Chaim Bloom expected to be active in first offseason running Cardinals

Coming off the "frozen winter" where the St. Louis Cardinals did absolutely nothing prior to signing Phil Maton during spring training, Cardinals fans are itching to see the organization be more aggressive under Chaim Bloom's leadership. While spending dollars isn't going to be on his agenda early on, the Cardinals are still expected to be very active in Bloom's first offseason.

In a recent chat over on STLToday, Cardinals' insider Derrick Goold shared what the vibe around Bloom's first offseason running the organization will entail.

"The sense around the Cardinals is that when Chaim Bloom takes over, he's going to pursue streamlining the roster and it's going to be a busy winter for trade talks.

The Cardinals are expected to field a lot of trade talks this offseason

While Goold went on to reiterate that the Cardinals do not plan on being busy in the free agent market, especially pertaining to expensive contracts, they are expected to be all over the trade market this offseason, and for good reason.

There are so many players on the Cardinals roster who could be traded this offseason. Nolan Arenado seems like a foregone conclusion to be elsewhere this offseason, and fellow veterans Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras could join him if they decide they want to waive their no-trade clauses.

Outside of the veterans, names like Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar are in their final two years of club control and will surely draw interest from other clubs this offseason, whether it's for pitching the Cardinals need or prospects. I wouldn't be looking to trade Donovan, but I do think Nootbaar is a likely trade candidate.

The Cardinals could even look to trade someone like Alec Burleson, who will be coming off a career year and has a ton of club control remaining, or just rid themselves of the Jordan Walker or Nolan Gorman experience. With more catchers on the way and Ivan Herrera moving back to that position, maybe Pedro Pages draws interest. JoJo Romero will be in his final year of club control and could draw interest from contenders as well.

It's not shocking at all to hear that the Cardinals will be active in this offseason's trade market; the real question is just regarding how that may unfold. Outside of Arenado, I really don't think any of those names are guaranteed to be moved. There are a lot of different directions the club could choose to go in, and they all have ripple effects on the rest of their decisions.