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Cardinals Win Arbitration Hearing Versus Brendan Donovan, Lose Versus Lars Nootbaar

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The Cardinals have now heard rulings on a pair of arbitration cases. Per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, they won their hearing against utilityman Brendan Donovan but lost their hearing against outfielder Lars Nootbaar. Donovan will earn the $2.85MM figure submitted by the team last month rather than the $3.3MM submitted by his camp. Nootbaar, meanwhile, will earn the $2.95MM sum he submitted rather than the $2.45MM figure presented by the team.

Donovan, 28, has exactly three years of MLB service and was arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter. He’s combined to hit .280/.364/.407 in 1491 plate appearances since his 2022 debut, smacking 30 homers, 65 doubles and five triples along the way. He’s shown incremental power increases in each of the past two seasons — last year’s 14 round-trippers were a career-high — but has done so at the expense of some walks. He drew free passes at a hearty 12.8% clip in 2022 but drew a walk in a below-average 7.2% of last season’s 652 trips to the plate.

Beyond his keen bat-to-ball skills and knack for getting on base, Donovan’s value is largely tied to his defensive versatility. The term “super utility” gets thrown around a lot, but Donovan genuinely exemplifies that moniker. He’s played all four infield positions and both outfield corners in his MLB career (albeit only 65 innings at short and 150 innings at first base). Defensive metrics like Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved tend to agree that he’s at least passable, if not a bona fide plus defender at most spots on the diamond (with third base being his best, metrics-wise). The industry largely agrees. Donovan took home a Gold Glove for his utility work back in 2022.

Nootbaar, 27, is also in his first trip through arbitration. He’ll come out marginally ahead of Donovan, perhaps in part a reflection of his lower asking price and superior totals in home runs (45 to 30), games played (392 to 374) and baserunning value (24-for-30 in steals to 12-for-21) in the early portions of their respective careers. In parts of four MLB seasons, Nootbaar is a .246/.348/.425 hitter.

Nootbaar is ticketed for regular work in the outfield this year, though his exact placement could depend on the trade status of Nolan Arenado. If the Cardinals succeed in moving Arenado, they can deploy Nolan Gorman regularly at third base and Donovan at second base. That’d open left field for Nootbaar. If Arenado stays in place, Gorman would probably see more time at second base, pushing Donovan to left field with more regularity. That’d likely lead to additional time in center for Nootbaar, barring injuries to Donovan or right fielder Jordan Walker.

Both Donovan and Nootbaar are controlled for an additional two seasons. They’ll be up for free agency in the 2027-28 offseason. With the Cardinals eyeing some kind of reset and refocus on player development, either could feasibly emerge as a summer trade candidate, but St. Louis has been staunchly against moving affordable/controllable players of this ilk. In fact, despite their proclamation of wanting to open more time for younger players, they haven’t parted with a single veteran this offseason. They also haven’t added any new pieces. While the front office has doggedly focused on trying to find an Arenado trade, there’s been no fruit in those negotiations.

MLBTR Podcast: Pete Alonso’s Deal, And Potential Landing Spots For Bregman and Arenado

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • Pete Alonso re-signing with the Mets (1:45)
  • What’s next for the Blue Jays after not getting Alonso? (9:25)
  • Will the Mets and Alonso going to reunite again in the future or will this be it? (12:55)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What teams could still sign Alex Bregman? (17:50)
  • Can the Cardinals trade Nolan Arenado to the Red Sox? (29:20)
  • Do the Orioles need an ace? (37:55)
  • What are the Marlins building right now? (39:30)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Cardinals Sign Rob Kaminsky To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals have signed left-handed pitcher Rob Kaminsky to a minor league contract for the 2025 season, the team announced. This will be the 30-year-old’s third stint with the organization and his 12th professional campaign.

Kaminsky first signed with St. Louis in 2013 as the 28th overall pick in the draft. Despite his young age – he made his pro debut at 18 – the southpaw impressed right away. Over his first three years in the Cardinals system, he threw 217 1/3 innings between Rookie ball and High-A, pitching to a 2.15 ERA and 2.90 FIP.

