5 burning questions the Cardinals must answer before Spring Training begins

There are still so many questions that the St. Louis Cardinals have not answered this offseason, and Spring Training is just a few weeks away.

Cincinnati Reds v St. Louis Cardinals
Cincinnati Reds v St. Louis Cardinals | Brandon Sloter/GettyImages
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1. What are they going to do with Nolan Arenado?

Shocker! The fate of Nolan Arenado is the number one question that still needs to be answered!

None of you are surprised by that statement. In fact, I'm sure most of you, like me, are tired of this being the number one thing we talk about. Well, if you listen to John Mozeliak, it's apparently agenda item number one, two, and three on his mind, so as long as it's looming that large for the front office, it will look large in our minds.

Do the Cardinals need to let Arenado's limbo paralyze them? No, that's their own doing. But as Mozeliak answered question after question from media regarding the situation last weekend, it's clear that they view it that way.

Arenado's situation does matter though. If he's on the roster in 2025, that means Nolan Gorman cannot take over as the everyday third baseman, which either pushes him to second base full-time or the DH spot if the Cardinals want to stick with Donovan at second base. That also means Alec Burleson is stuck without an everyday role unless the Cardinals want to move Lars Nootbaar to center field, which then changes the outlook for Michael Siani and Victor Scott II. Oh, and fewer DH appearances mean it's harder to fit Ivan Herrera's bat in the lineup when he's not catching. And if the infield is that full, then Thomas Saggese likely ends up in Memphis again.

Opportunities shrink big time with Arenado around next year. Sure, like the pitching side of things, injuries happen, so time can open up, but again, when we are talking about the future of important pieces of the Cardinals' core, waiting on injuries to sort things out is not an ideal strategy.

Financially, the Cardinals claim they do not need to move Arenado's salary to help cut payroll further, but it's hard to believe it wouldn't impact their finances long-term. Mozeliak and ownership want to clear the deck as much as possible for Bloom when he takes over next offseason, so keeping all of Arenado's money on the books certainly adds restraint to Bloom as he moves forward.

Sure, the Cardinals could move Arenado later, and if he bounces back, they could even move all of his money or get more in return. But they also run the risk of Arenado regressing further and becoming an unmoveable deal, something that would hurt Bloom greatly in 2026 and 2027.

The money wouldn't be terrible to have on their books (with the Cardinals on the hook for just $22 million of the $27 million owed to Arenado due to Colorado kicking in $5 million in 2026 and his contract being just $15 million in 2027), but it's also not nothing, and while the opportunities for young players far outweighs the finances in my opinion, it's still a part of this.

We'll see what happens with Arenado, but if the Cardinals are unable to find a trade partner soon, this already frustrating offseason becomes even more of a disaster when camp begins.

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