Chaim Bloom is expected to shop multiple Cardinals veterans this offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals are finally ready to admit they need to rebuild under the new leadership of Chaim Bloom, and it sounds like he's fully prepared to move on from multiple key contributors this offseason to accelerate that timeline.

While Bloom will likely explore moving many players in an attempt to rebuild this organization into a contender, two names that we can confirm he is going to shop are Sonny Gray and Nolan Arenado. Arenado has openly acknowledged the potential of a deal to the media this past week, but the news of Gray is both expected and fluid due to his prior desire to remain in St. Louis.

Chaim Bloom will shop Sonny Gray and Nolan Arenado this offseason, but will Gray be open to a trade from the Cardinals?

With the way Arenado is talking about his time with the Cardinals likely coming to an end, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he's back with St. Louis next season. Even if the Cardinals cannot find a trade partner, they could even be incentivized to release him in order to clear the way for young players in the organization.

When it comes to Gray though, he has remained steadfast in his desire to remain a member of the Cardinals' organization. Last offseason, he declined the opportunity to explore trades elsewhere, and he repeated his desire to stay in St. Louis at this year's trade deadline. But with one final guaranteed year on his contract next season, Gray may be open to a move elsewhere in order to have an opportunity to contend in 2026.

In Gray's defense, even if this season was always likely to end in missing the playoffs, the Cardinals were hopeful that they could make a surprise run to the postseason. In the early parts of the summer, the club actually seemed prepared to do so, but things quickly unraveled, and they fell woefully short of being a real contender.

Gray has valued being close to his home of Nashville, which is part of what made St. Louis such an attractive landing spot for him two offseasons ago. Bloom may have to explore deals with teams like the Cincinnati Reds or Atlanta Braves to convince Gray to move on from St. Louis, but he did heavily consider signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks before agreeing to a deal with the Cardinals.

Cardinals fans should temper expectations in terms of what the club could get in return for either player, but depending on how much money Chaim Bloom is allowed to eat in these deals, he may be able to acquire interesting pieces. Gray is set to make $35 million next year and posted a 4.33 ERA, but his 3.38 FIP and 3.06 xFIP, 10 K/9, and 31 starts to the tune of 174.2 innings pitched all provide very encouraging signs for what the Cardinals could get in return. Again, nothing massive, but eating a good amount of money on that deal should make Gray appealing to a lot of contenders who need pitching.

Arenado will likely have a limited market, and the Cardinals will have to eat a lot of money just to even get another team thinking about a move. But if they do, they should be able to move him for a minor piece.