St. Louis traded Kaminsky to Cleveland ahead of the 2015 trade deadline, in exchange for Brandon Moss. It was after the trade that Kaminsky began to struggle, and questions about his ability to stick in the rotation began to arise. Following a 2017 season almost completely lost to injury, he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in 2018 and ’19, compiling a 3.31 ERA and 4.01 FIP in 84 1/3 innings pitched. While his numbers were solid (if unspectacular), he had largely fallen off of top prospects lists by that time. He elected minor league free agency after the 2019 season.

Kaminsky re-joined the Cardinals on a minor league pact that winter and made his MLB debut the following summer. He pitched 4 2/3 innings in 2020, striking out three and walking two. He gave up three runs, although only one was earned. Despite his serviceable results, the Cardinals DFA’d him after his fifth appearance in September. He has not returned the to major leagues since.

From 2021-24, Kaminsky bounced from the Phillies to the Mariners to the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League and back to the Mariners. He dealt with various injury issues in that time and struggled to make much of an impact when he did take the mound. That being said, it’s worth noting that he made eight starts at Triple-A Tacoma in 2024. It was the first time he had made more than two starts in a season since 2016. Kaminsky is highly unlikely to make the Opening Day roster, but he will offer the Cardinals some left-handed depth for the bullpen, and possibly the rotation, too. Perhaps a return to his former club will help him get back on track as he strives to return to the majors in 2025.

Cardinals Sign Nick Anderson To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals announced Friday that they’ve signed righty Nick Anderson to a minor league deal and invited him to major league spring training. Anderson, a client of Gaeta Sports Management, recently worked out for big league scouts to show his readiness after an injury-marred 2024 season. Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 reports that Anderson would earn $1.1MM in the majors. His contract contains an upward mobility clause that allows another team to add him to their Opening Day roster if he’s not going to break camp with the Cardinals.

Anderson also finished out the 2023 season on the injured list due to a shoulder strain. He began the 2022 season on the shelf while mending from an internal brace procedure the prior year, and his ’22 campaign ended due to plantar fasciitis. In his injury-dotted big league career, Anderson has also missed due to a back strain and a forearm issue.

It’s a laundry list of injuries, but Anderson has typically been excellent when healthy. Dating back to his 2019 MLB debut, he’s pitched 158 1/3 major league innings and logged a 3.18 earned run average. Anderson has 39 holds and 10 saves in his career, and his rate stats are eye-catching: 31.6% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and a gaudy 15.4% swinging-strike rate.

The 34-year-old Anderson gives the Cardinals an upside play in their late-inning mix if he can stay healthy. He hasn’t done that over the course of a full season since 2019, but there’s no harm for the Cardinals in taking a look. A healthy Anderson would be a boon to the bullpen, and he’s throwing well this summer he’d be a natural trade chip as St. Louis looks to restock its farm system. Anderson has 5.094 years of major league service to his credit, so there’s no surplus club control here. He’ll reach six years of big league service with another 78 days in the majors, so he’s very likely to end up a free agent at season’s end one way or another.

The Cardinals’ bullpen heading into 2025 — like their roster as a whole — is largely unchanged. The club has reportedly rebuffed interest in star closer (and pending free agent) Ryan Helsley despite taking a step back to focus on player development. JoJo Romero, Ryan Fernandez, Matthew Liberatore and John King are among the other options for manager Oli Marmol. If Anderson makes the club, it seems fair to expect that he’ll factor into setup duties and perhaps even get a crack at closing games if Helsley is moved or lands on the injured list himself.

Cardinals Acquire Michael Helman From Twins

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The Twins announced that they’ve traded utility player Michael Helman to the Cardinals for cash. He’ll occupy a 40-man roster spot with St. Louis. The Cardinals had a vacancy, so no additional move was necessary.

Minnesota had a full 40-man roster and needed to create two openings. They have agreed to free agent deals with Harrison Bader and Danny Coulombe this week. Neither contract has been finalized. Helman is the first of two players whom the Twins will squeeze off the roster.

