The St. Louis Cardinals look prepared to jumpstart a rebuild after falling short of the postseason for the second consecutive year, despite finishing 83-79 and improving their record over 2023 by 12 games.
This means that several key pieces could ultimately be traded away while the organization decides to focus on youth. Players such as Ryan Helsley, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Sonny Gray could be on their way out.
Cardinals' insider Jeff Jones stated that the Cardinals are likely to at least move on from Contreras and Arenado.
"Contreras, coming off perhaps his best offensive season, but limited by freak injuries, and Arenado, coming off definitely his worst offensive season but still a stalwart at third, both present intriguing possibilities," Jones wrote. "Both also have no-trade clauses, though as with [Sonny] Gray, might be more likely to use that as leverage as a pass to a preferred destination rather than an all-encompassing desire to remain in St. Louis."
The Cardinals may look completely different next year. But it is ultimately time for them to make changes and essentially rip the Band-Aid off.
Arenado declined offensively this year, hitting .272 with 71 RBI but also hitting just 16 home runs and posting a .719 OPS. But the Cardinals do have options at the third base position.
They could move Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, or Jordan Walker to the position or even give Thomas Saggese a shot.
If Contreras goes, St. Louis does have two solid in-house options behind the plate in Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages.
But it does appear likely that both stars will ultimately be traded this coming winter as the Cardinals look to jumpstart their rebuild, which will likely take them out of contention for 2025.
It will be interesting to see what St. Louis can get for both stars.
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