Cardinals conclude silly arbitration cases with Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan

While the St. Louis Cardinals are no stranger to arbitration hearings with their young talent, if there was ever a year not to quibble about a few dollars with them, you'd think it would be the one where they are banking heavily on their improvement.

According to Mark Feinsand, the Cardinals have received updates on Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan's arbitration hearings, with Nootbaar winning his case and earning $2.95 million in 2025 while Donovan lost his case, being awarded $2.85 million this upcoming season. The Cardinals filed for $2.45 million on Nootbaar's case while Donovan's camp filed for $3.3 million.

Even before the games get underway, the Cardinals' young lefties are batting .500. While most of social media are ablaze about the quibbling over a few hundred thousand dollars and the Cardinals needing to just meet their asking price, I don't think it's worth getting too worked up about. Don't get me wrong, I think they should have paid Nootbaar and Donovan too. In Donovan's case, they are foolish not to get a long-term deal done immediately. But this is how they do business, and sticking to their model year after year helps them avoid it getting "personal".

Here's my issue with it though - the Cardinals have clearly had issues with how the process has impacted relationships with players in recent years. Both Ryan Helsley and Tyler O'Neill have been candid in how frustrating it was for them, feeling as though they had to listen to their employer tear them down and let them know why they were not worth a dollar figure.

I have the utmost confidence in Donovan and Nootbaar handling this well, but I don't necessarily have that confidence in the organization not to create some self-inflicted wounds here. Both Donovan and Nootbaar are vital parts of the Cardinals turning things around in 2025, and if I were the Cardinals, I'd be making sure they feel valued and respected by the front office in every way possible.

Alas, the process is over now. We'll keep our ears open to any comments from the Cardinals, Donovan, or Nootbaar about the process.