An 11th-round pick in 2018, Helman reached the majors last year. He appeared in nine games and went 3-10 with a pair of doubles. The 28-year-old spent most of the season at Triple-A St. Paul. He had a nice year, hitting .271/.350/.487 across 314 plate appearances. Helman hit 14 home runs and went 12-13 on stolen base attempts.

Helman is a right-handed batter who provides multi-positional versatility. He has played more than 1400 innings at second base in his minor league career. He has logged more than 1000 innings in the outfield — much of that in center — with some action at both positions on the left side of the infield. Helman still has a full slate of minor league options and can be kept at Triple-A Memphis for the foreseeable future.

This is the Cardinals’ first trade acquisition of the offseason. St. Louis is also the only team that has yet to sign a free agent to a major league deal. Helman is the third player they’ve added to their 40-man roster since the end of the season. Waiver pickups Roddery Muñoz and Bailey Horn are depth additions on the pitching side. Ownership has seemingly left the front office with minimal spending room in the absence of a payroll-clearing trade.

Katie Woo of The Athletic reported the Helman trade just before the official announcement.

Cardinals, Red Sox Have Reportedly Had “Recent Communication” On Arenado

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The Nolan Arenado trade speculation has quieted in recent weeks. After the eight-time All-Star used his no-trade clause to quash a deal that would have sent him to Houston, the Cardinals have been unable to find a suitable match. St. Louis president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said at last month’s Winter Warm-Up event that the Arenado saga remained the front office’s top priority. However, both Mozeliak and chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. stressed that dealing the third baseman was not an absolute necessity to get the team’s payroll to levels that ownership finds tolerable.

It’s now an open question whether the Cards will be able to line anything up. In an MLBTR poll last week, nearly two-thirds of respondents felt Arenado would begin the season in St. Louis. That won’t stop Mozeliak and the front office from continuing to explore possibilities. Jon Morosi of the MLB Network reports that the Cards have “had recent communication” with the Red Sox regarding Arenado.

That doesn’t necessarily mean talks have gained any kind of traction. Katie Woo of The Athletic wrote in early January that efforts to move Arenado had stalled. Woo suggested at the time that Boston might up end being the only plausible suitor for an offseason trade. Those discussions have perhaps been held up by Alex Bregman’s lengthy free agent stay. Boston is one of a few teams known to be involved on Bregman, though they’re reportedly reluctant to go beyond four guaranteed years. Bregman has seemingly weighed multiple six-year offers, so the Sox appear an unlikely landing spot.

Arenado would be a more challenging roster fit. The Sox’s pursuit of Bregman was likely conditioned on the possibility of moving him to second base. Arenado has expressed openness to a position change to facilitate the right trade, but his third base defense is his primary selling point. It’s unlikely the Red Sox would consider bumping him to the keystone. They’d presumably instead move Rafael Devers off third base. Boston’s longtime third baseman doesn’t appear enthused about a possible position change.

A move would also probably require the Red Sox to bench or trade Masataka Yoshida. The Sox have not moved first baseman Triston Casas for starting pitching, as many speculated they might. Devers would be a superior designated hitter to Yoshida, though Boston may not be keen on relegating him to the bench when he’s under contract for another three seasons. Yoshida is owed $18MM annually on a deal that is well above market value. They’d need to eat the bulk of the contract to deal him for what would be a modest return.

Discussions between the Sox and Cardinals could theoretically involve Yoshida. Chaim Bloom, who will take over as president of baseball operations in St. Louis at the end of the season, was the top executive when the Red Sox signed Yoshida. At one point, Bloom believed strongly that his bat would translate against MLB pitching. Yoshida has been a good, not great, major league hitter. Even if Bloom still feels there’s untapped upside, the Cardinals are unlikely to eat a big portion of the contract. Their efforts to trade Arenado have been largely motivated by finances, recent comments from Mozeliak and DeWitt notwithstanding.

St. Louis owes Arenado $64MM over the next three seasons: $27MM this year, $22MM in 2026, and $15MM in ’27. The Rockies are paying an additional $5MM annually for the next two years. $6MM of the Cards’ obligations in 2025 and ’26 are deferred. Reports indicated the Astros were going to take all but $5MM or $15MM off the Cardinals’ hands had he approved the trade to Houston.

