes buyout of 2028 club option)
- Sonny Gray, RHP: $40MM through 2026 (includes buyout of 2027 club option)
2026 guarantees: $75MM
Total long-term guarantees: $117.5MM through 2027
Option Decisions
- None
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Jorge Alcala (5.165): $2.1MM
- JoJo Romero (5.045): $4.4MM
- John King (4.148): $2.1MM
- Lars Nootbaar (4.076): $5.7MM
- Brendan Donovan (4.000): $5.4MM
- Andre Pallante (3.145): $3.4MM
- Nolan Gorman (3.114): $2.9MM
- Alec Burleson (3.029): $3.5MM
- Matthew Liberatore (2.144): $2.8MM
Non-tender candidates: Alcala, King
Free Agents
For the early portion of last offseason, it seemed quite possible that the Cardinals would embark on the very type of rebuild that now seems far likelier. Instead, no-trade clauses in the contracts of veterans Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras threw a wrench into those plans. Gray and Contreras seemed unfazed by the idea of a youth movement and quickly let the team know they were content to remain in St. Louis. Arenado was open to trade scenarios but to a limited number of clubs. He wound up vetoing a trade to the Astros and remaining in St. Louis.
This time around, it seems overwhelmingly likely that at least one of those veterans will change hands. Gray candidly said after his final start that he has to consider trade scenarios this winter after talking to Bloom about the direction of the team. Contreras has said his preference is still to remain in St. Louis but he'll consider waiving his no-trade protection in the right scenario. Arenado has voiced his intent to be more open to a wider array of teams this time around.
That said, there are prominent hurdles when it comes to trading everyone from the group, and there's ample reason to wonder just how much -- if anything at all -- the Cardinals can get back in return for any of those pricey veterans. They're reportedly open to paying down some of the remaining salary (which will be a necessity), but if they really want to extract meaningful prospect value, there are more notable trade avenues to explore.
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No matter what happens, progress has already been achieved. Good riddance Mo!
To Chaim Bloom: Please just be decisive and stop with the half measures and ridiculous catch phrases. John Mozeliak believed that the Cardinals fan base would never support a rebuild. As usual, he was wrong. Just show us a plan, don’t pretend we are too dumb understand it, and follow your words with actions. We are with you. We love young, promising players. Stick to the plan and don’t get bogged down in sappy (though possibly profitable) sentimentality.
I just hope he doesn’t take a holistic approach to the offseason.
Well stated
Gray and Arenado could perhaps be dealt but they are making so much money they won’t bring a lot back. Romero is a soon to be free agent. Donovan and Nootbaar have 2 years of control left. Burleson has 3 and is coming off a good year. Those are the guys that will actually bring something back in trade. Those guys need to be moved for more than Gray and Arenado.
A good analysis. I’ve been saying to other Cardinals fans that BDW Jr. would have to eat at least $15 MM to get back anything of value for Gray. The Cardinals will be shopping for starting pitcher innings even if they keep Gray. Arenado’s contract is far enough under water that I don’t see many teams wanting to take on more than $10 MM total for ‘26 & ‘27, and with the anticipated CBA lockout, I don’t see anyone wanting to take an already declining Arenado for’27. Bloom said he’s not releasing Arenado, so it’s possible he’ll finish out his contract in STL. Bloom certainly has his work cut out for him.