John Mozeliak admits the Cardinals are likely stuck with Nolan Arenado

Well, so much for all of the offseason chatter!

Less than 24 hours after the Boston Red Sox signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, the music seems to have stopped in the game of musical chairs regarding Nolan Arenado's future, with the St. Louis Cardinals likely now going into the 2025 season with him as their third baseman.

Back in December, John Mozeliak was publicly confident in an Arenado trade happening before even Christmas, but today he told reporters down in Jupiter, Florida that Arenado "is likely going to be a part of our club at this point."

From the outside looking in, that is not a shocking revelation. Boston appeared to be the final serious suitor for Arenado, and after they locked in with Bregman, there really was no clear destination for Arenado to end up. There are mixed reports regarding whether or not the New York Yankees are entertaining acquiring Arenado still, and even if they are, it sounds like they want to offload Marcus Stroman or have the Cardinals take on more money than they are willing to at this point.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported that aside from the Yankees, the teams that the Cardinals have had talks with include the Dodgers, Padres, and "two other teams". The Tigers could try to make a move now that they have missed on Bregman, but Arenado would have to approve such a move. Kansas City reached out at one point this offseason but was denied by the Cardinals (likely due to a lack of interest from Arenado), and maybe they or another new suitor join the mix.

But in Mozeliak's words, the club's mindset right now is that Arenado is their third baseman. I am sure that both the Cardinals and Arenado will explore and listen to opportunities that may come in the following days and weeks, but the odds are heavily in favor of Arenado beginning the 2025 season on the Cardinals' roster.

Considering an Arenado trade was priority "number one, two, and three" for Mozeliak this offseason and they did virtually nothing to improve their major league roster, there really is no other way to look at this offseason other than as a failure. Yes, if you look at the shifts they are making in the front office and with the future of player development, those are great things worth celebrating, but Mozeliak's job of handling this transition year at the major league level has been a failure.