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The NL Central?

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The calendar has flipped to February and the start of Spring Training is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including nine of MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents for the 2024-25 offseason) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. In the coming days, we’ll be taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. After the Mets decisively won yesterday’s poll on the AL East, the focus now shifts to the NL Central.

It was another down season for the Midwest’s NL teams, as they sent just one club to the postseason and were not represented in the NLDS for the third consecutive year. Three of the division’s teams haven’t made it to the postseason at all in a 162-game season this decade, and the pressure is on for those clubs to start winning again while the two that have found more recent success try to keep their windows open. Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Milwaukee Brewers

As is typical for Milwaukee, this offseason has seemingly been about balancing the club’s present against their future. The loss of star shortstop Willy Adames was an expected but nonetheless tough blow for the Brewers, and it spurred them to complete their lone major move of the offseason back in December. With a hole on the infield after losing Adames, Milwaukee traded longtime relief ace Devin Williams to the Yankees ahead of his final year of team control. In return, they added big league ready infielder Caleb Durbin as well as southpaw Nestor Cortes.

Cortes, also in his final year of team control, appears poised to join an impressive prospective playoff rotation in Milwaukee alongside Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff. Durbin, meanwhile, will turn 25 later this month and has yet to make his big league debut but hit quite well both at Triple-A and in the Arizona Fall League. He could help solidify the club’s infield situation as soon as Opening Day. Outside of those additions, however, the Brewers have been extremely quiet: one-year pacts with depth arms Grant Wolfram and Elvin Rodriguez are the only two major league free agent signings they’ve made this winter.

St. Louis Cardinals

There isn’t much to say about the Cardinals’ offseason, as the club’s focus has been entirely consumed by their as-of-yet unsuccessful attempts to move on from veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado. That’s led the club to make zero big league free agent signings and trade for zero established MLB players, meaning the only roster changes of note to this point in the winter for St. Louis have been the losses of free agents like Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Kittredge. Off the field, the biggest move of the Cardinals’ offseason to this point has been to announce the day the 2024 campaign ended that Chaim Bloom will take over for John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations following the 2025 season.

Chicago Cubs

It’s been a busy offseason for the Cubs. Most notably, they swung perhaps the biggest trade of the offseason when they acquired star outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Astros, though it cost them All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes and young starter Hayden Wesneski from their big league roster in order to do so and they subsequently had to deal Cody Bellinger to the Yankees to make room for Tucker in the lineup. Paredes has not been replaced in free agency or via trade to this point, with that hole seemingly set to be addressed internally by top prospect Matt Shaw. A pair of solid bench moves round out the club’s activity on the positional side. Carson Kelly should help to improve things at catcher and the addition of Jon Berti could help make up for the loss of production on the bench created by the decision to non-tender Mike Tauchman.

The biggest reported goal of the Cubs’ offseason was to upgrade the pitching staff, but those additions have been far more modest as compared to Tucker. It’s not as flashy as the club’s reported interest in players like Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, and Tanner Scott may have suggested, but Matthew Boyd figures to be an upgrade over Kyle Hendricks in the rotation and Ryan Pressly should solidify things in the ninth inning after the club acquired him in a separate trade with Houston. Beyond those two more significant names, the club has added depth in the form of swing men Colin Rea and Cody Poteet as well as southpaw Caleb Thielbar.

Cincinnati Reds

Following a mixed bag of a 2024 season where Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene established themselves as star-caliber players but the rest of the roster largely struggled with injuries and/or ineffectiveness, the Reds have been quite busy in hopes of turning things around for 2025. They kicked off the winter by adding Terry Francona as their new manager, and traded Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer to land Brady Singer from the Royals not long afterwards. They also retained Nick Martinez (who accepted their Qualifying Offer) and brought back veteran lefty Wade Miley on a non-guaranteed deal to further deepen the rotation.

