For the second season in a row, the St. Louis Cardinals missed the playoffs under manager Oliver Marmol’s guidance. Now, the front office is tasked with making sure a roster that already won 83 games doesn’t take a step back. Ideally, the Cards will take a big leap forward.
Yet, chances are, this Cardinals roster will look much different by the time the 2025 MLB season rolls around. This offseason could even involve trades featuring multiple All-Stars.
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St. Louis Cardinals could trade Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and/or Ryan Helsley
The St. Louis Cardinals have a talented roster, but for whatever reason, they had a hard time putting it all together in 2024. Without some dumb luck like adding Juan Soto, Roki Sasaki, Corbin Burnes, or a big bat capable of helping the Cards score more runs than they allow, it’s possible we’ll have to see St. Louis take a brief step back before making forward progress.
With the Cardinals looking to slash payroll, one potential scenario involves trades for several impact players. According to MLB insider William Fleitch the four names who could be on the Cardinals’ trade block include new first baseman Willson Contreras, third baseman Nolan Arenado, or pitchers Sonny Gray and Ryan Helsley.
“They’ve talked about openly slashing payroll. It’s really the focus on the young players. The Cardinals are always trying to compete for a championship every year. They’re just maybe trying to reset a bit and focus on those young players. Which I think leaves four pretty clear possibilities to trade. Contreras’ move to first base could theoretically take him off the market.”
MLB’s William Fleitch on St. Louis Cardinals
Fleitch continued to name others, including Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and MLB saves leader Ryan Helsley. Each are MLB All-Stars and would presumably have a sizable trade market if they became available.
The Cardinals could impact the trade market in a big way this winter.@williamfleitch joins #MLBNHotStove to detail St. Louis' direction this offseason and some potential candidates that could be on the block. pic.twitter.com/ekg98KpUh3
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 14, 2024
The question is, how eager are the Cardinals to shed payroll? Would they commit to a near all-out firesale that strips some of the team’s most popular players out of St. Louis? All it takes is one offer that’s too good to refuse.
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