3 Cardinals who could get traded before the end of spring training

Spring training has officially kicked off for the St. Louis Cardinals following the pitchers and catchers report date of February 12th. Videos and pictures of players putting in work have already filled up the social media sphere, and excitement is beginning to slowly rise for fans of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The offseason hasn't gone as anticipated. Rather than picking a direction, John Mozeliak and the Cardinals have instead opted to float somewhere in the middle and neither trade any intriguing pieces nor acquire any meaningful players. Therefore, the roster remains largely unchanged from 2024.

This leaves several veterans with guaranteed spots on the roster heading into spring training. However, if the Cardinals want to lean into this supposed "reset", they may want to consider trading away these players for a decent prospect return.

Additionally, injuries pop up in spring training quite often. If the Cardinals can avoid this injury bug while other teams experience it, St. Louis could jump on a hot market and trade from their depth. Regardless, there's a high chance that the roster we see entering spring training won't be the same one we see on opening day.

Trades during spring training aren't common, but they aren't unheard of either. Players like Jason Hammel, Nyjer Morgan, A.J. Burnett, Mookie Betts, Alex Rodriguez, and even Roger Clemens have been traded in and around baseball's annual spring circuit. Seeing someone like Nolan Arenado moved in February isn't unheard of either.

These three St. Louis Cardinals have a chance of being traded before spring training is over.

3B Nolan Arenado

The Pope is Catholic, and bears poop in woods.

A trade of Nolan Arenado has felt as inevitable as Thanos was in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Well, at least until the Alex Bregman signing last night. John Mozeliak has made it a point all offseason that trading Nado is his top priority, and that hasn't changed going into spring training. But Bregman to the Red Sox could make that a lot more difficult.

The primary domino that needed to fall for an Arenado deal wasn't an injury or an outstanding performance from a teammate, rather, it was Bregman. The former Astros third baseman ended up signing with the team who had the best odds of trading for Arenado, making the path toward a deal for St. Louis far more difficult.

Recent reports have linked Nolan Arenado to the aforementioned Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, but there are two other teams on the list according to John Mozeliak. Any one of those teams would benefit from adding a 10-time Gold Glove winner to their roster. The Cardinals would have to include a decent chunk of change to expedite a deal.

It will be a shame to see a player of Nolan Arenado's caliber go. Despite a lack of postseason success during his four years in St. Louis, Arenado has been exciting to watch. His highlight-reel plays and his awesome power stroke have been sights to see since 2021, and being able to watch a future Hall of Famer have a career year with your team doesn't happen often.

Trading Nolan Arenado clears up payroll and opens up time for young players like Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, and possibly even Thomas Saggese. Both of those freedoms have been stated goals of ownership and the front office this offseason.

Arenado's status as a Cardinal is still very much up in the air.