The only guaranteed free agent signing the club has made was signing non-tendered outfielder Austin Hays to a one-year deal, but Hays is joined by a number of trade acquisitions even beyond Singer. The Reds acquired Jose Trevino from the Yankees in order to pair with Tyler Stephenson behind the plate, and Gavin Lux was brought in to help replace India’s production in the lineup. Rounding out the club’s notable trade acquisitions this winter is southpaw Taylor Rogers, who comes over from the Giants to join Alexis Diaz and Emilio Pagan at the back of Cincinnati’s bullpen.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates’ biggest move of the offseason was its first one of significance, as the club traded right-hander Luis Ortiz to the Guardians alongside a pair of prospects in order to land infielder Spencer Horwitz, who figures to serve as the club’s everyday first baseman this year. In addition to adding Horwitz, the Pirates have retooled their bullpen following the departure of Aroldis Chapman in free agency by signing southpaws Tim Mayza and Caleb Ferguson while also working out minor trades for Chase Shugart and Brett de Geus. Reports have indicated that Ferguson will stretch out during Spring Training and could be a candidate to start, but the club has otherwise not added to a rotation that remains a strength even after losing Ortiz.

On the positional side of things, Horwitz is joined by the additions of Adam Frazier in free agency and Enmanuel Valdez via trade. Both Frazier and Valdez figure to help shore up second base for the club while adding some left-handed options to the club’s predominantly right-handed bench mix. Veteran and longtime franchise face Andrew McCutchen also re-upped with the Pirates on his third consecutive one-year deal as he plays out the twilight of his career as a veteran leader on a young Pirates team. For all the club’s additions this winter, however, right field remains a major question mark after the club non-tendered Bryan De La Cruz without replacing him to this point in the winter.

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The 2024-25 offseason has been one defined almost entirely by major trades for the NL Central’s five clubs, with four of the five clubs having worked out at least one major swap and the fifth still hard at work attempting to do the same. The Cubs, Pirates, and Reds have all supplemented those trades with notable but relatively modest free agent signings as they attempt to claw their way back into playoff contention, and Cincinnati also added a likely future Hall of Famer to the dugout in the manager’s chair to help guide their young ballclub. The Brewers and Cardinals have been quieter by comparison, with Milwaukee largely standing pat outside of the Williams trade while the Cardinals have been paralyzed by their efforts to trade Arenado but have opened up playing time for a number of notable young players like Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera.

Of the five NL Central clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

What Other Competitive Balance Round Draft Picks Could Be Traded This Winter?

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The Competitive Balance Rounds are a pair of bonus rounds within the MLB draft, designed to give an extra pick to the game’s smaller-market teams.  Teams that fall within either the bottom 10 in revenues and market size are eligible, and since 2017, the league determined the eligible teams based on a formula involving market score, revenues, and winning percentage.  The first of the two Competitive Balance Rounds (CBR-A) comes right before the start of the second round, and CBR-B comes right after the second round.  For the 2025 draft, a total of 15 teams will gain an extra pick, and their order within their respective round is determined by their win totals in the 2024 season.

With that explanation out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff — these picks can be traded.  Specifically, a CBR selection can traded exactly once, and to any team in the league.  Since these are the only MLB draft picks that are eligible to be dealt, it has become increasingly common to see teams move these extra selections as part of larger trade packages for established talent.

Three CBR picks in the 2024 draft changed hands due to trades, most prominently the Orioles’ inclusion of the 34th overall selection as part of the trade package sent to the Brewers for Corbin Burnes.  This offseason has already seen three CBR picks in the 2025 draft dealt, and this post will explore the possibility that some other teams with CBR selections might move these picks to fill a more immediate need.

To cover the broad reason why any of these teams might not make a trade, it’s simply that draft picks are a very valuable asset unto themselves.  Controllable young talent is particularly important for lower-revenue clubs that usually don’t splurge on expensive free agents or trade targets, which is part of the reasons why the Competitive Balance Rounds exist in the first place.  Clubs are naturally pretty reluctant to move these CBR picks unless the right opportunity presents itself on the trade market.

(First, some notes on the draft order.  The first 75 places in the 2025 draft have largely been established, since the remaining free agents who rejected qualifying offers all played for teams who were either luxury-tax payors in 2024, or aren’t revenue-sharing recipients.  That means that if Nick Pivetta signs elsewhere, the Red Sox will get their compensation pick after CBR-B.  If Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman sign elsewhere, the Mets’ and Astros’ compensation picks will fall after the fourth round.  Also, because the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers all exceeded the second luxury-tax tier in 2024, their first-round picks were dropped by 10 spots in the draft order.  This means that these three big spenders are all technically selecting within CBR-A, but obviously these aren’t official CBR picks.  The only potential change would be if a team that signs Alonso, Bregman or Pivetta surrenders its second-round pick to do so.)

Onto the selections….

Brewers (33rd overall, CBR-A): Milwaukee is actually making consecutive picks in the draft, as they received a compensatory pick when Willy Adames rejected the team’s qualifying offer and signed with the Giants.  Owning the 32nd overall pick might make the Brew Crew slightly more opening to trading the 33rd overall pick, perhaps to add pitching or to the infield in the wake of Adames’ departure.  The Brewers could considering adding their CBR pick as a sweetener to try and move Rhys Hoskins’ contract, yet it’s less likely that the team moves a valuable draft selection just as part of a salary dump.

Tigers (34th overall, CBR-A): The Tigers are considered to be one of the top suitors remaining for Alex Bregman, and signing a qualified free agent would cost the Tigers their third-highest pick in the 2025 draft.  Losing the 63rd overall pick means the Tigers almost surely wouldn’t also deal their CBR pick.  If Bregman signed elsewhere, it’s more plausible that Detroit could consider trading its CBR pick for a big right-handed bat, but still probably on the unlikely side.

Mariners (35th overall, CBR-A): It was almost exactly a year ago that the M’s traded their CBR-B pick in the 2024 draft to the White Sox as part of the Gregory Santos deal.  Santos’ injury-plagued first season in Seattle could make the Mariners more hesitant to an even higher CBR selection, yet this tradable pick might an asset the M’s can use within an overall difficult offseason market for the team.  The Mariners are working with limited payroll space and most every team in baseball would prefer win-now help over prospects, seemingly leaving the M’s dealing with a lot of offers for their starting pitchers.  With Seattle so reluctant to deal from its excellent rotation, offering up the 35th overall pick in trade talks might help get things moving.

Twins (36th overall, CBR-A): Speaking of front offices without much financial flexibility, Minnesota has had a very quiet offseason, with most of the headlines focused on a potential sale of the franchise rather than any significant roster moves.  With reportedly around only $5MM or so in payroll space, the Twins might have to make some trades just to free up more money for more trade possibilities.  Moving the CBR-A pick could be added to the Twins’ list of possibilities, but the team has enough potential trade candidates on the active roster that moving a big league-ready player is probably their preference over dealing away a draft pick.

Rays (37th overall, CBR-A): It might not come as much surprise that Tampa is the team that has acquired the most CBR picks over the last seven seasons.  As you’ll see shortly, the Rays added to that total with the 42nd overall pick of the 2025 draft.  Like with the Brewers and the Adames compensatory selection, having an “extra” pick in a sense might make the Rays more open to dealing this pick here, but that hasn’t been Tampa Bay’s style.

Reds (now Dodgers, 41st overall, CBR-A): This pick was already moved, as Cincinnati traded its selection along with outfield prospect Mike Sirota to Los Angeles in exchange for Gavin Lux.

Athletics (now Rays, 42nd overall, CBR-A): Another swapped pick, as the A’s moved the 42nd overall pick to Tampa Bay as part of the Jeffrey Springs trade.  This move in particular highlights the speculative nature of this post, since going into the offseason, the Athletics seemingly wouldn’t have been on the radar as a team likely to trade its CBR pick.

Marlins (43th overall, CBR-A): There’s basically zero chance the Fish move a draft pick in the midst of their extensive rebuild.

Guardians (70th overall, CBR-B): The reigning AL Central champs have generally gone chalk with their CBR selections, not acquiring or trading any picks until this year.  Adding an experienced outfielder or middle infielder for the 70th pick might work on paper, as the Guards are another team with two CBR selections and not much spending capacity to address its roster needs.

Orioles (71st overall, CBR-B): The idea for this post came about after writing another piece yesterday about how the O’s might be well-suited to trade this pick.

Diamondbacks (now Guardians, 72nd overall, CBR-B): Arizona sent the 72nd pick and Slade Cecconi to Cleveland to bring Josh Naylor to the desert.

Royals (73rd overall, CBR-B): Kansas City traded its CBR-A selection just hours before the 2024 draft began, moving the 39th overall pick and third base prospect Cayden Wallace to the Nationals for Hunter Harvey.  While Harvey battled injuries and wasn’t much of a help in the Royals’ run to the ALDS, the fact that the team made such an aggressive midseason deal in pursuit of a playoff spot might hint that the front office is willing to make another bold swap involving this pick.  Outfield help remains the Royals’ biggest need at this point in the winter.

Cardinals (74th overall, CBR-B): Outgoing president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has spoken about wanting to leave a “clean slate” for new PBO Chaim Bloom.  Between that and the Cardinals’ stated goal of refocusing on player development, it seems unlikely St. Louis would look to move its CBR pick.

Pirates (75th overall, CBR-B): The Bucs have had a relatively quiet offseason, with the team’s typical lack of big spending.  In theory, trading a CBR pick might be a helpful way for the Pirates to add talent without breaking the budget, though Ben Cherington has yet to explore this tactic during his time as Pittsburgh’s general manager.

Rockies (76th overall, CBR-B): While the Rockies aren’t technically in an official rebuild, they’re not exactly building up after losing 204 games over the last two seasons.  Using this pick to add another young player to the farm system seems far more likely than the Rox trading the pick away.

Cardinals Sign Zack Weiss To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals announced the signing of reliever Zack Weiss to a minor league deal. St. Louis also re-signed righty Victor Santos to a two-year minor league contract. Earlier this week, the Cardinals also announced a non-roster contract with catcher Yohel Pozo.

Weiss is the most notable of the trio. The 32-year-old has pitched in parts of three big league seasons. He tossed a career-high 14 innings between the Red Sox and Angels two seasons ago. Weiss landed with the Twins on a waiver claim last offseason but was outrighted off the 40-man roster without making an MLB appearance. He worked 25 innings with Minnesota’s Triple-A club after clearing waivers. While he posted a middling 5.40 earned run average, he struck out an above-average 26.7% of opposing hitters.

The righty has missed bats in his limited look against MLB competition as well. Weiss has fanned 28% of opponents through 27 1/3 career innings. That has come alongside a lofty 12.7% walk rate, though, contributing to a middling 4.61 ERA. Weiss has allowed 5.37 earned runs per nine in parts of six Triple-A campaigns.

Santos, 24, has yet to reach the major leagues. He was one of two minor league relievers whom the Cards acquired from the Red Sox in what turned out to be the lopsided Tyler O’Neill trade. Santos posted a 5.61 ERA across 77 innings with Triple-A Memphis last year. He’d been pitching in the Dominican Winter League this offseason but seemingly suffered an injury. The Cards announced that he is expected to miss the entire 2025 season, explaining the two-year term of his deal.

Pozo, 27, appeared in 21 MLB games for the Rangers four seasons ago. He hit .284 in 77 plate appearances. Pozo has spent the past two seasons as non-roster depth with the A’s. He hit .324/.335/.538 with 15 homers in an extremely hitter-friendly setting in Triple-A last season. The righty-swinging backstop has one of the most extreme approaches in professional baseball. Among the nearly 1100 minor league hitters who logged at least 300 plate appearances, Pozo had the lowest walk rate (1.9%). His 8.3% strikeout rate was fourth-lowest. No hitter put more balls into play overall.

Poll: Will The Cardinals Be Able To Trade Nolan Arenado?

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One of the biggest storylines of the offseason has been the Cardinals’ to this point unsuccessful attempts at moving veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado. As the club scales back its payroll and focuses on youth, both the Cardinals and Arenado himself have expressed a desire to move on this winter. In theory, moving an eight-time All-Star who’s just two seasons removed from being an MVP finalist should not be an especially difficult task, but a confluence of factors has made things very complicated for St. Louis’s front office.

The most obvious limiting factor at play is Arenado’s hefty contract. The infielder is due $74MM over the next three seasons, and even with the Rockies poised to pitch in $10MM as a condition of the trade that sent him to St. Louis in the first place, it’s hard to imagine a number of smaller or even mid-market clubs being able to stomach the majority of that salary. Even for clubs who can afford to pay Arenado, it would be understandable if there was some level of pause about committing that much money to a hitter coming off a .272/.325/.394 slash line that was essentially league average (102 wRC+). Arenado’s glove is still enough to make him a roughly three-win player even with his diminished offensive numbers but the division rival Cubs’ difficulties in finding a trade partner when looking to move Cody Bellinger this winter show how depressed the market can become for a three-win player who’s making more than they would fetch on the open market.

Things are further complicated by Arenado’s no-trade clause, which he’s appeared to be very comfortable wielding in order to direct the Cardinals’ negotiation efforts towards clubs he wants to join. Arenado blocked a trade to the Astros in mid-December despite previous belief that he would approve a trade to Houston, in large part because he wanted to see how the club would fortify the roster after trading away Kyle Tucker. That decision to wait and see what was next for Houston backfired, as they pivoted towards signing Christian Walker in a move that likely closed the door on Arenado joining the Astros.

Since the deal with the Astros fell through, the market for Arenado’s services has been exceptionally quiet, with the Cardinals beginning to entertain the possibility that Arenado might be in camp for the start of Spring Training or even still be in the club’s starting lineup on Opening Day. The Yankees reportedly tried to convince the Cardinals to do a swap that would’ve sent Arenado to the Bronx and right-hander Marcus Stroman to the St. Louis, but the Cardinals dismissed that offer without even presenting it to Arenado due to a lack of interest in adding Stroman to the fold. It’s hardly a surprise that they wouldn’t want to take on Stroman and is $18.5MM salary for 2025, but that decision only serves to highlight the financial difficulties the Cardinals face in attempting to move their third baseman.

Even as a trade of Arenado has become less likely as the calendar has flipped to 2025, there are at least some reasons for optimism. Arenado has reportedly become more open-minded about what clubs he would approve a trade to in recent weeks, which could theoretically inspire renewed efforts from clubs like the Mariners, Royals, and Tigers who have some level of interest in him but initially believed that Arenado would block any trade they worked out with the Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have indicated that they wouldn’t necessarily need to cut payroll elsewhere if Arenado remains with the club in 2025. It’s at least theoretically possible that’s simply a negotiation tactic, but if the Cardinals are truly not operating under a mandate to cut payroll to a specific level, then perhaps they’ll be more willing to chip in cash to help pay down Arenado’s salary or accept another underwater contract as part of the return.

One obvious catalyst that could spur Arenado talks back to the forefront of the hot stove would be Alex Bregman finding a new home in free agency. Bregman entered the winter ranked as the #3 free agent overall and the top available infielder according to MLBTR’s annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, but he’s found a relatively quiet market to his point in the winter. The Red Sox, Tigers, Astros, Blue Jays, and Cubs are all known to be involved in Bregman’s market to this point on at least some level. While trading Arenado to a division rival like the Cubs is nearly impossible to imagine, the Astros have already moved on, and Toronto may not be competitive enough to satisfy the veteran. The interest is mutual in at least the case of the Red Sox, who currently figure to start Arenado’s longtime Rockies teammate Trevor Story at shortstop on a regular basis this year. If Bregman were to come to a decision, and especially one that saw him end up in Houston, Chicago, or Toronto, it’s easy to imagine Arenado’s market picking up more significantly.

How do MLBTR readers think things will play out? Will Arenado be in another uniform before Opening Day? And if so, will a deal get done before he’s scheduled to report to the Cardinals for Spring Training on February 17? Have your say in the poll below:

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